WATCH: Check out this unique playground at a Kelowna school

• Second Kukuk Playground in Canada
• Uses wooden materials
• Encouraging self-assessment for kids

Eight months ago, Juhlie Curatolo, a parent and woodworking teacher at Lakeside School in Lower Mission, wanted to bring something unique, not just for her kids, but for the whole school community.

But it wouldn’t be just a normal play area, it would be Kelowna’s first Kukuk Playground and only the second in Canada. These sorts of playgrounds are about more than physical activity; nature is presented as something living, unique and worth protecting.

She reached out to Bernwart Engelen, an international playground designer with Kukuk Playgrounds based in Vancouver, to design something totally different.

The four new structures unveiled at the non-profit independent school this week are a new rope apparatus, a wood climbing area, nest swings, and a new hammock area.

They were all made from 50 black lotus logs from Hungary with a total project cost exceeding $40,000.

Curatolo told Kelowna10 they used wood because they wanted to create something which would last for generations to come.

“We chose the wood versus the metal just because of the natural element of it. You can build it very asymmetrically with logs that you just can’t get with metal or just rope,” she said. “We also chose wood because of its the longevity. It doesn’t go out of style and it's natural.”

The whole construction process took six days, and was done through a collective effort of parents, staff, and students.

Go your own way

Curatolo said part of the vision was to give a unique playground for the students to play on but also to give them the ability to learn more about themselves and their capabilities.

“There’s no one direction of these playgrounds. These kids can go where they want to go and choose their own route and have the risk assessment and the stability and balance that you don’t get from typical playground structures,” she said.

Principal Cindy Taylor said these new structures are a huge positive for the school after a tough year of dealing with COVID-19.

“It was so refreshing after so much isolation and pain. The school had a hard time last year and we really came through it and started to rebuild,” she said. “It’s like having a rebuild of the whole community because just about everybody participated [in the playground] it was all happy and no sad.”