Tara Jeffrey
A new skate park in Corunna is just what the neighbourhood needed, says Nicki Krohn.
“Kids are getting out of the house, off their devices, and making new friendships,” said the member of the Corunna Skatepark Committee, a grassroots group that spearheaded the $200,000 project which opened this summer. “It is literally all ages out there,” she added.
“I’ve seen everyone from a four-year-old to a 64-year-old using it.”
Krohn said it all started in a Facebook group, where a few Corunna residents posted about the need for a new skate park to help encourage local kids to get outside and stay active. So, a group of about ten volunteers joined forces to make it happen; they met via zoom, came up with a proposal and took it to St. Clair Township council. Council approved the project and agreed to cover half the cost, leaving the group to fundraise the remaining $100,000.
Thanks to local industry and sponsors like Home Hardware and the Moore Optimist Club, the group has raised about $50,000 so far. An official ribbon cutting took place during the town’s Captain Kidd Days festival in July.
The 7,200-square-foot park — featuring ramps, rails and halfpipes — built the by Canadian Ramp Company — is located at the northeast corner of the Corunna Athletic Park (CAP) and was buzzing with skateboard, scooter and cycling enthusiasts this summer, Krohn said.
Nearby, a bench has been installed at the park in memory of the late Darren Turner, a longtime community volunteer who passed away earlier this year. It was important for the group to honour their friend at the park where he spent countless hours, said Krohn, pointing to the Darren Turner Memorial Fund, launched to help make sports more accessible for local youth.
“Whether he was coaching kids in minor baseball or slinging beers for Captain Kidd Days, Darren was the first to lend a hand,” she said. “He was like, ‘Corunna’s Dad.’”