The village of Helena in Ohio received the largest grant awarded this year from the Sandusky County Park District. Using the money with a match from the village they purchased new playground equipment. The project cost $14,108. The grant amount totaled $16,000.
The playground equipment is 25 years old and was not safe. It now meets consumer product safety commission standards. “The new playground includes a climbing wall, three slides and a wave climber.”
The thing the article doesn’t state is what the playground surface will be – to us a critical issue. According to U.S. Product Safety Commission report:
“There are two options available for surfacing public playgrounds: unitary and loose-fill materials. A playground should never be installed without protective surfacing of some type. Concrete, asphalt, or other hard surfaces should never be directly under playground equipment. Grass and dirt are not considered protective surfacing because wear and environmental factors can reduce their shock absorbing effectiveness.”
They further state:
The surfacing under and around playground equipment is one of the most important factors in reducing the likelihood of life-threatening head injuries. A fall onto a shock absorbing surface is less likely to cause a serious head injury than a fall onto a hard surface.
Rubberecycle encourages people to do the “egg test” – if you drop an egg from the top of the playground – does it break? With rubber mulch it has been shown not to. That means a safer playground for your kids.
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