FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                       FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2004

CONTACT:  JAMIE DAVIS,  515-441-0385,  or  ERIC WOOLSON, 515-226-0277

 

National Playground Safety Week Kicks off with

Grand Opening at Cedar Heights Elementary

 

CEDAR FALLS - The dedication of a safer playground at Cedar Heights Elementary School will kick off National Playground Safety Week activities in the metro area, the Iowa Safe Surfacing Initiative announced today.

 

April 26-30 is National Playground Safety Week.  Representatives from the National Program for Playground Safety, Cedar Heights Elementary and the Iowa Safe Surfacing Initiative will participate in the dedication ceremony at the school's playground at 10:00 a.m., Monday, April 26.

 

"National Playground Safety Week is a time for everyone to focus on playground safety and advocate injury prevention on our nation's playgrounds," said Heather Olsen, NPPS Project Coordinator.  "Our data shows that nearly 70 percent of all playground injuries are related to falls to the surface and about 80 percent of playgrounds have unsuitable surfaces."

 

Cedar Heights Elementary, 2417 Rainbow Drive, is one of 12 school and park playgrounds that are benefiting from the Iowa Safe Surfacing Initiative, funded by the Iowa Legislature and Gov. Tom Vilsack.  The $500,000 project demonstrated how Iowa-based technology can economically convert waste tires into useful products.  Legislators are considering additional funding for the program this year. 

 

The National Program for Playground Safety at the University of Northern Iowa is administering the project.  In addition to equipping schools and parks with new safer surfacing, the program provides playground safety training and assessment.  The new surfacing, made of patented rubber and polymer tiles, uses recycled tires to protect children against injuries from falls to the surface on playgrounds.  It is manufactured by Welch Products of Carlisle.

 

"We look forward to showcasing all the solutions our extended-life playground safety surfacing provides," said Denise Bennett, Welch Products Vice President.

 

Olsen said more than 200,000 children are injured each year on America's playgrounds.

 

"The goal of this project will provide safer playing surfaces and allow us to gather information that will help our efforts to reduce the number and severity of playground injuries," Olsen said.

 

A state grant funded the cost of the surfacing and its installation.  The NPPS randomly selected playgrounds across the state using criteria that included school enrollment numbers, playground sizes and other factors.

 

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