REGINA — It’s an emotional day for the Turnbull family.
Ground has broken on a new accessible playground at École Wilfrid Walker Community School, where seven-year-old Blake Turnbull attends. Blake, who has spina bifida, talked about her excitement.
“I'll get to play on it,” she said at an announcement on Tuesday.
Blake said she’s excited to pop wheelies in her wheelchair and play with others on the site.
Her mother, Ward 5 Coun. Sarah Turnbull, an established accessibility advocate, said this means a great deal for her family.
“This impacts our family hugely because she gets to play side by side with other kids.”
Years ago, Sarah acknowledged that she often heard accessibility improvements described as unrealistic.
“A lot of times you're told that it's not realistic or it's impossible or don't do this, don't challenge the status quo and don't do that and then up five years later and the standards are changed.”
When Blake was only two years old, Sarah said the city only had two accessible playgrounds. Now, Regina has six accessible playgrounds, with two more coming in 2026 via improvements to current playgrounds.
“So really, if we can start to take those [barriers] down bit by bit and if it's one playground at a time, that's one more playground they can go.”
Sarah reflected on the importance of representation and inclusion in early childhood spaces, saying there is real value in helping children feel like they belong through accessible playgrounds.
“You have just as much value as any other child. You are worth just as much. You're going to do great things.”
The playground itself will be over 3,800 square feet, including adaptive swings, a wheelchair-accessible rocker, a musical instrument station, an accessible mini merry-go-round, and more.
It was first announced in September as part of the province's $3.75 million grant investment into accessible playgrounds over the next four years.
The province invested $50,000 into the playground, while the City of Regina also contributed funding.
The total cost of the playground is $300,000.
Construction on the playground will begin in July, with an expected opening in late August.
