Playground structures at two McKinney parks have been removed and will soon serve communities overseas as part of a partnership with Project Playground, a Houston-based nonprofit organization, a Jan. 13 city news release states.

The specifics

The playground structure at Ash Woods Park was removed Nov. 21-22 while the Inspiration Park playground was removed Jan. 2-3, city officials said.

The structures will be refurbished prior to being sent overseas for installation. Project Playground rebuilds the playground structures in countries “throughout the developing world”, according to the release.

A new playground structure at Ash Woods Park debuted Jan. 5 and cost about $513,000 to install, city officials said. A new playground structure at Inspiration Park will open in late January, pending weather. The structure cost nearly $209,000 to install.

The context

City officials have partnered with Project Playground previously, with playground pieces from seven McKinney parks supporting access to safe playgrounds for more than 6,000 children worldwide, the release states.

Prior playground structure relocations include:

• Equipment from Fitzhugh Park, Dr. Charles McKissick Park and Hill Top Park were installed in Zambia
• Equipment from A. Hardy Eubanks Jr. Park was installed in Rwanda
• Equipment from A. Hardy Eubanks Jr. Park and Finch Park was installed in Botswana
• Equipment from Serenity Park was installed in Mexico

“This partnership reflects our responsibility to be good stewards of our resources,” Director of Parks and Recreation Amy Kinkade said in the release. “By repurposing playground equipment, we are reducing waste and extending the impact of our parks beyond McKinney."

For more information on Project Playground, visit www.projectplayground.us.