Ed Thompson Inclusive Park

Video features a Landscape Structures partnered inclusive playground with Inclusion Matters at Ed Thompson Inclusive Park in Pearland Texas.

[video: scene fades into an elevated view of a inclusive play area next to a large building and inclusive baseball field. Scene switches to a woman as she speaks about the playground. White text appears on the screen reading “Kelly Moody, Special Events and Development Manager, Peraland Parks and Recreation, Pearland, TX”.]

Kelly: Pearland takes pride in being a diverse community and an inclusive community.

Kelly voiceover: What this playground means to the people that we’ve talk to it’s a place for everybody to play. It’s a place that there’s nothing else like it nearby. And so now we have it here in our city.

[video: a large arch sign created to look like two pear trees connected by leaves reads “Ed Thompson Inclusive Park”. The camera focuses in on the text on the sign and the different designed pears images on the trees. Two women sit on a see saw while one of the women holds her son on her lap. A girl kneeling on a wobble pod wiggles back and forth. A second girl walks up to sit on the pod as it continues to wiggle. Camera focuses on the girl’s feet as they stand on the wobble pod and giggler. Camera focuses on the girl’s faces as they look down at their feet. Camera switches back to Kelly as she continues to speak.]

Kelly: Why we chose to partner with Inclusion Matters was because it’s not just about a playground and playground equipment.

Kelly voiceover: It’s about providing the programming and the opportunity to foster inclusive play that this playground will bring.

[video: bird’s eye view panning over the entire play area as children play on the different activities. A boy wearing a helmet and a bib rides down a slide. A girl sits on a bench of a playground carousel with her friend seating in his wheelchair while a parent gently spins them. Scene switches to a parent talking about the playground. White text on the screen reads “Wendy Lentino, T21 Families Support Organization, Pearland, TX”.]

Wendy: I’m a parent of a little girl that’s 5 years old with Down Syndrome.

Kelly voiceover: I run a local nonprofit called T21 Family Outreach, it started originally as a group for only families with a child with Down Syndrome. And now we started with four families four years ago, we have about 130 families now. So, and we just in November branched off and made it our own nonprofit.

Kelly: So, it’s like, victory [smiles, raise fists in a cheering gesture.]

[video: camera slowly pans around the play area as children play at the many inclusive play activities. Pear accents and designs appear amongst the activity’s safety surfacing and more. Children look through window cut outs in the shapes of different sized pears of a sensory tunnel. Children look around the tunnel and play with the movable marbles strung alongside the window cut outs. A girl hangs from handholds off the playground. A boy uses mallets to play an outdoor xylophone. A mother sits with her son on her lap while a young girl sits next to her on a militiaperson see saw. Camera focuses on the young girl wearing purple glasses and a red headband to help hold her cochlear implant hearing aid.]

Kelly voiceover: We have members of our group that live all around here. They’re able to do things at this playground like they’re climbing on the bars by themselves without us lifting them. The fact that there mixing with just typical children today is huge.

[video: Women and their children ride together on a four-person seesaw. A young girl stands at the top of a ladder holding onto movable hand holds on parallel bars. She lets her feet fall away from the top ladder rung to then slide the hand holds down the bars to the other side. Two girls take turns climbing up a loop ladder climber. A boy wheels himself onto a wheelchair accessible swing while his friend waits across from him on the other side of the swing. Camera focuses on the boys wheelchair wheels as he backs up into the designated wheelchair location on the swing. The boy lowers his hand holds as his friend sits across from him on the swing. The camera pulls back as the boy and girl push their hand holds to move the swing. A mother and son push from the outside of the swing to help get it moving. Scene switches to woman wearing scrubs as she speaks about the playground. White text on the screen reads “Tiffany Martinez, Pearland Resident”.

Tiffany: The little things is what matter, being able to take her wheelchair on the playground for her to interact.

Tiffany voiceover: My favorite par is being able to walk her up to the playground in her wheelchair without having to carry her.

[video: girl seating in her wheelchair spins a stand-up spinner with one of her hands. Scene switches to Tiffany and the young girl.]

Tiffany: What did you think of the playground?

Girl: Huh?

Tiffany: What did you think of the playground?

Girl: I like it!

[video: scene fades out and back into a girl as she spins on a lime green stand-up spinner. The camera follows along side a boy as he rides down a roller slide. A dad and mother kneel on either side of a store front panel while their daughter drinks from a water bottle. A boy wearing a helmet and bib sits on the beach of the inclusive wheelchair accessible swing. He pushes the hand holds to move the swing. Scene fades out and back into a woman as she helps push a girl on the swing. Another girl swings nearby. Scene fades out and back into a girl as she drops her feet from the playground decking and holds onto the sliding hand holds of the horizontal parallel bars. She swings her body and slides the hand holds to move across the bars. Screen jumps to white. The Lone Star Recreation logo appears in the center of the screen. The logo is quickly replaced by gray text reading “with”. A black vertical line appears in the center of the screen. The Inclusion Matters by Shane’s Inspiration logo slides out to the right of the line. Then the Landscape Structures logo slides out to the left of the line. Text fades in below both logos reading: For a better tomorrow we play today. Screen fades to black and video ends.]