By Suzanne Laurent
Staff writer
LONDONDERRY – fter two years of planning and fundraising the new playground on
Nelson Road is becoming a reality.
"We've raised $38,000 and the town has donated $125,000 from the
Recreation Department's impact fees," said Lara McIntyre, co-chairwoman
of the project. "The equipment will cost $110,000 and we need to come
up with the rest of the money needed to do surfacing, fencing and landscaping."
Members of PLAY are busy talking to landscaping vendors for discounted rates or
in-kind donations of materials and services. In 2006, when the old Nelson Road
playground became worn-down and unsafe, a group of Londonderry mothers who are
members of the local chapter of the Moms Offering Moms Support Club decided to
take matter in hand. They were tired of having to drive to neighboring towns to
use better playgrounds or having to wait until schools were out for the day to
use the school playgrounds.
"We wanted to have a new place for our own children to play before they got
too old," McIntyre said. She and her husband Randy have two sons, Liam, 5, a
nd Spencer, 4. They also have a daughter, Haley, 17, a senior at Londonderry High
School.
"We are having a playground naming contest," McIntyre said. "Entry
forms have been sent home to all the district's elementary school children,"
McIntyre said.
The new playground equipment is from Landscape Structures and there will be a separate
toddler area for 2- to 5-year-olds and another area for children ages 5 to 12.
"We have made the playground more accessible for all children in our updated plans,"
McIntyre said. "It's not entirely handicap accessible, but it will be easier to maneuver
around the structures."
Fundraising activities are still on-going. To find out about helping on the playground build
date, e-mail
Jess Lewis.
Please e-mail the MOMS Club at
nutfieldmomsclub@yahoo.com
for further information or questions.
