A new playscape at East Communities YMCA (5315 Ed Bluestein Blvd.) is welcoming members of the entire surrounding community — whether they're members at the Y or not — to play as of August 10. A press release emphasizes that the playground was designed by kids.
The playscape was built through a partnership between the Greater Austin YMCA, equitable playspace nonprofit Kaboom!, and Delta Air Lines, which provided nearly 100 volunteers for setup, the release says. Kaboom! helps communities design and fund spaces for all kids, especially when addressing existing inequity for communities of color. The organization has been active since 1996 and has worked on more than 17,000 playspaces.
To find out what kids wanted from their playspace, the YMCA asked kids at the East Communities location and in Greater Austin YMCA’s Austin Achieve afterschool program to draw their ideas, which it then incorporated into the final design.
The resulting playground includes slides, swings, things to climb on, and "imaginative elements" that help kids think creatively and connect with each other. A large shade structure keeps the whole playscape out of the sun. The surrounding park space has also been updated to improve the experience for visiting families, including a "nature exploration" area with logs to balance on.
This nature area offers a break from plastic and metal.Photo courtesy of the Greater Austin YMCA
“Playscapes provide a space where kids can build confidence, create friendships and simply be kids,” said Greater Austin YMCA COO Shaq Brown in the release. “At the Y, our mission is to elevate the quality of life across Greater Austin by expanding access to opportunities like this, and we’re incredibly grateful to KABOOM! and Delta Air Lines for helping bring a vision created by our community’s children to life.”
The Kaboom! Playscape and Nature Exploration area will be open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Many bites from Neko Yubu. Neko Yubu/Instagram 