The Friends of the Helen Schuler Nature Centre Society has been selected as part of the Lowe's Canada Heroes campaign. This means that Lowe’s Lethbridge will be collecting donations on our behalf throughout the month of September!
Lowe’s will be collecting donations of $2, $5, or $10 by asking customers at check-out if they would like to contribute. Lowe’s Canada will match 50% of all customer donations up to a maximum of $2,000 per store.
What are we fundraising for?
A Loose Parts Playground at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre.
Loose parts play uses simple, everyday items to create open-ended play opportunities for children.
What is a Loose-Parts Playground?
Loose parts play objects can be used and combined in endless ways!
“Loose-Parts” is a term that refers to any material that can be moved, carried, stacked, or altered.
A Loose-Parts Playground is a name for an open-ended, self-directed and imaginative play area. Unlike “normal” playgrounds or most toys, Loose-Parts Playgrounds are open ended and reusable in an infinite number of ways depending on the child's needs for development!
Loose-Parts Playgrounds are becoming more popular as they are recognized as an excellent way to encourage creative thinking and well-being. Since play is a child’s first method of engaging with the world, a Loose-Parts Playground provides stimulating materials that children can use to learn how the world works.
What is the Nature Centre planning?
Helen Schuler Nature Centre partnered with the Lethbridge College’s Early Childhood Education program to offer the first Loose-Parts Playground in Lethbridge in 2018 at Spring Nature Fest! This provided our community with a transformative experience that we would like to make available more regularly at our public facility.
The Nature Centre is currently planning to develop their own Loose-Parts Playground that would be available to our community.
How would the Nature Centre benefit from support?
We are hoping to raise $10,000 in support of a Loose Parts Playground at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre. By making a charitable donation towards this goal, we would be able to acquire high-quality durable materials that will support loose-parts play for many years to come.
Why is this important and needed by our community?
Play is an integral part of healthy human development. As a community we are dedicated to prioritizing play for all children and youth. As signatories of the “Lethbridge Plays Charter” we are committed to:
Support play that encourages physical, emotional, and social development.
Embrace the geography and climate of Lethbridge by supporting play all year round.
Educate and inform our community about the value of play.
Encourage risky play to promote the development of risk taking skills.
Celebrate and share our experiences with play.
The “Lethbridge Play Charter” is inspired by Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
How Can I Help?
There are a few ways you can help support this fundraiser:
Make a donation in-store at Lowe’s Lethbridge
Tell your friends & family about the fundraiser and encourage them to also make a donation
Consider becoming a monthly donor to support our mission & vision!
Loose parts play boosts creativity, improves social and problem-solving skills and supports inclusion.