New high-tech swing set brings more inclusive play to 2 local parks

Three-year-old Harper Hanki is one of several local wheelchair users that have been able to take their first-ever swing ride thanks to a new high-tech swing set from Australia. (Jessica Robb/CTV News Edmonton)

A pair of swings in the Edmonton area are changing how some kids see the playground.

The Rotary Park in Stony Plain and the Jubilee Park in Spruce Grove are now home to a Liberty Swing, a piece of equipment that lets wheelchair users take their turn on the swing set.

For parents like Amanda Hanki, whose three-year-old daughter Harper uses a wheelchair, the addition is a game changer.

"We don't necessarily come to the playground very often because it can't accommodate our whole family," the Spruce Grove resident said. "Now, having this, it just gives us a reason to be here."

The swings have been open for around a month and Hanki's family heard about them after one of Harper's siblings went to the park on a school field trip.

"When she got off the bus, she busted through our door and exclaimed, 'There's a swing for Harper!'" Hanki added. "I love that.

"It's so exciting, especially as a mom to come out and be like, 'We are now a part of the community. We are wanted out here.'"

Liberty Swings are made exclusively in Australia and they cost around $50,000 each.

Getting them here and installed was a team effort between the two municipalities and a local non-profit group, said Stony Plain community development officer Deanna Butz.

"We're really working to build a strong, connected community where everyone has opportunities to thrive," Butz said. "So this was a really cool step forward for us, to be able to have this piece added."

The idea came from the Foundation for Cohesive Communities, a non-profit promoting inclusive play. The group is made up mostly of parents of a child with a disability and it researched, fundraised and pitched the idea for the swings to the municipalities.

"It is so important to feel like you are just a part of the community and just like every other child," said Melody Willer, a foundation member.

And it's not just for kids, she added.

"We actually have another board member and he is in a wheelchair and he actually tried the one in Stony Plain," Willer said. "He is in his 30s and that was his first experience on a swing. It's incredible."

Hanki took Harper for her first-ever swing ride on Thursday at Jubilee Park, pushing her in her wheelchair with a crowd of curious kids gathered around to see how it worked.

"It was so much joy," Hanki said. "For me as a mom, who [has] sat on the sidelines watching other children play and knowing how much that hurts your heart, seeing these additions to this playground is incredible not only for us but for the community as well."

Instructions on how to use and access the swings can be found on the Spruce Grove website or the Stony Plain website. Both swings also have QR codes that can be scanned at the park for instructions and safety tips.