(Lake Park)– Students and staff at the Harris-Lake Park Elementary School are starting the new school year with a safer playground constructed through a partnership between the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Association of School Boards and the local school district.
The playground’s new surface is made of recycled tires. Officials say it will heighten awareness of recycling as well as enhancing safety. Principal Judy Brueggeman says the grant program funded 1,500 square feet of the 1,520 square feet of safer surfacing as part of a project that replaced a concrete-covered area.
The project is part of the Iowa Scrap Tire Market Development Program; School Playground Safe Surfacing Initiative funded by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and administered in cooperation with the Iowa Association of School Boards. To receive grant assistance, schools were required to hold an educational program showcasing the long-term benefits of environmental responsibility and recycling scrap tires.
Harris-Lake Park is one of 22 schools to receive the funding.
