An unexpected project provided an opportunity for students from Barton Community College and Great Bend High School to serve the community by laying new mulch at the My Backyard Playground Wednesday afternoon.
A total of 12 students from the two schools gave a little over an hour of their time when the Great Bend Recreation Commission had the project come up on short notice.
The students hauled the special playground mulch in wheelbarrows and spread the mulch over the playground with rakes, a project that lasted a little over two hours. Students from the college worked from 2-3 p.m., and students from the high school worked from 3 p.m. until a little after 4 p.m.
“I was very impressed with the (students) that came out; they were hard workers. They did a really good job,” GBRC Assistant Superintendent Chris Umphres said.
According to Umphres, the chance opportunity came from a combination fortunate circumstances that allowed them to do the project on short notice.
During the course of discussions about another Rec project the students will be helping with in the near future, Santa’s Workshop Express, Kelli Henderson, a teacher at GBHS, and Ken Henderson, athletic trainer with BCC, who are helping coordinate volunteer efforts for that project, told GBRC staff the students were looking for additional volunteer hours to fill.
With good weather expected throughout the week, and having a stockpile of the playground mulch leftover from previous projects, staff made the decision to undertake the volunteer project now.
Umphres said having a the leftover stockpile of mulch was key to being able to work on the project, because the material used on the My Backyard Playground surface is a very specific type of mulch used specifically for playgrounds. It has to be sanded and specially treated to make it smooth and safe for kids at the playground to use. Usually, it takes significant pre-planning and pre-ordering time.
Having a week with unusually warm weather was important, too. Umphres said this project, which needs to be done periodically due to heavy use of the playgrounds, is usually done by student volunteers during the high school’s annual Community Service Day in April, which could not take place this year during the early COVID-19 shutdowns.
Umphres was grateful for the number of students who came out on short notice, and said having students out doing these types of service projects is a positive for both the students and the community.
“The projects that those groups do are awesome for the community,” Umphres said. “It gets them involved, teaches social skills. You get to see these kids out doing a job; it shows good for our community.”
Santa’s Workshop Express to be discussed
The Santa’s Workshop Express, a scaled-back version GBRC’s traditional Santa’s Workshop, will be a primary topic of discussion when the GBRC Board meets Monday, Nov. 9 at 4 p.m. at the Carl Soden Recreation Center, 1214 Stone St.
The board will also discuss a software licensing subscription renewal and disposal of equipment, and will also hear reports on GBRC holiday hours and administrative evaluations. The board will also receive an update on the progress of tennis court improvements discussed in the October meeting.
