Seldom at the opening of a new park in Calgary, is the word pride uttered.

More frequently phrases like active living and community building are used, and that has a large part to do with the majority of communities in Calgary already having a sense of community pride.

Most communities don’t have residents whose dream is to move away.

But with the opening of a new Forest Lawn Park, located on 26 Avenue SE next to Holy Cross and Ian Bazalgette School, that is about to change—at least according to Forest Lawn Community Association President Gar Gar.

“They were saying, ‘there’s so much that we don’t even think about, it’s just a matter of time to move out and to move into a different place,'” he said.

“But today changes that story. It says the opportunity for the kids to live here, grow here, and have that dignity and the pride to be able to say I had lived here.”

The new park space has been upgraded with basketball courts, seating areas, a gazebo, and a soon-to-be complete full-size children’s playground, which replaced an open field, two swing sets, and a tiny playground.

“Before it was like stepping into wilderness. Every time a kid comes to school, it’s like, ‘this is the best place?’ There’s nothing except their video games, except to play in their backyard or something,” said Gar Gar.

“This is actually now stepping into their future. They can help shape that future by having those amenities.”

The long-term effect was that kids would no longer go to hang out at Marlborough Mall or the Marlborough LRT Station after school, he said.

Basketball in demand

Instead, they would have the opportunity to play some basketball, something he said was in such high demand that the community association decided to open the courts early before the rest of the park was ready.

Between 50 and 60 kids regularly play basketball at the courts, even before the full park opening.

“I can really feel the community pride in this space. It feels like we’ve created a home within this community for the people that live here, and the excitement is palpable,” said Sheila Taylor, CEO of Parks Foundation Calgary.

“Everyone’s coming out and can’t almost believe the transformation that has happened. It’s surprising, but they’re overjoyed at the same time.”

Among those individuals who were overjoyed, almost to the point of tears, was resident Sarah Abbott, who has lived in Forest Lawn with her husband Jordan for the past two years.

“It was a blank field… and we would just pray out like, ‘God, would you bring us space that is for the community to come, that the kids would come, they would feel safe, and it would just gather everyone like big empty space not being used for anything,'” Abbott said.

The family, who moved from the west side of the city to the east, said that it was shocking to see the difference between the investment into park infrastructure on one side of the city versus the other.

“I remember going back to the west side. I went down to Edworthy Park, and they were redoing one of their parks and they were taking out the initial park that was there and replacing it with a brand new one. I thought this park is beautiful the way that it is,” said Abbott.

“Take what’s there and put it here in this place. It just broke my heart. It brings me great tears of joy to see all of this here.”

New playground to replace a single slide

The pair were directly involved in fundraising for the park, which was also supported by Parks Foundation Calgary, The City of Calgary, the Government of Alberta, Sofina Foundation, Alberta Blue Cross, Forest Lawn Community Association, the Calgary Foundation, and the Calgary Flames Foundation.

The initial phase of construction cost approximately $960,000, which included the community spaces and basketball courts. Phase two, with the full-sized playground, cost approximately $700,000 and was funded by the City of Calgary’s Playground Amenities Program.

“When we build parks, it is always a combination of local leadership, political support and the incredible work of the Parks Foundation that plugs into Calgary’s incredible school pool of benefactors. East Calgary, east of the Deerfoot, has for a long time, lacked a lot of those ingredients. So I’m unbelievably proud of the local leadership that has advocated for this and helped make it happen,” said Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra.

He said that the Greater Forest Lawn area is an amazing part of Calgary, that has unfortunately been frequently abandoned and forgotten by decision makers.

“If you live in a place that is visibly abandoned and forgotten and run down, you tell yourself a story about who you are and where you come from. The reality is, the communities of Greater Forest Lawn are amazing. It’s where Calgary lives together. It’s true that it’s slightly lower income than than the than the city, but it is also incredibly diverse,” Coun. Carra said.

“We know that when youth have nothing to do, bad things happen. We know when they are engaged and can play and can play basketball and have safe, vibrant, beautiful places to play, it results in better outcomes.”

He said that there would be positive dividends from having the park next to schools, the community association, and the new Youth Centres of YYC building.