‘Families feel like they belong here’: Five Counties’ ‘field of dreams’ making a difference in Cobourg
By editor/reporter Sarah Hyatt
More than four years ago, the Five Counties team started sharing their vision for a creative way to help more local kids and families and the plan to transform a vacant 25,200-square-foot parcel of land into a “field of dreams” in Cobourg.
Then, in June 2025, the “Northumberland Backyard Project” officially become an “amazing, accessible reality” and opened behind the Five Counties Children’s Centre on Division Street.
More than a year later after the official opening, the once-empty field is no more, and instead, it’s filled with laughter, play, community connection, and more – all the while providing more space for treatment options for local families.
The goal was to have this fully-accessible backyard space open the door to inclusivity, more capacity for and expanded treatment options, as well as cultural awareness and outdoor education projects, to name just a few of the benefits.
Reflecting back since the opening, the Five Counties team says the project is fulfilling its promise – and that’s not all.
“It has more than met our expectations and I think there’s lot of room to grow,” said Elizabeth Carmichael, Five Counties’ program manager in Northumberland.
It started out as a simple vision to install a track for a safer, more inclusive outdoor treatment space at Five Counties, recalled the team.
The reality is it’s become “a lively community hub used regularly by hundreds of children of different ages and abilities.”
Every year, Five Counties helps thousands of families with speech, physio and occupational therapies, as well as additional treatment services for kids and youth from birth through to age 19 across Northumberland, Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton.
In Cobourg, the backyard project has been described as a breath of fresh air.
“On any given day in the backyard, children can circle a colourful, rubberized track on bikes in wheelchairs and with walkers,” explained the team. “Others may try an accessible slide, make music using sensory and musical equipment, splash at a water table, tend gardens, sail in a pirate ship or take to the stage in imaginative play.
“An Indigenous cultural awareness space is available, as well as sunshades for families to seek shelter when it’s warm.”
Meanwhile, there’s also a fenced-in space that was purpose built for Five Counties’ clinicians, as well as early childhood educators (ECEs) from the Northumberland EarlyON Child and Family Centre.
It’s all opening up doors to making kids’ dreams come true and knocking down barriers through therapy and learning opportunities outside.
Looking back at the last year or so, Lesley Patterson, Early Years Manager with Northumberland County, has echoed a similar sentiment as Carmichael.
“I’d like to say the backyard met, but also exceeded expectations at the same time,” said Patterson. “The biggest thing has been seeing the families engage and interact … everyone’s together.
“It really is that diverse playground where everyone’s welcome.”
Prior to the 2025 opening, it took almost three years of planning – and a lot of community support and partnerships to make bring to life the roughly $376,000 “field of dreams.”
Among just a few of the partners Five Counties worked closely with over the years to transform the property (and continue to work with) include EarlyON, the county, YMCA Northumberland and the Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre.
In addition, residents, local businesses and service clubs rallied to support the project and the Ontario Trillium Foundation and provincial and federal governments stepped up with funding, too.
“We didn’t do it on our own,” reiterated Carmichael. “We’re very grateful for the community partners (who) helped make it happen because it truly took a community to build it.”
Families have responded enthusiastically, too, she added.
Parents value having an accessible, inclusive and enclosed place where kids can move freely – and for the kids, there’s lots of activities, explained the team.
Patterson noted the backyard is also helping inclusion become part of a child’s everyday experience.
For instance, a child using a mobility device is simply another kid enjoying the backyard play.
Families who might arrive through different programs share one welcoming space, and parents, caregivers and grandparents have developed a sense of community, it was explained.
Being in the backyard also provides “a unique learning environment.”
Outdoor play gives children room to test their abilities through age-appropriate adventurous play, noted Patterson. Different surfaces, heights and activities encourage kids to problem-solve, understand what their bodies can do and build confidence within a safe environment, it was explained.
Carmichael pointed to the slide as a textbook example of this. Designed with a modest incline and resilient surfacing, it can be approached in many ways: Children can use the stairs, crawl, walk, climb or “shimmy” upward. Admittedly, staff initially wondered how it would be used, but kids quickly turned it into a popular place for developing strength, movement and motor planning.
And while there’s much to celebrate with what has been achieved, Five Counties has also said the team continues to look at enhancing the backyard’s therapy, play and environmental features.
“Proposed additions include more trees and shrubs, more shaded areas, child-sized garden boxes, Indigenous plants such as sage and sweetgrass, additional shade, a pergola, a table and quiet area for therapy sessions, and ongoing maintenance support,” explained the team.
For Carmichael, the backyard is described as a living space and not a finished product.
“There are pieces that we still want to continue to grow and add to the backyard. And people are hearing about it because we’re actually having families approach us to come for tours because they’re thinking of donating funds to help to continue to grow the backyard, (which is) exciting.”
The idea behind the project is simple – it’s meant to be a space where therapy feels like play, kids see inclusion in action, and families also have the chance to connect across programs and abilities.
The team added that the backyard is also proof that “a community-built dream does not stand still.”
“Families feel like they belong here,” said Patterson. “They’ve taken ownership of the backyard and they’re proud of it.”
In Five Counties’ 2025-26 annual report, the team said the centre served 6,574 kids/clients across its regional coverage area, translating to the most ever in its 50-year history. The total number of client visits also reached a record high of more than 56,680.
- With files from Bill Eekhof
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