Half-Million-Dollar Playground Upgrade at École Roosevelt Park Community School is Complete with New Accessible Swing
VICTORIA, BC (September 21, 2023) – Tire Stewardship BC (TSBC), an environmental not-for-profit group dedicated to the collection and recycling of scrap tires in British Columbia, announced that the playground accessibility upgrade at École Roosevelt Park Community School in Prince Rupert has been completed. The school received its final piece of equipment, an accessible swing, and was able to finish off the pour-in-place rubber surfacing, finalizing the playground for students.
“We are so excited to share that we have completed this beautiful park. The full project has been a long time in the making and I know the kids will continue to enjoy this expanded and accessible space for years to come,” said Karianne Pohl, Parent Action Committee member.
The school originally unveiled the brand-new state-of-the-art playground on November 1, 2022. The Parent Action Committee from École Roosevelt Park Community School raised $36,700 toward the construction, and major funding was provided by the provincial ministry of education ($165,000), the Prince Rupert Port Authority ($220,000), Tire Stewardship BC ($30,000), School District 52 (roughly $45,000), Trigon, DP World and Northern Savings Credit Union. In total, it was a half-million-dollar project.
“It’s always great to see a project come to life! The surface of this playground is made of recycled pour-in-place rubber, which provides a smooth surface to aid mobility,” said Rosemary Sutton, Executive Director, Tire Stewardship BC. “The rubber is also extremely durable, can withstand all B.C. weather conditions, and makes for a softer landing for potential falls.”
In 2022, Tire Stewardship BC provided grants to 13 B.C. organizations for community developments, including rubber surfacing for playgrounds, walkways, parks and gathering spaces. 14,928 B.C. scrap tires were used for the selected community projects, 3,152 of which were used in the playground accessibility upgrade for École Roosevelt Park Community School in Prince Rupert, equivalent to 38,578 lbs of B.C. rubber.
The TSBC community grant program supports municipalities, registered non-profit community groups or organizations, schools, and First Nations and Métis settlements that are building or upgrading their facilities utilizing recycled tire products. To date, TSBC has given out nearly $6 million dollars in community grants, funding 300+ projects.
B.C.’s scrap tire program has been recycling tires for over 30 years, and it is the oldest recycling program in Canada. Since the scrap tire recycling program was first established in BC in 1991, over 100 million tires have been recycled in the province.
To learn more about Tire Stewardship BC, visit https://tsbc.ca/.
About Tire Stewardship BC
Tire Stewardship BC is a not-for-profit society formed to accept responsibility for the provincial
scrap tires recycling program. Tire Stewardship BC was founded in 2003 by the Tire & Rubber Association of Canada, The Retail Council of Canada, and the Western Canada Tire Dealers, with the addition of the New Car Dealers Association of BC in 2007, and it continues to be governed by a Board that is made up of representatives from these four organizations. Tire Stewardship BC focuses on collecting scrap vehicle and bike tires and recycling them into new things including playground surfaces, athletic tracks, horse mats, and garden mulch. Since 1991, over 100 million tires have been recycled in B.C.
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