Project Playground brings the joy back to Eskdale School

Located in Esk Valley, Hawkes Bay, the semi-rural Eskdale School has just over 300 students from years one to eight. When Cyclone Gabrielle made landfall in 2023, Eskdale School was one of the hardest hit in the region.

While the classrooms were thankfully spared, the grounds were another story. With knee-high silt and damaged septic tanks, the students and staff were displaced for four months, operating out of sports clubs and community spaces until June of last year.

While the grounds were repaired after the school was rezoned from Category 3 back to Category 1 in November, there still wasn’t much in the way of challenging play for the students, particularly the older ones at the school.

During the events of Cyclone Gabrielle, almost a third of students were impacted or displaced from flooded homes. After these traumatic experiences, there was a strong need to provide an environment where the kids could return to a bit of normality, a place where they could just be kids.

Mitre 10 Helping Hands had reached out to a few impacted schools in the aftermath of the cyclone and Eskdale were keen for a hand - not just to rebuild, but to go a little bit beyond that and bring in some much-needed obstacle type equipment to challenge the seniors more and bring joy to the kids.

The result was a six metre tall climbing net, the school’s number one choice for giving the kids a fun, engaging and challenging play area. Mitre 10 MEGA Napier supported the build by supplying timber surrounds and materials, safety fencing, plus they organised the bark spreading and put on a BBQ for opening day.

Principal Tristan Cheer was thrilled. “When Mitre 10 contacted us to ask if they could lend a hand, we jumped at the opportunity to make this dream a reality” he told us. “We’ve long had a strong need for more challenging equipment - for our older kids, something we’d have to fundraise for, a task in itself that just takes a long time as things fall down the priority list.”

"The opening day was a lot of fun," Rob Bowring, Mitre 10's Head of Brand & Trade Marketing, said. "The kids were stoked to race each other to the top of the net. Even Principal Cheer had a go. There was a real sense of excitement, and we were chuffed to have played a part in bringing this play space to life."

Stephen Ricketts, Owner of Mitre 10 MEGA Napier & Hastings, told us “It’s all about giving back to the communities that have supported us. The communities we’re a part of have been so good to us, it’s only right to do what we can for them when the opportunity presents itself.”

Mitre 10 worked with leading local design and installation company Playground People to ensure this play space caters to the ages and needs of the tamariki, with the aim of keeping children engaged in active play throughout their primary school years.