Grants Are Great! By Gabrielle Chisholm, former Parks & Recreation Assistant Director, Gilpin County
In June of 2020, a new GameTime Play On! playground was installed at Pete Gones Memorial Park in Gilpin County by Triple M Recreation! In December of 2019, the county was awarded the CPRA/GameTime promotes play grant. This demonstration site uses six key play elements: balancing, spinning, brachiating, sliding, climbing and swinging. Research proves that these movements and actions, in conjunction with one another, increase gross motor development,
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improve critical thinking and problemsolving skills, and provide opportunities for creativity, social interaction and overall physical fitness for ages 5-12 years. This playground provides a safe and fun place for young children to develop and grow, to be able to explore and become stewards of Gilpin County’s vast open space land. This playground replaced a 19 year-old structure, and is one of the few public park locations in the Peak to Peak area. THANK YOU CPRA and GameTime for this excellent opportunity!
Many of the partnerships that were secured had some great contributions planned for this playground project. BaseCamp: demo and upcycle old equipment, CSU Extension: planting native grasses and wildflowers, Local Girl Scout Troop: plant a tree, Library: help with usage research, and Ameristar: looking into how to contribute to more ADA accommodations such as a universal swing or pour-in-place surfacing. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 the County and many of our partners closed down in
