The City of McKinney partnered with Project Playground to relocate several retired playground structures to new homes located abroad. The playgrounds are now finding new homes for kids around the world.
Project Playground — a Houston-based organization that deconstructs Texas playgrounds and rebuilds them in underdeveloped countries — was tasked with the tearing down and relocation of the numerous McKinney play structures.
Project Playground receives playgrounds due for demolition in the U.S. and restores, repairs and replants those playgrounds in impoverished communities throughout the developing world.
“What have parks and public play places meant to you as a kid, a parent, or a grandparent? Playgrounds have impacted our lives for better, and they do the same for kids and communities around the world,” a statement from Project Playground said.
Among the playground structures that were moved include one from Eubanks Park which is being relocated to Romania, as well as another play structure and swings from Finch Park that are heading to Botswana.
In addition, five-bay swings that used to reside in McKissick and Fitzhugh parks are on their way to Zambia, which is the second time this year that the City of McKinney has relocated its play structures to the country.
Back in January of this year, a former Fitzhugh Park playground structure was installed at a Zambia elementary school that teaches around 1,400 schoolchildren, according to a release.
“Part of our mission as the Parks and Recreation Department is to connect people to spaces that allow them to build strong relationships, improve overall wellbeing, and foster inclusiveness. This is a tangible way we can use our resources to do that not just in McKinney, but in another part of the world,” said Michael Kowski, director of Parks and Recreation.
“We want to be the model for others to follow, and this is a great way we can be good stewards of our resources and continue to enhance the quality of life in McKinney and even around the globe.”
