D.J. Butler Playground – Rockingham

It’s the day before a big blow. From origins deep in the Caribbean basin, Bill’s punching his way north creating surging swells in Bermuda, surfing badboys in New Jersey and New York. In Eastern Passage, Bill is making sure we’re getting out to a playground in case the next day’s storming forces us to remain indoors.

Thanks to a tip from Taralee, we are looping along Flamingo Drive in search of the D.J. Butler Playground (map). Actually it would be hard to miss as Taralee did provide us the Google Map coordinates. The Rockingham Residents’ Association dedicated five years to transforming the former baseball field with three aging pieces of playground equipment into the little treasure it is today (photos). On the journey they had some help from the municipality, the province, Kinsmen, Saturn/Saab/Isuzu, Chebucto West Community Health Board and Ocean Contractors Limited.

D.J. Butler has a number of unique touches mostly in the form of equipment we haven’t come across anywhere else. For instance there is the double seater bumblebee all striped up and ready for buzzing. The rainbowed geodesic dome with its six triangled hexagons is inviting brave, hearty climbers on scaling height adventures. It’s no small feat to climb almost to the top and then have to back your way down.

It’s the toddler set that’s in for a real treat here. Their play area is not the standard fare that we’ve become used to in most Greater Halifax playgrounds. There is less composite plastic material and more wood. Nellie loves the climbing challenges which mirror those for the older kids just across the way. These ones are scaled for her. She is right at it – testing herself, trying new things, pulling her body up and over. How cute can it get – there is one climbing board that has an assortment of fruits as the hand and footholds. She isn’t quite strong enough for this one yet but that doesn’t stop her from giving it a good couple of attempts. In addition to the climbing fun, there is a rope bridge and a wooden bridge that lead to roofed areas and slides. The entire toddler activity centre has a rubberized ground covering that’s springy to the step and a great cushion for those unexpected but inevitable tumbles.

Nellie can’t be contained in toddlerville. She races after Noah into big kids’ land. It’s not long before she discovers where the steps are to take her up on the platforms that give access to two slides. It’s no surprise that Nellie homes in on the higher of two platforms choosing the slide with the double flying hump. This all seems way too elevated for our girl who’s not yet two. There she is on the precipice looking out nonchalantly. She launches herself and with a whizz and a wheeeeee she clears the two humps but not without my heart skipping a beat. I velcro myself to slideside for ensuing Nellie extreme playground activity. This time there are no unfortunate mishaps. There have been mild head bonks and tears though on more than one previous occasion.

Noah is vertical boy today. It’s up, up, up and away. He’s a billy goat testing every ladder, every climbing board and of course the geodesic dome. He looks for chances to pull away from gravity and is more sure-footed with each outing. Now he also wants to grab onto whatever monkey bar apparatus he can hang down from and for added measure flies through the air on the ball bearinged handle that zips between two posts along a beam seven feet off the ground.

Fortunately Nellie is back over in toddlerville. She goes about her play very independently. There are no, “Papa, regarde ça” calls. It’s up the steps, over the bridge and down the slide. Repeat once, twice, multiple times. This allows me to focus almost my full attention on the dangling acrobat while I steal the occasional glance over my shoulder to ensure that Nellie is not engineering the great escape.

At the five minutes, time to go warning, they zoom down their respective slides. It’s a rush and a run back to the swings for a toes brushing sky finale. Alternating pushes propel Noah and Nellie higher and higher. They giggle. laugh and glance at each other while calling out for still bigger pushes. We log more time on swings than any other piece of playground equipment. They are guaranteed exhilaration, a sure thing that never tires.

We will be back to D.J. Butler. There is a varied assortment of well maintained equipment that presents fun and challenges for different age sets. The grounds are well maintained with numerous picnic benches and shade trees around the perimeter. For the older kids, or parents, there are basketball and tennis courts.

Limited unmetered parking is available on Flamingo Drive and surrounding streets. If you’re travelling by bus, the numbers 18 and 35 stop in both directions right beside the park. If you want to prolong your outing and get for a good walk far from the madding crowds, try the Hemlock Ravine Park which is just a little further north along the Bedford Highway.

I cannot find any googleprint for D.J. Butler and am curious who the park is named after. Also, try as I might with my best observation powers – not one flamingo sighting.

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