Campus Fun and Learn Child Development Unveils New Playground

The unseasonably warm, sunny weather matched the festive mood at Campus Fun and Learn in Suffern, New York on Saturday, October 28, where a ribbon-cutting ceremony took place to celebrate the daycare’s new playground.

Located on the Rockland Community College campus, the center takes children ages six weeks to five-years-old and caters to the RCC and broader Rockland community. The playground, which includes a lay-down area and an asphalt track running around the perimeter for children to drive their toy vehicles, will be designated for the infants and toddlers in the center.

“I’m excited for them to have a bigger space to play in, to actually explore their area. Now they can get their energy out,” center director Bryanne Adler said. “I’m really excited that (the toddlers) are going to be able to work on their gross motor skills with the trucks and the pushing carts. And then even the infants—to have a safe space to crawl around.”

Campus Fun and Learn board member Carol Coiro explained that the patch of land that the children played on had been in dire need of repair, with tree roots and uneven ground making it unsafe for the children to run. She got the ball rolling on the park project by speaking with her landscaper Antonio Marroquin of Niko Landscape. They worked together to create the vision of what the playground would look like. Now, after months of hard work, the park is finally ready for action.

Festivities to celebrate the opening of the new park included face-painting for the children, along with a wide selection of Halloween candy. New York State senator Bill Weber was also there to show his support, having sent his son to the center ten years prior. He also recently toured the facility and talked with center director Adler about how the state could be more helpful.

“This center is kind of a little diamond in the rough,” Weber said. “It’s attached to the college, so it really gives them a great opportunity to have a base of supportive people that will use it.

“We have a lot of people that come back and utilize the college—they may be job-changers or people older with children—and having a daycare at the school where they’re either attending or teaching is a great resource…There’s a huge need for daycare centers here
in Rockland County.”

Enrollment information for Campus Fun and Learn Child Development Center can be found at https://www.campusfunandlearn.org/.

From left to right: Bryanne Adler, Jarret Ferreira, Antonio Marroquin-Marylis Rosario and Sue Gallagher cut the ribbon to celebrate new park.