While camping is an excellent green vacation, bringing small children along means you have to plan accordingly. The younger ones may not be as gung-ho about hiking, particularly since their short legs have to take more steps. They may not be able to climb craggy trails as well either and whitewater rafting is usually out. On our last camping trip, we visited the playground at Patapsco Valley State Park to entertain the kids. I’d heard how much fun the 2 acre recycled tire play area was but I had never had a chance to actually visit.
The park was built in 1994 from recycled tires donated for the project. The tires are both a part of wooden structures and they stand alone as play equipment. The main attractions are a “pirate ship” and a “castle” as my kids called them.
Recycled tire playgrounds are environmentally friendly because they keep tires from the waste stream and generally cost only 25% of comparable playground equipment. They are much greener than most playground equipment because they are recycled; a lot of play equipment is made from virgin materials.
From water bottles to bags and milk jugs to carpet, it is great to hear of items recycled or reused to make new, different products. It is also wonderful to show kids that recycling can be fun!
What a creative idea! It looks like it was a blast from the photos.