By Andrew Kish

Special to the Sentinel-Tribune

PERRYSBURG — Children of all abilities have a new playground to use after the city unveiled its new inclusive playground last week at Woodlands Park.

The city says it’s important for everybody to be able to use their equipment.

“Perrysburg is a welcoming community, and we think it’s important that our parks can be enjoyed by everyone,” said Marie Dunn, a city spokesperson. “We now have two inclusive playgrounds in our city for families to enjoy.”

It is a welcome addition for many residents.

“I think it is great that the playground has been made more inclusive to include kids of all abilities,” said Helen Vermillion, a community member who has a grandson with Down Syndrome. “However, parents need to teach their children about those with disabilities because often, children with disabilities are excluded from everyday activities including playgrounds, recess and many other kid-friendly activities.”

The Woodlands Park playground is located at 429 E. Boundary St. and includes the new inclusive playground, an 18-hole disc golf course and a 16-piece art sculpture walk. (supplied photo)

Woodlands Park has been a highly valued feature in Perrysburg for many years and remains a park built by the community for the community, Dunn said.

“We know how important Woodlands Park is to the community. The original playground, built 25 years ago, was a community effort—volunteers helped raise funds and build the original playground,” Dunn said. “So, we wanted to make sure that this playground was one that could be enjoyed by all.”

The new playground equipment is Americans with Disabilities Act accessible.

Now that the playground has opened and summer has officially arrived, there is excitement about the new opportunities at the playground.

“This new playground will give an opportunity for my grandson to possibly meet new people. My grandson has been excluded from kids in his own neighborhood, so we are looking forward to making new friends at the park,” Vermillion said.

The playground opened two weeks ahead of schedule.

The old playground equipment was donated to Missions International of America, which installed the equipment at a school in Haiti.

The Woodlands Park playground is located at 429 E. Boundary St. and includes the new inclusive playground, an 18-hole disc golf course and a 16-piece art sculpture walk.

This is the second inclusive park for the city. The first one was installed at Rotary Community Park and opened in August 2021.

This is the third new playground for the city this year. Playgrounds at Bicentennial and Municipal Parks were also replaced and opened earlier this month.

The playgrounds were replaced due to their age and the difficulty of finding replacement parts to keep them operating. Some of the playground equipment from Municipal and Woodlands Parks was donated to Missions International of America for a school playground in Haiti.

Funding for the new playground equipment came from $1.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds.

(Dunn’s quote about the original playground was edited on July 3 – editor’s note.)