Huge fundraising effort gives students spirit of adventure

After six years of fundraising, planning and building, Katanning Primary School’s nature play area officially opened last Thursday.

Staff, students and families came to see the school’s P&C president Tenelle Quartermaine cut red and blue ribbons along the water pump for the grand opening.

“It’s a special feature — the water travels along a carved channel in a giant log and falls from there into a stony creek and travels to a small pond,” school principal Anita Wills said.

“The new play area also in-cludes sandpits, tunnels, hills, a tepee, logs, a fairy garden, boulders and some shrubbery to hide and play in. “It’s been a huge team and community effort.”

Ms Quartermaine said the P&C group had raised $10,000 for the project.

“We did quite a number of raffles, a clean-up at the Katanning Show and things like that over those few years,” Ms Quartermaine said.

“Local businesses also do-nated goods, services and exper-tise and made equipment avail-able to us at no cost or reduced cost.”

P&C members and friends of the school provided the labour.

“We’re really excited about it, the students had already been using it and have given us great feedback,” she said.

“It’s also a fluid project, so it will change as students change and things can get added.”