BCS Wins Old Navy Playscape

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Written by Megan Monacelli

 BCS won a playscape and $5,000 from Old Navy and TerraCycle, a recycling company, in September after teacher Michelle Mohrmann filled out a survey last April. Ten representatives from area Old Navy stores attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the lower elementary playground on Tuesday afternoon, Sep. 27.

Students from kindergarten through second-grade will use the new equipment, which was made from recycled flip flops and milk cartons. The playscape will accompany the various play structures already out on the playground, such as a merry-go-round, a boat, and a swing set.

More than 20 parents and volunteers helped set up and assemble the playscape last Friday and Saturday, Sep. 23-24. On Friday, the volunteers dug the footers for the playscape to go into the ground and built the retaining border. The next day they assembled the playscape, poured the concrete into the footers to secure and stabilize the new structure, and mulched the ground around it.

“Winning the playground and prize money from Old Navy was such a wonderful surprise,” said Mohrmann, who spent many hours working with parents who pitched in to help. “We have the best volunteers around.”

Elementary principal Dr. Libby Weed said she is honored to receive this wonderful gift because outdoor play is necessary for the growth and development of children.
“Outdoor play is a crucial part of every school day,” Dr. Weed said. “Children simply love to go outside and play.”

Dead trees were recently cut down in the field where the playground is going due to this year’s unusually high temperatures and lack of rain. This has therefore greatly reduced the areas of shade for teachers to sit and children to play. The new playground will help fill the empty parts of the field, and part of the $5,000 will go toward buying canopies to provide shade.

“We have recently lost some important trees in our play area to a severe drought, and putting this new playground into the bare spot will be a thrill to our students,” Dr. Weed said.
The prize money will also be used to cover the timber border and concrete necessary for the landscape around the playscape, and the ribbon-cutting party attended by the kindergarten through second grades. A portion of the money will also be given to the Children’s Ark and Developmental Preschool programs.

Mohrmann has worked with TerraCycle before in fundraising through recycling. She has encouraged BCS students to recycle various goods such as CapriSun drink pouches.
In April, Mohrmann got an email from TerraCycle saying that their company was partnering with Old Navy to recycle flip flops. It also had a survey to fill out that would put the school in the running to win a playground.

“I filled it out and completely forgot about it,” Mohrmann said.
In May she received a phone call from TerraCycle following up on the survey. In August she received another phone call saying that BCS had won the playground, along with only three other schools in the nation.