MILLICENT’S younger population are likely to have a merrier Christmas than usual this year with the town’s new nature playground on track to be completed before the festive season.
Wattle Range Council engineering director Peter Halton said workers would be kept busy completing the project but had been successful working with the raw materials so far.
“We are currently working with the boulders that will be the infrastructure for a cubby house,” he said.
“We’re working with rocks and timber and we also have contractors putting in a custom-built slide.”
Mr Halton said construction crews were also painting, installing lights, setting up chairs and tables and also preparing to put in swings.
The tennis court fence will be rebuilt when the project nears completion, with further landscaping to be completed after summer.
The playground is part of council’s ambitious $2.1m Millicent Parklands and Civic Precinct redevelopment which has received federal and state government funding.
Mr Halton said construction was staying true to the concept plans created by school students and that a nature playground by design was created to challenge children.
“Nature playgrounds are for parents and children to explore together and we recommend that parents supervise their children until they feel confident enough to explore by themselves,” he said.
“It’s about children getting out of their comfort zone in a safe environment.”
Project manager David Wallis said works had been attracting public attention.
“We’re putting lights around The Domain but also lights inside the tunnel that goes through the boulder infrastructure,” he said.
“The tunnel will have a soft flooring and there will also be a rubber flooring around the base of the boulders for safety.”
Mr Wallis said contractors had ensured the playground’s base was secure, with the tree for the cubby being six-foot deep inside the stone structure.
He said the structure itself was solid and compacted with soil, with crews frequently climbing it.
The project also involves working with various schools and kindergartens to have Indigenous stencils honouring the Boandik people on the inside of the tunnels and there will also be a boomerang shaped amphitheatre.
“We are currently mapping out where the nature trails are going to be and security cameras will be installed near the playgrounds and the skate park,” Mr Wallis said.
“The cubby house base will be made from 260 tonne of rock from local suppliers and there will also be entries and exits designed to look like mine shafts and cave entrances.”
In addition to council’s engineering team and the parks and gardens crew, Simon Hutchison of Climbing Tree Nature Play also consulted on the project.
Mr Hutchison has recently completed work on the Fossil Hunter’s playground at the Naracoorte Caves.
