Young skateborders turn school project into skate park for Crystal Springs community

Young skateboarders Chance Mohawk and Grant Finch have transformed their science project into a fully functional skate park for the Crystal Springs community.

Two years ago, while being homeschooled, they conceived the idea of building a skate park as part of their environmental science project.

“Our hypothesis was that if we went in front of the city and presented our idea of what we wanted to do and how we planned to do it, they would say yes,” Mohawk told WLBT. “And what do you know? They did!”

After getting approval from the city, the pair faced their next challenge: Funding.

The two learned of a grant through Petal skate park. Despite the application being well received, a couple of required changes set them back a year. That didn’t destroy their determination, however. They persevered by selling T-shirts to raise money and making necessary modifications to their plans. Eventually, they successfully obtained a grant of $120,000, exceeding their initial expectations.

With the grant funds secured, Chance and Grant enlisted the help of a renowned skate park designer from Philadelphia to bring their vision to life. Through their joint efforts, they won the bid to construct the skate park for the community. However, the ambitious young skateboarders are not stopping there. They have plans to further improve the skate park by incorporating additional features, such as a bowling area, to enhance the overall experience for visitors.

“We want to expand and include more things,” Finch expressed to WLBT. “We want to bowl. That would be really awesome.”