By Robin Moyer Chung and John H. Palmer

Despite the piles of construction supplies cluttering the Compo Beach playground on Monday, it still bustled with the excited energy from 110 people.

However the people were adults, not kids, and many of them wore the official playground t-shirt designed by Jack Burke, a 5th grader at Greens Farms Elementary School.

A swingset under construction as part of the new Compo Beach Playground. Photo by Laura Alvarez

Renovations began this week at the beachside playground, a community-driven project designed to comply with current safety and accessibility standards. Originally built more than three decades ago, the playground was remodeled in 2006 and has been in need of refurbishment for some time.

The Compo Playground Organizing Committee has been working on plans dating back to 2023, and has been supported by several town benefactors that helped raise a total of $650,000. The Westport Rotary Club, which built the original playground in 1989, initiated the renovation project to mark the club’s 100^th anniversary with a $100,000 grant that was matched by a similar grant from the Westport Police Foundation.

Last May, the Parks and Recreation Commission approved the final design for the new playscape, which includes new features designed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, such as accessible swings, a rocking playground piece and other features such as a ground covering over sand that makes it easier for handicapped access.

Janelle Carow, Chloe Steinberg, volunteer co-chair, and Stephanie Evans at the Compo Beach playground renovation. Photo by Robin Moyer Chung

“This renovation is the Centennial Gift of the Westport Rotary Club to the Town of Westport,” said Bridget Flynn, Past President of the Westport Young Woman’s League  (WYWL) and Co-Coordinator of the Compo Beach Playground Renovation. She added that the WYWL since 1989 has played a major role in the development of the playground through leadership, fundraising, and volunteer support.

“This is a true legacy project for the WYWL, and we are proud to continue our partnership with the Rotary Club on behalf of the community,” she said.

Excited volunteer builders brave cool, but sunny weather

Volunteers ran the gamut at this week’s build – skilled workers, experienced with power saws as well as those in the professional space, non-build workers who organized supplies and served the food donated by popular eateries and bakeries around town (Monday’s menu included GG & Joe coffee, lunch by Nomade Westport, cookies by LEVENthal Bakery, and dinner from Little Kitchen of Westport.)

To help encourage those with children to donate their time and skills, there was also a “Kid Zone” set up on site where volunteers set up age-appropriate activities for little ones to pass time while their parents were hard at work building their new swingsets and monkey bars.

Yelling over the din of buzzsaws and drills, several moms and dads echoed the same basic sentiment of “I’m doing this for my kids.”

Chloe Steinberg, co-chair of volunteers, explained, “It matters that our children see us working together to build the kind of community we believe in – one that’s inclusive, joyful, and rooted in care for one another.”

From parents of young children to parents whose kids romped in the original 1989 playground, from professional builders, to finance executives and people who, somehow, broke a hammer, volunteers took to the task with diligence and enthusiasm.

A worker digs holes for posts as part of the Compo Beach playground renovation. Photo by Laura Alvarez.

Indeed, the mood was ebullient. Don Sullivan, grandfather of 7, said he was recruited by the Y’s men to “play with the toys,” (power tools and buzzsaws) with Joe DeMartino and David Herling. DeMartino joked, “No injuries, all ten fingers,” while Herling quipped, “Well, let’s go find the thumbs.”

Lee Archen, whose Ithaca, N.Y.-based company Play By Design designed the 2025 iteration, was busy overseeing the legions of helpers with three of his staff members.

A playground designed to accommodate everyone

Based on resident input and discussions, Archen designed a playground with three primary objectives – sightline, accessibility, and ease of maintenance – while keeping the “the magic of the old structure.”

Part of that magic is, as every kid knows, secret spots. “They’re so much fun for kids because there are so many hiding spaces,” he said.

But trying to find your child among a hotbed of outdoor antics near a large body of water can prove unsettling.

District 5 Representative Town Meeting Member Peter Gold donated time this week for his third Compo Beach renovation. Photo by Laura Alvarez

“[There are kids] that are in different age groups and to stand in one spot and try to keep an eye on everyone? It’s really hard,” he said.

Some of the new features being built include an “orb rocket,” a cirrus swing set, a STEM play activity panel, and a sphere-like structure called a “ropeventure climber.”

Features of the playground were designed to improve sight lines for parents and caregivers monitoring their children as they play on the equipment and enhance accessibility for all children.

“To create a community space, I truly believe it has to be reflective of the community it’s being built in, which also means there’s people who have different challenges in life and we try to create something that’s accessible,” Archen said. “Everyone thinks about accessibility for kids, but there’s [also] caregivers. There’s grandparents. There’s people who use mobility devices.”

The playground is being constructed with an extruded “higher end plastic” from recycled materials, to mitigate the cost and time spent on maintenance.

Archen surveyed the rush of activity and contribution and mused, “I think the most important thing about this is how it comes about. You start building the playground, then realize, slowly, the playground is sort of building community.”

“Yeah, I love playgrounds,” he added. “But I love the process a lot more.”

“It was a very energizing and satisfying opportunity to serve the town,” said Sullivan, the grandfather of 7. “I can’t wait to see the finished product.”

Phil Kann, Brandon Osterhout, Brian Larson in the power tool tent at the Compo Beach playground project. Photo by Robin Moyer Chung

And who knows? Maybe his grandkids will help renovate the next generation’s playground.

The Compo Beach playground renovation continues throughout this week until Saturday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. each day. If you are interested in volunteering you can visit the website at www.compobeachplayground.com.

Robin Moyer Chung is a freelance writer.

John Palmer is editor of the Westport Journal, and has covered community news in Fairfield County and Massachusetts for over 30 years. He can be contacted at jpalmer@westportjournal.com.