Tomol Interpretive Play Area still needs your support!
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Tomol Interpretive Play Area, a unique educational park, was once just a dream of our Morning Rotary Club of Carpinteria. It has now become a reality!
Locals and visitors are treated to a recreational experience unlike any other—a replica Chumash village designed with opportunities to run, jump and slide. This experience lends itself to the development of a deeper understanding and appreciation of California’s cultural and natural history. The park, which is designed to emulate pre-European life on the California Channel Islands, includes life-sized replicas of native wildlife species to climb on, Chumash huts to explore, the “Rainbow Bridge” of Chumash lore and the park’s namesake “Tomol”—a traditional Chumash plank boat. This special play area is aimed at enhancing Carpinteria’s vitality and to draw visitors from all over the world.
The City of Carpinteria improved the final product with the installation of a path and boardwalk connecting Palm Avenue to the Tomol Interpretive Play Area. This portion of the project includes a bioswale to filter surface runoff, native landscaping and interpretive signs that complement the park design. The path immediately links Tomol with the one million annual visitors to Carpinteria State Beach. The trail also integrates into the pedestrian and cyclists’ path that stretches along the entire coast of Carpinteria.
Final touches to the Tomol Interpretive Play Area added native landscaping, boulders and eucalyptus logs, life-like replicas, and the Santa Cruz Island-shaped retaining wall.
The price tag reached over $800,000. To help fund the play area, the Carpinteria Morning Rotary Club utilized the proceeds from the sale of brick pavers and its annual Casino Night fundraiser. Additional funds and special thanks are in order, to a $300,000 grant from the Federal Government, a $50,000 memorial gift to Friends of the State Parks, many Private Foundations, generous city funding, and an outpouring of local support.
As of July 2013, all debts are paid. The balance of $20,000 has been used by the Morning Rotary of Carpinteria Charitable Foundation, Inc., to establish an endowment fund through the Santa Barbara Foundation for continuous maintenance of the park. Through club events, sale of bricks and pavers, and direct donations, the fund is being built so that the maintenance costs and repairs for the park are funded by the interest earned from the endowment. Our goal for this first year of establishing the endowment is to raise $100,000.
We of the morning rotary are very proud of the Tomol Interpretive Play Area, located on Linden Avenue near the beach in Carpinteria. Stop by and enjoy all that it has to offer!