The following is a guest post by Candida Clarke, Chair of the Playground Committee at Kawartha Village Co-op

This past summer, Kawartha Village Co-op in Peterborough, Ontario had the opportunity to rebuild its playground thanks in part to funding provided by Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS) through their Community Grant Program. The Co-op hasn’t had a playground for seven years, so children didn’t have a common play area and adults didn’t have a common meeting ground for many years. The previous structure was deemed unsafe and subsequently demolished, and there simply weren’t enough funds available to allocate to a replacement project. The Playground Committee tried different fundraising methods and applied to several grants until we had the resources to construct the new playground.

The Co-op did a lot of research into surfacing types and SofSURFACES SofTILE always came out on top in terms of safety and lower long-term maintenance costs. It is also much tidier and better looking than sand, wood chips or gravel! The smooth surface also allows for better accessibility for children and families at all mobility levels.

Another added bonus is that the surface maintains its safety rating when the temperature drops to minus six degrees Celsius. It is hard to keep the kids off of the playground, even now that it has started to get cold, so knowing they are able to use it safely in the early winter days is very comforting.

After the surface was installed, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the older children, who aren’t typically interested in the play equipment, were using the playground area to hang out and do cartwheels because the surface is so bouncy and inviting. The new surfacing is not only safer and more durable than alternative options, but is environmentally sustainable with each tile utilizing recycled Ontario tires.

Finally, on a personal note, my five-year-old daughter has a disability and tends to fall often. The moment she told me that it no longer hurt when she fell, I knew we had made the right decision to use sustainable recycled tire products to create a safer play environment for children and their families in our community.