UPDATES & invitation

Powell Park playground with dark rubber surface

If you are interested in the future of SPACE in La Crosse, please join us from noon to 1 for a meet up and updates on August 19 at noon at Bluff View Park (2800 Jackson St.).

We’re excited to celebrate the recent removal of rubber chips at Northwood Elementary! Join us for snacks, a priority board, samples of wood poured-in-place, and—hopefully—some great conversations.

As we look ahead, we’d love your input on where SPACE should focus its energy in the coming year. Should we prioritize:

• Removing rubber chips from schools that are closing?

• Advocating for policies to prevent future rubber chip installations?

• Shifting our efforts toward researching and removing synthetic turf and AstroTurf?

Come share your thoughts, and feel free to invite others who may be interested. Children are welcome!

---

Updates from Jamie:

Student researchers: Will and Abby graduated this May—congratulations to both of them! They were two of the three UWL student researchers on our rubber chip project, and we’re incredibly grateful for all their hard work and contributions. Kris, thank you for your leadership with them!

Current schools: Another school is making the switch! Northwoods Elementary is currently replacing their rubber chips with wood chips. A special shout out to Chiana and the dedicated parents there who have been advocating for this change for over a year—we truly appreciate your persistence and commitment.

Future schools: As of now, schools in La Crosse that still have rubber chips include State Road Elementary, Spence Elementary, and Hintgen Elementary. The La Crosse School District's Buildings and Grounds department has agreed to replace the rubber chips at State Road, although the change may not happen until construction begins. Since Spence and Hintgen will be moving to a new location, it doesn’t sound like there are plans to switch those out at the current site. It’s worth noting that the La Crosse Climate Action Plan includes Goal GS 3: to reduce community-wide "dark" impervious surface coverage from 26.4% to 8% by 2030 and to 5% by 2040. Keep an eye out for opportunities to align this effort with that goal. I am also talking to an Onalaska daycare and hoping to talk with the Holmen School District to work on policies to eliminate rubber chips.

Future Direction: This summer, I plan to create sample "poured-in-place" surfaces using wood shavings and other natural materials. Based on our research, I still believe wood chips are the best overall alternative to rubber chips. However, if our group is interested in exploring poured-in-place rubber surfaces and identifying safer, more sustainable alternatives, that could be a valuable next step. While I haven’t seen this done in the U.S., there are promising examples abroad. I hope to prototype a few samples and see where it leads. In certain cases—especially around ADA-accessible equipment—a smooth, neutral-colored surface made from less toxic materials that generates less heat seems like it would be better than rubber poured-in-place.