LOWER POTTSGROVE PA – Slowly but surely, plans to create a proposed “Adventure Grove Inclusive Playground” at Sanatoga Park are making progress.
Volunteers have been active over several years in drumming up support for the playground, as well as a second in West Pottsgrove. In Sanatoga, it would succeed an existing play area on the upper level of the Lower Pottsgrove Township park, reached from Park Road. Its design, however, would consist of sensory-friendly pieces that all children – including those of varied abilities – can enjoy.
The latest boost for Adventure Grove arrived only three weeks ago, on July 20 (2025; Sunday). That’s when a local band gave its time and talent, a corporate sponsor contributed a major gift, and dozens of guests attending a local concert donated cash to the effort.
Top photo provided by Adventure Grove Inclusive Playground
Helping Adventure Grove Meet Its Goals
The band was “Livewire,” a group of musicians who say they have been playing together for decades. Among its members is Bill Keohane, a guitarist and elected Lower Pottsgrove commissioner. As it has in the past, the band agreed to perform without a fee as the scheduled entertainment during Lower Pottsgrove’s annual summer concert series.
The corporate sponsor is the Ametek Foundation, a charitable arm of Berwyn PA-based Ametek Inc. Superior Tube in Collegeville PA, which manufactures precision small-diameter tubing, is an Ametek subsidiary and also Keohane’s employer. The foundation on July 20 donated $3,500 to Adventure Grove (photo at top), and also has offered its support in past years.
Concert-goers at the Sunday performance reached deep into their pockets to offer roughly $500 more in outright donations and proceeds from purchases.
Credit goes too, Keohane says, to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners itself. It was quick to adopt Adventure Grove as a project of merit when it was first introduced, he notes, and adds they have “been extremely supportive throughout the entire process.” Several current and former commissioners were among the concert audience.
A Longer-Term Effort
The Adventure Grove team, on its website, acknowledges the playground’s installation is possible by early 2027. There are challenges yet to face: the completion of fund-raising, followed by the pursuit of grant money (now under way), finalizing engineering plans and permits, and putting shovels in the ground.
It already has a good idea of what the playground might look like, thanks to designs created by Chattanooga TN consultant Play & Park Structures. The excitement inherent in the layout is its usability, Adventure Grove board member Pam Ball explains. “All of the equipment is made so that any person regardless of their abilities can play on them,” she says.
One item, labeled as a trolley, is somewhat similar to a zip line at an amusement park. Itwould be available even to kids who may rely on wheelchairs. Ball considers it one of the proposed playground’s most innovative pieces of equipment.
Photo provided by Adventure Grove Inclusive Playground
The Continuing Need
Public support for the projects in Sanatoga and West Pottsgrove so far has been “great,” Keohane adds happily. Parking deemed necessary for the West Pottsgrove playground is an issue still being resolved, the Adventure Grove website states, but solutions seem possible there too.
The non-profit’s greatest need right now is additional financing, board members agree.
Monetary donations fuel the fun by providing by providing accessible play equipment, inclusive programming, and safe spaces where kids to engage others, the website says. Contributions and sponsorships can be made online using PayPal and Venmo; or by mail to Adventure Grove Inclusive Playground Inc., 1301 Kauffman Road, Pottstown PA 19464.
For information call 484-624-2507, or send e-mail to adventuregroveplayground@gmail.com.
- Read an earlier article about Adventure Grove, published during September 2024 by Travels With The Post, here.
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