Raetihi Playcentre doubles area

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 276, 28 February 1989, Page 3

Raetihi Playcentre doubles area

Raetihi Playcentre kids now have a "mucky play area" to use all year-round.

Until this year the children have had to limit their water play, clay play, finger painting, carpentry and other, so-called "mucky play" to outside. This means those activities were limited to the warmer months. Now the children have an inside concreted area to be "mucky" to their

heart's content (within the tolerance level of the supervisors). Volunteers have been working on the finishing touches to extensions to the playcentre in Duncan Street, which have almost doubled the floor area of the building and include the concrete floor area.

Parents of the playcentre children as well as other members of the Raetihi community provided voluntary labour for the project. The Playcentre Committee took on the contract to build the extension, and Raetihi building contractor Colin Fredericksen has done the lion's share of the work, say Play-

centre staff. He directed parents in the project and co-ordinated the construction. Materials for the project have been mostly paid for from fund raising over a two year period, with Horne Brothers donating the windows. Work outside has included fixing up the fences for better child safety and tidying up the section.

Craig Ryland has provided the soil for section landscaping, said committee member Julia Martin. She said Ian Frame had provided an excavator and Michael Bright back bladed the soil. She said Waimarino District Council engineer Don Sattler has offered to back fill the section to lessen the steep grade in parts of the section.