DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — The Sunrise Elementary School Playground Committee has renovated the 25-year-old playground over the last five years.
- Katie Smullen Principal of Sunrise Elementary explains how they funded the project.
- Sunrise Elementary School ADA-accessible play equipment and sensory areas.
- New Playground now includes wheelchair-accessible play areas and emotional and sensory spaces.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Sunrise Principal Katie Smullen says their playground is the most popular on the East side of Sturgeon Bay.
"It was the most used in disrepair and because it truly is a community playground and not only is it used throughout the school day but kids use it like and families all weekend after school hours," Smullen said.
The school has remodeled its playground in an important way for the community. It now includes wheelchair-accessible play areas and emotional and sensory spaces for students and children in the area.
Before, the park was inaccessible for those with a mobility impairment.
"There's no woodchips. There's also some of the pieces that are built for children with disabilities and so that's really exciting," Smullen said.
Smullen says the project cost half a million dollars. She says it will cost $1.2 million in total for all three playgrounds.
To fund Sunrise's new playground, the school received donations from community members and local businesses, grants from groups like Destination Door County, and some students even sold lemonade.
"For the past two summers students have worked hard fund-raising so, the students raised over $4,000 for this playground and the Sawyer playground," Smullen said.
She says the Sunrise Project is the first phase of two phases to renovate school playgrounds. Their next goal is to fund-raise and renovate the Sawyer Elementary 4k/5k playground and Sawyer's first and second-grade playground.
The official Grand Opening Celebration is Friday morning and is open to members of the community.
