Petra Hekkenberg, Outdoor Play Area

Outdoor Play Area Child Care In 2020 Petra got a contract to make the design for the outdoor play area of the new child care in her home town New Denver, Goat Mountain Kids Centre. At the start of 2021 she was commissioned by School District 10 Arrow Lakes to implement the play features of her design including a 24 ft long interactive mural. The following photos show the details of the mural and all the different play features. The local Jones Building Services assisted Petra with constructing a part of the play features, while Petra focussed on constructing and painting the mural, activity board, shade structure and the overall project management. The landscaping, storage shed and slide area was done by local contractor Laurie Hicks.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care Interactive mural. The biggest undertaking of the project was an interactive mural. Petra did the design, paint work and installation. Everything is cut out by hand and professional protective coats make the artwork durable for years to come. The goal of the mural is to educate young children (1-5) in a playful way about cultural aspects and the nature relevant to the Slocan Valley. It illustrates the Sinixt culture and their stories, local flora and fauna, the food culture of both settlers and Sinixt People, and the local scenery of New Denver. In order to illustrate the Sinixt Culture as accurate as possible, Petra collaberated with Sinixt Nation, local to the interior plateau of BC, Canada. Petra would like to thank School District 10 Arrow Lakes and Sinixt Nation for their support.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care The puzzle. The food illustrated on the mural and typical to settler's and the Sinixt culture, can be 'harvested' by the children as puzzle pieces and taken over to the mud kitchen. There are 9 puzzle pieces total: Relevant to settler's gardening culture are the apple, garlic and carrot. The traditional Sinixt foods are the native arrow leaved balsam root (an edible sunflower), huckle berries, hazezlnuts, glacier lily roots, bull trout and salmon. In Sinixt culture it is tradition to start any ceremony with a root, nut and berrie dish.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care Chalkboard. On the side of the shed is a chalk board integrated in the landscape. The dark grey mountain is Mt. Denver with the iconic New Denver Glacier, which is visible from anywhere in town. The glacier (now icefield) is melting rapidly and people expect it will not be around much longer.
The chalk board is set back in the mural and has a little cedar chalk shelf at the bottom. Any chalk that might be drawn onto the mural itself can be removed easily due to the hard protective coating.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care Sturgeon Nose Canoe. In the painted scenery around the chalkboard you find Slocan Lake with a Sinixt family in a traditional sturgeon nose canoe, out for hunting. The animals illustrated on this side are the bald eagle, grey jay, sturgeon, rainbow trout and the caribou.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care Mountain caribou. The mountain caribou is native but currently not found in New Denver area anymore. Extra reason to illustrate this magestic animal for the children to see and learn about.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care New Denver Glacier. On the side of the shed is a chalk board integrated in the landscape as Mt Denver. The New Denver Glacier is melting rapidly. Expectations are that this iconic glacier to New Denver will be gone before most children at the child care become adults.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care Three time-lapses of painting the exterior mural for Goat Mountain Kids Centre, taken with a phone on the go. The mural was painted indoors on panels in the depth of winter and installed outdoors in the Spring.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care The apple thief!

Outdoor Play Area Child Care The chipmunk family to enjoy the apple and hazelnuts. Chipmunks play a role in many of the Sinixt stories. This family can be found on the mural under the gardens. Hopefully they don't like garlic as much as we do in New Denver!

Outdoor Play Area Child Care The mountain goats! Not to be missed, these incredible animals are part of the local alpine and of course the name of the child care itself: Goat Mountain Kids Centre. The child care's name is derived from the mountain next to it, which is called (and you might guess it) Goat Mountain! The Goat Mountain Kids Society received their the society status from Goat Mountain School, which has been active in New Denver area since the 70ies and was waiting for the right initiative to take over. Thank you 'Old Goats'!

Outdoor Play Area Child Care Signed by Petra. In the left corner you see a glimpse of the historic pictographs that are found on Slocan Lake.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care The xylophone. In a patch of berches, a xylophone pops out. The xylophone is tuned, so songs can be attempted with any type of stick! In the berches you find a black bear with a cub. Black bears are a common sighting in New Denver, especially when the fruit on the trees are ripe. Education of residents about bear safety and is an ongoing effort in order to prevent encounters and both protect humans as the bears.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care The activity board. Great for toddlers to learn how to use every-day objects. The outdoor board is protected from the rain by a roof and mounted close to the entry of the centre, so a welcome distraction for the children (and teachers) if they are waiting to leave or enter.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care The mud kitchen. To spark the children's imagination and bake up some delicious 'organic' meals for the teachers. The bowl is removable.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care The bridge. This sturdy bridge makes any form of transport more interesting and adds greenery to the asphalt and re-purposed chain link fence. Great for walking and anything on wheels. The planters prevent children from falling off the sides and the children can have their own mini garden. The style is taken from a Japanese garden moon bridge. The Japanese culture plays an important historical role in New Denver.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care The slide. The Slocan Lake Early learning Society (New Denver Nursery School) donated an old slide to the project, to great joy of the goat mountain kids! The hill that was part of the small outdoor area made a perfect embankment and the platform on top can be used as a stage as well. Laurie Hicks did a great job landscaping this area, thank you Laurie!

Outdoor Play Area Child Care The shade structure. With a limited budget but the wish for extra shade, the chainlink fence poles were repurposed to support a seasonal shade fabric. Local Gitta Ridder professionally made the shade fabric. If there is more funding available in the future, the daycare can consider investing in a permanent shade sail or other structure. Thank you Gitta!

Outdoor Play Area Child Care The process. In the design process Petra Hekkenberg consulted with four parties: Her client MQN Architects, School District 10 Arrow Lakes, the Goat Mountain Kids Design Committee and Sinixt Nation (for the mural). Interaction with the user group, the children, was limited due to Covid-19. Two design concepts were presented and "Green Fingers' was chosen to become the final design.

Outdoor Play Area Child Care The mural process. This mural was a first for Petra Hekkenberg but driven by passion, when she wants something to happen, it will happen! The combination of using double layers of MDO panels, cut outs, a door, corners (including a south facing wall), mountain climate, an integrated puzzle, chalk board and two music instruments that blend into the illustration sure did not make this a humble first! The mural has been succesfully installed since April 2021 and is expected to last for many years to come. The Slocan Lake Arts Council has generously offered to cover any maintenance costs that might have to be done in the coming 4 years.