Norton Community Playground & Legacy Park

We would like to THANK the following people and businesses for donating food for Build Day this Saturday:

Peter Totton

The Country Butcher

Kredl's Corner Market

Sussex Valley Vegetable Farms Inc

John E. Goullette

Sysco

Portage staff & students

Calvin's Restaurant

*******

When we began this project, we made a list of desired outcomes (you can see them HERE). We wanted to create a place that was safe and welcoming, where residents of all ages could gather. We wanted to create a feeling of ownership and remind our community that when everyone works together a lot can be accomplished. As such, we have since the beginning referred to this playground as a community playground. It will not just be a playground for the elementary-aged students who attend the school. This will be a place where all ages and everyone in the community can gather. So this is most definitely going to be the Norton Community Playground.

Another outcome we hoped to achieve was to create a snowball effect where other projects would be conceived and completed in the near future. As such we are already beginning to leave a legacy since we will be creating so much more than just a playground this Saturday. We will also be creating an outdoor classroom, flower gardens, a butterfly garden, and painting murals and improving the school, as well as creating a quiet picnic area.

Perhaps one of the most important outcomes we hoped to achieve when this all began was to help teach our children and youth to be engaged, appreciative, responsible, and respectful of what they have and what they can offer to future generations. We hope to begin projects and commemorative pieces which will be located in the Legacy Park area of the playground that will display the wonderful history of Norton and the loving, community-minded people who have called Norton home. And we hope to have the youth involved with these projects.

There are many stories to be told and we did not want to limit the dedication of the park to just one person so we decided a community legacy would be much better. This way everyone has a chance to leave behind a legacy and have their story heard for generations to come.