Shady playground endorsed by Cancer Council WA

THE Cancer Council WA has endorsed a park in Perth for its approach to shade in play spaces that could reduce risk of skin cancer for the first time.

The organisation endorsed the 2.5ha Picasso Park in Lendlease and DevelopmentWA’s Alkimos Vista estate for features that could help reduce people’s exposure to sun.

The park, which opened in April, includes a two-storey undercover play structure with slides, climbing frames and sand play area under a roof that provides year-round sun protection.

The developers also planted mature trees in the park to provide shade, installed shade structures at barbecue areas and relocated the Sprout Hub with its patio to the site.

“A very effective way to protect Western Australians from harmful UV exposure when outdoors, is through the provision of well-planned spaces that provide access to quality shade,” Cancer Council WA SunSmart manager Mark Strickland said.

“We would like to commend project partners Lendlease and DevelopmentWA for their initiative and leadership in recognising UV as an important public health issue and the influential role of the built environment in creating safe, healthy spaces for our community.

“We encourage other WA developers to ‘put shade on the agenda’, to ensure our community has places to retreat from the harmful UV.”

Lendlease WA development general manager Anthony Rowbottam said the park was “a place for people who love the outdoors and where kids can run, explore and create”.

“It was a conscious decision from the beginning to put an emphasis on shade where possible and we are thrilled to have Picasso Park the first park in WA to be acknowledged by the Cancer Council,” he said.