Scene 2: First Sight

28 October 2013

Backstory: Meeting with our liaison was an important event scheduled for our first day in the field. We did not realize the proximity of the Parks Department Office to Maitland Garden Village. In fact, it is right across the street. Ronell left us in Gavin’s hands as we walked from her house towards the office to meet with our liaison. Having left plenty of extra time for first day setbacks, Gavin took us through the village and to the office by way of Perseverance Park.

Cast of Characters:

MGV Park Team: Lucine, Tyler, Katherine, and Zack

Community Members: Gavin Jacobs, Man on the Slide

Setting: Maitland Garden Village, Perseverance Park

Scene:

After chatting with Ronell, we set out with Gavin for the Parks Department. He shared an abundance of information about the village with us. He pointed out various buildings and street names.  He explained that family units have been living in the village for about five generations. The houses were built from the center of the village to the outskirts, design and style changing as they reach the outer streets. While intently listening to Gavin and clenching onto every word, we did not realize where we were until he stopped in front of Perseverance Park. We looked into the park from Perseverance Road, taking in all that we could of the place that we will be working for the next seven weeks. Aside from the park equipment, there was one thing we immediately noticed in the park. There was a man around the age of 20 smoking on the base of the slide. This is definitively not what we had expected to see. The park seemed abandoned and there were no children running and laughing around the play area. As we stood there for a brief period of time, Gavin mentioned that the crèche used to bring the children to play at the park during the day, but this has since stopped due to the poor safety conditions and vandalism that takes place. This really brought our project into perspective. Although the park was not as we expected it to be, we gained a lot of insight about the opportunities a redeveloped park could bring to the community.

Reflection:

When thinking of park activity, one may think of the abundant laughter, running, and yelling of children. However, there was none of this occurring in Perseverance Park when we observed it for the first time. This just made us realize what a developed park could bring to the community. Currently, the space has the potential to bring more laughter and energy into the village. We hope that we can accomplish this in creating an enjoyable community space for people of all ages. We want the park to be used to its fullest potential as a natural environment, with childhood development and community involvement being key aspects of its success.