NES joined Nunn Construction, Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind staff and students, and many community members on August 28th, 2024 for an official ribbon cutting of the just completed playground. NES and Nunn Construction entered into a Design Build contract with the school in October 2023. Fast forward a quick 11 months to a state of the art fully customized ADA playground welcoming back students from summer break.
Several years ago, many students at the school initiated revamping their current playground (seen below).
The students realized that their current playground was not truly accessible to all students at the school. The school serves students with a varying range of physical needs, thus ideally needing a playground that supports each and every student.
Throughout the past year, NES worked extensively with the school’s Design Committee and Orientation & Mobility department and staff. The team meticulously discussed and decided upon every detail of this playground ranging from colors of handrails to specific Braille wayfinding signage to ensuring hooks for canes were easily and readily accessible. Our experienced NES team designed the playground as well as worked through numerous details during construction administration.
As the students waited patiently throughout the year and summer, having been promised a new playground the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, they were not disappointed. They walked into a playground that has strategic pathways, accompanying handrail, sensory instruments with music and pea gravel, many more swings, the Oodle swing, a 10 foot tower, bike and scooter track, wheelchair accessible equipment, and of course the kid-favorite spinners!
This was a project where NES staff were able to see first hand how their work has had and will have a positive life impact on many CSDB students and families for years to come!
Article in the Colorado Springs Gazette: CSDB Article
Photos by: Stephen Martin|@explorewithmedia
Special Thanks to Project Team: CSDB, Wember, Nunn Construction, Drexel Barrell, Rocky Mountain Recreation, Munding Irrigation
