Playing at Gyro Park in Trail just got even more exciting.
Thanks to several organizations in town who share a goal of supporting healthy families, there is a new feature at Gyro Park – the Playbox.
“The Playbox helps promote physical literacy and provides equal access for families in our community,” says Carolyn Amantea, Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy’s Trail Coordinator and one of the Playbox’s sponsors.
The Playbox is filled with outdoor toys and equipment as well as some simple instructions for games that can be played with while enjoying the beautiful outdoors at Gyro Park. The Playbox is permanently installed at the park so families can access the equipment any time they visit.
The idea for the box comes from a campaign called Live 5-2-1-0. The campaign, supported by Children’s Hospital, focuses on simple messaging to promote children’s health and well-being.
The Live 5-2-1-0 message reminds folks to eat five or more fruits and vegetables, limit screen time to two hours or less, get at least one hour of physical activity and drink zero sugar-sweetened beverages each day.
The Playbox at Gyro Park comes with a graphic wrap with the Live 5-2-1-0 messaging on it.
The Playbox initiative was identified as an opportunity for our region in the Lower Columbia Healthy Communities Plan, developed with input from a variety of stakeholders in 2017.
Christy Anderson, Coordinator for the Family Action Network and the local Early Childhood Coalition explains. “The steering committee for the Healthy Communities work submitted a joint application to the Community Initiatives Fund last year and was successful in receiving a grant to support the installation of the Playbox.”
In addition to the Community Initiatives funding, the City of Trail donated the labour to install the box and other groups rounded out the funds and organization necessary to make the Playbox a reality for the city.
“It is great to see so many groups coming together to support this initiative,” says Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Trail, Trisha Davison.
The box is installed near the concession stand at Gyro Park. To access the equipment, which remains locked in the box when not in use, families can find the code by asking at the concession, calling the front desk of the Trail Aquatic Centre at 250-364-1262, or by visiting www.trail.ca/playbox.
Equipment is used based on the “honour system” and it is expected that all who find enjoyment in using this service will help to take care of it.
“We ask that people respect the equipment and return it to the box for others to use,” says Amantea. “It is available to all in our community and we look forward to seeing people accessing it on a regular basis.”
For more information on the Live 5-2-1-0 initiative, visit www.live5210.ca.