Air conditioners keep rooms cool but if you want to cool down and have fun, giant sprinklers in the park are much better.
As part of the This is My Neighbourhood initiative, we worked with communities around Calgary to identify ways to help make city neighbourhoods an even better place to live, work and play.
“When we asked residents, in participating communities, what would make their neighbourhoods even better, they all mentioned spray parks,” explained This is My Neighbourhood coordinator Katie Thorpe. “As The City can’t build full, permanent spray parks in all neighbourhoods, Calgary Fire had the creative idea to use existing fire hydrants to bring pop-up spray parks to them.”
Shelley Steele, community safety officer with Calgary Fire, helped get the idea off the ground. She and her team saw this as the perfect opportunity to engage Community Safety Officers and Fire crews with children and families across the city in a fun, unique and educational way.
“Our Fire Department is proud of our partnership with all those involved with This is My Neighbourhood,” says Steele. “The kids love it because they see our firefighters getting involved in a fun activity, not an emergency situation. What started as an example of what we could do turned into something that we’re doing and it’s all about engagement.”
As part of the fun, staff from the Calgary Fire Department also take a moment to touch on key fire safety.
Children in Abbeydale, Thorncliffe/Greenview and Millican Ogden got to test out the spray park over the past few weeks and a there are a few more dates to come in the neighbourhoods of Chaparral and Glendale.
This is a great way for people in the neighbourhood, kids and adults alike, to come out and play together. Having fun and getting to know each other is an important part of creating vibrant and connected communities with deeper implications than a fun way to cool off on a hot day.
Simple, fun activities like pop-up spray parks can help form connections. Strong and connected communities lead to a number of social and community benefits including reduced isolation, improved health and local vibrancy.
When communities thrive, the people who live there thrive too.
When communities thrive, the people who live there thrive too.
Upcoming Spray ‘n’ Play events:
- Chaparral: Saturday August 25, 1-3 p.m., Chaparral Valley Square Green Space
- Glendale: Saturday September 8, 1-4 p.m., Optimist Athletic Park
For more on other initiatives happening in neighbourhoods across Calgary check out Calgary.ca/TIMN.