The Southport Community Project (SCP) is showing signs of progress. In the early morning hours of Saturday, April 29, SCP committee member Sarah Sherman met with Mike Wallace and Peter Townsend, of Mike Wallace Lawn & Landscape to collect driftwood for the Southport Central School play space project. Mike, a father of two students at the school, and Peter, an uncle of one student, both wanted to give back to the school. Permission to take as much driftwood as wanted on a small beach on Pratt’s Island, was granted by owners Paul and Giselaine Coulombe. 

Committee members have hired John Copeland of Kennebec Trail Company, who recently constructed the Oak Point Farm Playground at the Boothbay Region Land Trust’s headquarters, to oversee this project on the Southport School grounds. Considering the fact that we’re on an island, it seemed only natural that we consider maintaining the play space using as much wood as possible. Most of the driftwood collected is already weathered and stripped of its bark, making it ready for use. It’s expected that the wood will eventually be used mostly as a climbing feature. 

The school’s students have shared their ideas and wish lists for features they’d like to see in this play space, and we believe they’re going to love the finished project. Also taken into consideration was feedback gathered by island residents who completed a questionnaire in the fall. The next step in the committee’s work is fundraising, and preparations are underway to send out a mailing within the next two weeks. In the meantime, inquiries may be brought to the attention of Lisa Clarke at the school’s number, 633-3132, by email at  lclarke@aos98schools.org, or by contacting other committee members Sarah Sherman, Leigh Sherrill, Pam Baldwin or Eden Climo. 

The committee is hopeful that continued site work will be done over the summer, with full completion of the project sometime in the fall. 

Lisa Clarke is the teaching principal of Southport Central School and SCP committee member.