New playground to provide recreation opportunities for children of all abilities
Angel’s Landing, a playground for children of all abilities will be built this summer at Willow Park in Logan.
Ten Utah State University students got together and planned the new playground along with Keith Christensen who works with the Center for Persons with Disabilities.
“Over 3,000 children in Cache Valley are disabled,” said Brady Apostolo, a senior public relations major. “This playground will provide a place for all children to play together.”
Apostolo said the playground will be wheelchair accessible and have floors equipped with thick rubber padding. Most of the building will be done by volunteers, he said.
“We held a fundraiser for our project with performances from the USU Ballroom Dance and Swing Club,” Apostolo said. “Already, we’ve raised around $4,000 and we hope for more from community and alumni contributions.”
Apostolo said there aren’t many playgrounds like Angel’s Landing. The closest one to Logan is in Salt Lake City.
“It’s a wonderful community project for Logan, it will bring community members together working for such a positive goal,” he said. “It’s good that children can benefit from this now, as well as future generations to come.”
Amy Davis, a sophomore majoring in physical therapy, said, “I have a cousin who is disabled and he doesn’t get very many opportunities to play with the other children.”
Davis said her cousin is enrolled in special education classes all day with other disabled children.
“It would be good for him to widen his peer group, and I think that playgrounds like Angel’s Landing would be a great way to start,” Davis said. “It would make him feel included with the other kids, something he doesn’t feel very often.”
The USU students who organized Angel’s Landing said they hope that it will be completed in August. Some said they are going away for the summer, but some plan on staying in Logan to help build it.
“If I’m around, I’ll definitely be out there working on it, I’d love to,” Apostolo said.