Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 14, 1995 TAG: 9511140083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The new playground at Fort Lewis Elementary School was finished only a few weeks ago, and already it's filled with trash.
Eight thousand, nine hundred fifty-eight plastic containers, to be exact, plus 17,953 aluminum cans and 11,534 soup cans.
But not a single one is in sight. They've all been mashed, melted and molded into monkey bars, slides and various other contraptions for kids to play on.
"There's a lot of things better about this one," said 12-year-old Gunner Wright, noting that the old playground equipment was made of wood and didn't have too much stuff to do. "And of course, it's recycled," Gunner added.
On Monday, the 210 students, plus a few teachers, parents and visitors, gathered around the yellow, blue and beige structure to celebrate a good effort for a good cause.
The playground contains 85 percent recycled material, and is made by a Minnesota company that specializes in outdoor play equipment and park furnishings. Used containers made of high-density polyethylene are reformed into sturdy walls, roofs, slides and slip-proof decks. Monkey bars are made of used steel; support beams are made of recycled aluminum cans, reinforced with polyethylene.
Not only did the playground use a lot of garbage, it also used a lot of people to get built, noted principal Gaye Sigmon. Students brought in pennies, collected and recycled cans, and sold pictures to raise money. The school also received grants and donations from the PTA, the parents, the Virginia Department of Forestry, the Roanoke County School Board and several businesses.
"I declare our playground officially opened," Sigmon said as she snipped the paper chain wrapped around the structure. The chain, naturally, was made of recycled paper.
"My husband cleaned out his files," said teacher Ann Johnson, showing the typewritten words on the flip side. Each student had colored and stapled some of the links that made up the chain.
After the dedication, several students put on skits on playground safety, reminding everyone to share, help friends, wear the right shoes, and be polite. Then a few got to demonstrate the playground's features.
Wrenn Lawrence, 10, spun down the corkscrew slide like a pro. She'd practiced a few times in the week since the playground was completed, she said.
"We collected recycling for this," she said proudly. Wrenn had instructed her family members to save recyclable items - cans, bottles, newspapers - in order to save the Earth, she said.
Having a recycled playground is a good thing, she said, "because the environment is being cut down, and you need to reuse stuff so no more trees will be cut down."
Gunner and his family recycle, too, he said - plastic containers for leftovers, cooking oil, newspapers. "I use boxes to put stuff in," he said.
The playground fits in with the school's overall environmental program. The students have planted gardens, established a small arboretum, and, with money raised last year from aluminum recycling, adopted an endangered arctic fox at Mill Mountain Zoo.
The school also incorporates environmental lessons into its curriculum. "Last year, we went out in the field and studied the ground, and what pollution does," Gunner said.
His pal, Scott Gerrol, 11, said teachers and students also have reduced the amount of paper used at the school. "We cut down on paper for, like, copying and stuff," he said.
As the students headed back into the gym for cupcakes, Scott gathered the 200-foot paper chain in his arms. And what was he going to do with it? Well, some was going to be reused by students for a play, and the rest was going into the recycling bin.
by CNB