Calgary Public Library’s Signal Hill location is getting an Outdoor Early Learning Centre

The Calgary Public Library Foundation has a new project in the works. It's raising money for an Outdoor Early Learning Centre at the Signal Hill location.

The Calgary Public Library Foundation is raising funds to build an Outdoor Early Learning Centre filled with permanent play structures, imagination spaces, and intuitive design elements to incorporate nature into the constructed learning environment.

“We are launching the Pathway to Play campaign in support of building an Outdoor Early Learning Centre at the Signal Hill Library,” said Tracy Johnson, the foundation’s CEO.

“It’s for kids to come and play and expand our library footprint a bit so that we can make it an even better library for Calgary.”

Johnson says of the 22 Calgary library locations, the foundation has 13 early learning centres, with the Signal Hill location being the second outdoor space—the first was at the Forest Lawn Library, built in 2017.

“We’re looking at a $400,000 fundraising goal,” said Johnson.

“Of which we’ve raised half at this point, there’s lots of excitement to continue to raise more over the next couple of months, with plans to open in the summer.”

Johnson says the new space will feature three dedicated areas: a performance stage, a sensory play space with a climbing wall and nature kitchen, and a physical activities area.

“It’s a little bit more up on the hill, right around the pathway coming down,” she said.

“It will have balance spaces and more running and jumping for kids to really emphasize physical literacy that’s so important.”

The library receives nearly seven million visits each year between all of its city locations and has more than 818,000 members.

The foundation’s role is as a fundraising body for the Calgary Public Library, with a goal to make the library better through donor support.

“The library has a fundamental role to play in children’s literacy development,” said Johnson.

“We know that 90 per cent of brain development happens before the age of five, so before they’re ever even in school, so we see ourselves playing a big role in that, and that’s why we have these amazing early learning spaces.”

Six-year-old June Legate and her nine-year-old brother, Ford, are weekly users of the Signal Hill Library along with their mom and dad.

“Sometimes we go in and we stay together,” she said.

“But most of the time, me and Ford want to see the science books.”

June learned of the fundraising campaign from her dad, Evan, and now she is donating all the coins she gets from her parents to the new project.

June has even invited her friends in the Girl Guides of Canada Sparks branch to see the library and has encouraged them to donate as well.

June has drawn her vision of the new outdoor space and hopes there’s a zipline included.

“Because it’s really fun because it’s kind of like a slide, but you keep on going straight, like you don’t go face down; you keep on going straight,” she said.

“I (drew) a slide and these things where you can hop on to go onto the monkey bars if you’re a bit too small for it, and I did a seesaw and a swing.”

Evan says he’s proud of his daughter and her mini fundraising campaign.

“It’s great to see that she’s such a great community helper from such a young age,” he said.

“I’m involved as a volunteer with the library. I love the library, and it just really warms my heart to see my daughter at such a young age also caring so much about the library and the community.”

You can learn more about the fundraising campaign at PathwaytoPlay.ca.