The SHADE Project is a local non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of skin cancer through education, outreach and building shade structures where children play. The group completed its first shade structure at Rosewood Park this year and has plans to complete more in the future. Kids who play at the Rosewood splash pad will now be safer!
The SHADE Project was inspired to build shade structures in Austin parks after the City of Austin converted most of the park wading pools into splash pads. These are great for kids to play in, but provide little or no shade. Splash pads are open during the peak UV exposure time (10:00 am to 3:00 pm) in the spring and summer, which leaves users at risk for UV exposure and potentially skin cancer.
The Rosewood project was completed on October 31st, 2012, and the group is planning a formal dedication at Rosewood Park in the spring of 2013. The SHADE Project is excited to bring together Austin Parks Foundation, The City of Austin, community leaders, neighbors, families and other supporters for this event. Information on the dedication will be posted at their website:theshadeproject.org.
This project is funded in part by Austin Skin Dermatology; APF is proud to have provided the matching funds needed to get a great shade structure at the Rosewood splashpad!
This post is part of our “Great Grants!” series. Twice a year, the Austin Parks Foundation gives grants of financial support to Park Adopter groups in order to complete high-quality park-improvement projects. You can read more about our Park Grants Program here.
