By Adam Donnelly

Cache Creek hoping to cash in with BCAA Play Here contest

Jun 7, 2018 | 5:20 PM

CACHE CREEK, B.C. — Almost two weeks ago, we told you about Pinantan Lake Elementary School’s efforts to earn your vote in BCAA’s Play Here contest. There’s another area school in the mix for a new play space: Cache Creek Elementary is also hoping for your vote to help them get a grant to revitalize their schoolyard.

The front entrance to Cache Creek Elementary is a colourful, inviting place filled with flowers, and covered in murals.

“[It’s] a special place, and I’m not just saying that because I work here,” teacher Millie Cumming says. “I hear it from people who enter our school. If it’s their first time here, or they’ve been here a number of times, they always say they get a really good feeling once they step in our building.”
 
When your gaze moves towards the playground, the vast open space that greets you doesn’t give off the same vibe.

The schoolyard is a massive space; while there are some tire swings and an 11-year-old play structure out back of the school, Principal Brooke Haller would like to see that vast area imbued with a creative spirit.

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“We’ve really been working on sustainability initiatives at our school,” Haller explains. “In our vision, we’d love to see spaces that really help connect kids to nature and give them opportunities for creative play. We kind of have a blank canvas that we get to start with if we win this.”

The voting is going well so far, with Cache Creek Elementary sitting in third place, thanks to a concerted effort from the community.

“Cache Creek has had a really challenging few years, so [the contest] has really given the community something to be hopeful for,” Haller says. “They’ve really come out and supported us, with signs appearing everywhere, and sharing. We’ve actually had a lot of support from local business.”

After years of flooding and last years Elephant Hill wildfire still fresh in the collective memory of the community, bid organizer Cumming believes winning one of the three BCAA Play Here grants would be a big win for the whole community.

“We’ve had an awful bad run of luck,” Cumming says. “It would be nice for the community and the outlying area to have something positive, something hopeful, something joyful happen.”

You can vote online up four times daily in the BCAA Play Here contest. To cast your ballot for Cache Creek or Pinantan Elementary, you can do so at www.BCAAPlayHere.com.