The City of Brantford announced in a media release that they are celebrating being a co-recipient of a Landscape Ontario Award of Excellence for its renovations on Mohawk Park.
The award was presented to the city and Oakridge Group Inc. who were responsible for constructing the playground. The work and renovations done to Mohawk Park's playground on Lynnwood drive were submitted for the awards of excellence in the category for commercial construction exceeding $250,000. Some of the features include new playground equipment and swings with accessible rubber surfacing, musical play components, a hill slide and extra-large climbers and sand play area. The pathways are paved with asphalt and the play equipment is fully-accessible. Before the renovations took place back in 2020, The City of Brantford conducted a public consultation process that included the general public as well as students from W. Ross Macdonald school for the deaf and blind.
Mandy Wellsman, coordinator of Parks Design & Development for the City of Brantford and the designer of the Mohawk Park playground, says inclusiveness and accessibility is always a priority when designing parks for the city.
"I think it's very very important," she said. It's definitely at the top of our list and if we had more budget available it'd be something that we considered for all the playgrounds but unfortunately materials cost a lot and its difficult to maintain that level of standard in all parks, especially since not all playgrounds are designed as destination parks like Mohawk Park is. But what we do at the city and what is very important is having a bit of inclusivity in every playground".
Wellsman also spoke on being recognized by Landscape Ontario and what it meant to the city.
"It means the world; I think this is something that we should shout from the rooftops, something to be really proud of, every department in the City of Brantford in some way had a hand in commenting on this project," she said. "Our parks maintenance crew work really hard to maintain the park and keep it looking good, keep all the play features running. And everybody behind the whole project from the consultants, to the playground supplier, to the landscape construction company who built the park, I think this project turned out so well and is so well loved by the community that its something to be proud of for a long time."
Landscape Ontario’s Awards of Excellence is an annual competition that celebrates excellence in design and craftsmanship in landscape construction, maintenance, lighting and irrigation projects. Submissions are judged by a panel of horticulture industry experts.
Listen to the CJKS interview below: