A $1.6 million and one-of-a-kind adventure playground in Western NSW is emerging within Dubbo Regional Botanic Garden.
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It has been designed with children, parents, grandparents and people with disabilities in mind.
Mostly “accessible and inclusive” bespoke equipment, a coffee shop and amenities with extra features including a hoist will meet their needs.
The NSW government’s Stronger Communities Fund has provided $1.3 million for the project and Dubbo Regional Council $300,000 to date.
Council’s manager recreation and open space Ian McAlister reports that the larger sum was obtained as a result of the merger between Dubbo City Council and Wellington Council.
The manager said the yet-to-be completed playground was in accord with Dubbo Regional Botanic Garden’s focus on education.
“Rather than just using traditional elements like swings and slippery dips, what we are actually trying to do is create a more challenging play space for children and get children back to nature,” he said.
The playground has 42 elements including a liberty swing, the focus of community fundraising led by Tracy Hanna and a donation from the Titan Macquarie Mud Run.
Among the other 41 elements are four separate barbecue sites, equipment designed to help seniors build “coordination and strength”, a potable water channel, talking shoots, a tunnel through an earth mound with interpretative signs about plants, carousel, dual flying fox with a harness and poles for climbing.
“Hero” of the playground is the hillbilly, which has a polished-concrete double slippery dip and the capacity to help children grow in strength and agility.
Australian hardwood and sustainably-harvested Jarrah appears throughout the playground where up to 1300 plants including herbs will grow.
A no-longer-needed building at a Wellington park has been moved to the playground where it will be turned into a coffee shop.
A river red gum facing the axe at the Devil’s Hole Reserve has also found a new “intergenerational” home in east Dubbo.
The new adventure playground was set to be a Christmas present for the city and its neighbours before rain started to fall in the latter part of this year.
Mr McAlister admits it has “certainly put us back".
“We are looking towards, I guess, the end of January or early February as an opening date,” he said.
“We were trying to get it open before the school holidays.”
Mr McAlister said all play equipment has been installed at the east Dubbo work site.
“We’re now just trying to get the rubber softfall or bark chip underneath,” he said.
“Then from there we can move into the irrigation, turfing and planting out.
“There’s a bit to go but the end is in sight I think.”
The manager said the council was using local contractors “as much as we can”.
Dubbo’s Gardenscape Design installed the playground’s bespoke equipment supplied by lyPa in Western Australia.
Mr McAlister expects the playground will play its part in attracting and retaining visitors to the city “that little bit longer”.
Dubbo Regional Botanic Garden includes Shoyoen, one of the “most authentic” Japanese gardens in Australia.
It was built in 2002 followed by the Biodiversity Garden in 2005, the Sensory Garden in 2011 and the Oasis Valley in 2012.
In 2017 the council built a car park using its own funds and “merger money”. It can take about 62 cars and about 12 buses.
The adventure playground is expected to be closed at night as are the other occupants of Dubbo Regional Botanic Garden.