Humans of Kegworth: Sara from the Senior Playground Masterplan Team
#HumansofKegworth
How long have you been a human of Kegworth?
I’ve been a human of Kegworth since 2016. We relocated from Perth to Sydney and our eldest Otis entered the school in Term 3 of that year. He is now in year 4 and we have Miles in year 1.
Is Kegworth anything like the school that you went to?
What attracted us to Kegworth was the oval and big trees, as well as the relative small size of the school. I went to three different primary schools in three different states, and I was fortunate to have big trees and ovals to run around and play on and under! Our oval and big trees are an amazing asset. As a school community we should continue to harness and enhance these spaces, as the pressures of urbanisation, the implications of urban heat island effect and our changing climate, and children’s disconnection from nature are felt.
You co-lead the Senior Playground masterplan team – what does that involve? Can you give us any hints about what the makeover will include?
Yes, alongside another Kegworth parent June Boxsell, we lead the Senior Playground masterplan team. I’m a Registered Landscape Architect and June is an Industrial Designer, we both have training in design thinking and human centred design.
We have already started this process. At the end of 2019, I undertook observation studies across three days to understand how the children used the senior playground, while June undertook in-depth interviews with a handful of senior stage students and staff. Unfortunately COVID-19 has put these plans on hold (and our fundraising momentum) however we have some good work to return to.
The next stages will be confirming that these two methodologies represent the broader thinking of stage 2 students and school community through concept design workshops. The aim is to develop a brief that can then go to industry for tender and to implement some new play and seating equipment to enhance the spaces. This approach will embed the excellent sustainability thinking already active within the school as well as a deeper engagement with Aboriginal Country and custodians (Gadigal and Wangal).
A bigger part of the work not included in this stage is the recognition of the oval as significant ‘green infrastructure’ and the subsequent alignment of an annual maintenance program and budget to ensure we retain this really important and significant space as a school asset.
We’ve had to cancel a lot of school events this year (boo) which one will you miss the most?
I do love the Quiz Night, this is always a lot of fun and the repercussions are certainly felt the next day! However, I think the change in circumstances have also bought out some wonderful qualities within the school community.
I’ve loved seeing the kids literally take-over the neighbourhood and feel comfortable to commute too and from school using active transport (walking or scootering/cycling). The shift to online P&C meetings and the opportunity to have a more inclusive voice is another positive.
