SACO — Soon, students at Gov. John Fairfield Elementary School will be climbing a new piece of playground equipment.

With financial help from the Fairfield PTO, playground distributor The Playground Guys and a 5210 grant from Coastal Healthy Maine Communities, the school was recently able to purchase and install a climbing wall in the playground.

The total cost of the project was about $2,600.

The Saco Parks and Recreation department was consulted and gave its approval of the project.

“It was a nice collaboration of efforts,” said Fairfield Elementary School second grade teacher Karen Mackenzie.

A few years ago, the school increased its lunchtime recess to 30 minutes to give students more time for physical activity.

Mackenzie said that when the students see a brand new piece of equipment on the playground, it will motivate them to move and be active.

“We don’t want kids sitting (during recess),” she said.

The climbing wall is currently off limits to students until mulch is laid down, but Mackenzie’s students had a quick sneak preview for a few minutes Tuesday morning.

The students eagerly ran to the new piece of equipment for a newspaper photo shoot and were quickly scrambling up both sides of the shiny red and yellow wall, using the holes and nubs as foot and hand holds.

“They are very excited,” said Mackenzie.

The 5210 grants fund initiatives that promote healthy lifestyles through the theme of the 5210 health initiative, which encourages physical activity and healthy eating habits as ways to help combat childhood obesity.

Megan Rochelo, director of the Coastal Healthy Communities Coalition, said that the agency liked the project because of the support it received from parents and the community and because it increases opportunities for children to be physically active outside.

She said the agency also liked the project because it is sustainable.

“It will be there a long time,” she said, and unlike other projects that might need a personal trainer, a climbing wall does not need money to maintain its use.

Rochelo said that the coalition also liked the project because it will benefit the whole community and it sees the climbing wall as “something that will get a lot of use.”

Mackenzie said that the playground is used by children after school and on weekends.

“It’s in the center of the city, and not every kid has a yard to play in,” she said.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.