Petone Playscape Turns Two

The Petone Playscape team just celebrated the birthday of Te Kōhanga Manaaki with cake, music and fun activities, marking two years since its grand opening in May 2021.

The party joined families in celebration of the space, with decorations, arts and crafts, a sausage sizzle, coffee cart and other outdoor activities.

There was also a visitor book, where families could take a Polaroid photo and write their names and a message about what they enjoyed about the play space.

Although the Petone Playscape has been open for two years, its conception took place about four years ago, when Petone Corps Planting Leaders Envoys Collette and Stewart Irwin wanted to utilise a spare piece of land near their corps building and decided they wanted to use it for something useful.

After asking people in their neighbourhood and conducting some research, they discovered there was a need in their community for a dedicated play space for children under five years old.

After much planning, the play space build began, with volunteers in the neighbourhood contributing through working bees.

Collette and Stew see the Playscape as a community space for everyone in their neighbourhood to both enjoy and look after.

‘The idea is that it’s a gift to our neighbourhood, and that it has a sense of community ownership. So, we still have ongoing working bees where the neighbourhood comes and helps to keep it looking good and to make any changes that need to happen,’ said Stew.

The playground is open seven days a week from 7am to 7pm.

It is designed to be a safe play space for young children and is also fenced so parents can have peace of mind that their children will stay within the area. It also encourages collaborative play in the way it is designed, such as having a double slide.

A community has slowly developed around the playscape over two years, and Stew has been encouraged to hear what the space means to the families who use it.

‘We hear whispers of people finding friendships and connections. People moving to the area, and it has become their safe space, both for themselves in terms of their mental health, but also in terms of their social health,’ he said.

For Collette and Stew, it has been humbling to see their idea from years ago form into the reality it is today.

‘When you have all these hopes of the neighbourhood coming together, of families supporting each other and kids playing and having the best time—actually seeing that is just amazing,’ said Stew.