IT boasts a small running track,
courts for ball games and even
an area for BMX bikes and
skateboarding. But at Molendinar
Park in Glasgow's east end,
broken glass is also scattered on
steps and there is a distinct lack of
children, despite it being a sunny - if
cold - Friday afternoon after school.
That changes when the play rangers
from PEEK turn up, armed with some
hula hoops and balls. Around a dozen
children appear from nearby houses and
a local community centre, and are soon
running around the park.
Miranda Munro, one of the play
rangers, explains that it is up to the
children to decide which activities they
will take part in - which can range
from old favourites like hide and seek
to sports such as tennis.
"If we provide the equipment they
will pick it up and play with it anyway.
If there is athletics stuff, they will touch
it out of curiosity," she says. "They
really take to new equipment and
new games, instead of the same old
games of tag."
Far from having to wear gym gear,
there are children running around in a
variety of outfits, ranging from school
uniforms to a Spider-Man costume
and even a Disney princess dress.
Kimberley, eight, says she likes
playing "tig and stuff". It's difficult to
get Michael, 10, to stand still long
enough to ask him any questions,
but he pauses to list football and
basketball as his favourite activities,
before sprinting off to take part in a
relay race.
Ellie Shields, who is from St Paul's
Youth Forum, a local church group
based in Provanmill, which works in
partnership with PEEK, says: "It
used to be difficult getting the kids
to use this park. There was so much
money spent on it, but it was just not
getting used.
"Children would not come down
and use the park, as parents were
concerned it was not safe - there is
not a lot of light in winter. But they
have that reassurance when we are
here."
Shields says that incidents of
vandalism at the park had stopped
since the group began using it last
April, as the children now had more
pride in their park.
"There is so much here for the kids
it is a shame to waste it," she adds.
From Sunday Herald
http://www.peekproject.org.uk/articles/article.php?sectionID=1&articleID=1
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