WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — An all-inclusive playground that has been 5 years in the making opened to the public Thursday afternoon.
JoJo’s Jungle an inclusive playground where all children including those with disabilities can have a place to play is open at Brockmeyer Park. A grand opening ceremony was held this afternoon July 30th to mark the end of the project 5 years in the making. The playground was created in honor of Patrick and Destiny Hoerter’s son Josiah or “JoJo” who passed away in 2015 before his 3rd birthday. Josiah was born with the disorder, MECP2 duplication syndrome that left him unable to walk or talk.
With the completion of the playground in 2020, Patrick Hoerter says he’s grateful to have fulfilled the promise he made to Josiah before he passed. “It feels really good seeing everybody here. And really excited just to see the faces in person now. Really once we cut the ribbon that’s when the emotions started. Up to then, it’s just going with everything that needs to be done and getting everything taken care of. But now I see everybody actually in there playing and it’s great.”
Patrick Hoerter gives a speech before the opening of JoJo’s Jungle, an all-inclusive playground in Wausau
While the playground has been in the works for 5 years one aspect of the project the Hoerter’s couldn’t have expected was to complete the project during a pandemic. Patrick said it was a nerve-wracking time trying to figure out how to get the park ready for 2020.
“Anxiety would be a good word for it. A lot of uncertainty, especially through the month of June. There was so much change in policy on whether playgrounds would be open if they wouldn’t be open. When we could open, would we be able to open? We really tried to make sure that it was done mid-summer here. And sure enough, we were shooting for July and just made it.”
The all-inclusive playground includes special features such as a zipline, a wheelchair accessible splash pad, wheelchair ramps, and swings, among other equipment. The only feature of the playground not open is the splash pad due to COVID-19 concerns. The main surface of the playground is also made of rubber, which makes it easier for children in wheelchairs to get around as opposed to the traditional playground with woodchips and pebbles.
One portion of JoJo’s Jungle at Brockmire Park, an all-inclusive playground in Wausau.
Hoerter expressed that it couldn’t have been a better day to open the playground and to honor Josiah. “It’s a blessing. God has been so good to us. We’ve had a good summer. You know you can have those days where it’s really rainy and this could have been one of those days. And if it wasn’t it was going to be super hot. But this is just the perfect day and I really couldn’t ask for anything more. Sunny, breezy, it’s absolutely perfect.”
The entrance to JoJo’s Jungle, an all-inclusive playground in Wausau.
Final touches for the playground include planting grass in front of the park and having plants grow to fill in around the playground to give it an enclosed jungle feel. The playground will be maintained by the City of Wausau and Marathon County as part of their parks system. The city hopes to open the splash pad portion of the park in 2021.
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