Allendale East Area School has officially opened its new junior primary playground after years of fundrasing.

The money was raised from auctions, schnitzel nights, business sponsorships and pie drives as the school continues to fundraise for the project.

The new space is based largely around nature play concepts and includes a rope element, multiple slides and monkey bar sets, three swings, tunnels and a climbing frame for foundation to year three students.

The last part of the playground, a nature element including a boat with a jetty, sandpits, and a river, is expected to be finished within the next two weeks and is significant to the area because so many community members are fisherman.

Allendale East Area School Foundation/Year 1 teacher Tanielle Brooksby has been a part of the project from start to finish.

Mrs Brooksby said the previous playground had been there for quite an extensive time and a few elements were starting to become unsafe so there was a real push to develop something new.

“The children love the new playground, and they were without one for over two terms so to see them out there climbing, balancing and swinging is very rewarding,” she said.

“A lot of it is made from wood including big, massive pillar stumps so we tried to keep it natural in appearance but still functional as a playground.

“The children did contribute to creating elements for what they wanted to include in the new playground.

“I think it’s been a really positive thing for the community and definitely a huge positive for the school.”