Earlier this week, Team Emma was door-knocking around Hampstead School, which is one of the schools I'm really proud to have partnered with this past year.

School playgrounds are big community assets. While of course they're primarily used by students during weekdays during the school year, they're open to the community every evening, weekend, and all summer. They provide safe and active play spaces for kids within their neighburhoods. My own kids play at a school playground most often! Many of them are true hubs for the community.

The challenge schools have with play structures is that they don't last forever, and they're very expensive to replace. This fundraising can take a long time to complete, and over the course of the past year I've met with many parent councils (PACs) who feel discouraged and hopeless because they've been fundraising for so long, with little to show. Often parents will serve for years on the PAC, knowing by the time anything is fully funded, their kids will have grown older, never benefitting from the new equiment.

Meanwhile, the City is also struggling to provide adequate capital budgets for parks and playgrounds. 

That's why it's been so encouraging to partner with PACs and school admin teams to help make some of these projects a reality. By pooling our resources, we're able to make smaller chunks or phases of schoolyard projects feasible, and create amenities the whole community can benefit from, much sooner.

At Hampstead School, a shade structure project is now in the works. This will provide a great space for kids and families to take a break from the sun while they're enjoying time at the playground, and act as an outdoor learning space while school's in session.

I also helped to fund a new basketball court for École Salisbury Morse Place School, and an accesssible swing set at École Neil Campbell School, both forthcoming. And more school partnerships are in the works! 

Investing in the community has been one of the most exciting and rewarding parts of being a city councillor. What parks and recreational spaces would you like to see investments in? I'd love to hear from you.