AUBURN – Morse Brothers in Auburn recently donated 18 yards of bark mulch to the Child Health Center’s Auburn Preschool for the playground. With the donation and its delivery by Clement Theriault and Tom Learned, who donated their trucks and time, the preschool was able to undertake the task of making sure their playground was a safe place for the children.

It took the preschool staff and volunteers several days to spread the mulch around the playground equipment. It was a group effort and a fun activity, especially on those days when some of the preschool children helped.

Sue Lake, head teacher, said, ” Playground safety is an important issue. We need to make sure that our children are safe outside as well as in the classroom. The national playground safety guidelines recommend that the area surrounding play equipment, which is up to eight feet in height, such as swings and slides, is filled with at least 12 inches of mulch or other cushioning material and that it extend out in a six-foot diameter.”

The national program established the guidelines based on findings that 70 percent of all playground injuries result from falls in areas where there is improper surfacing.

Lake said; “We are very grateful to Morse Brothers and Mr. Theriault and Learned for helping us ensure the safety of our preschool children.”