LSU Community Playground Project to Build 30th Playground

01/28/2015

BATON ROUGE – Three years ago, students at Bernard Terrace Elementary School worked with LSU biological engineering students to design a new playground at the school. This weekend, a playground based on this collaboration will be built by more than 120 volunteers , including members of the Bernard Terrace Parent Teacher Association, employees of Capital One, students, faculty and staff from Our Lady of the Lake College and LSU and Rotaract Professionals of Baton Rouge.

This will be the 30th playground built as a result of the LSU Community Playground Project, an initiative spawned by LSU Professor Marybeth Lima. Guided by her belief that people can accomplish extraordinary things when they do ordinary things together, Lima, the Cliff & Nancy Spanier Alumni Professor in Biological & Agricultural Engineering, began the Playground Project to involve elementary and college students in changing their communities by increasing access to play spaces.

Lima is quick to point out that the finished product is a result of the play expertise of the elementary school children and the partnership among many different members of the community. Community partners involved in the Bernard Terrace playground effort include ARAMARK, Bernard Terrace Elementary School, Bernard Terrace PTA, Capital One, EBR Schools, Junior League of Baton Rouge, the LSU Community Playground Project, Mid-City Redevelopment Alliance, University Presbyterian Church, and Womack Construction.

Construction will take place this Friday and Saturday at Bernard Terrace elementary school in Baton Rouge.  Work will take place to build the playground from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. with a break for lunch at noon. Volunteers will construct a large playground structure with numerous play activities and a large climber.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the project will be held at the school on Monday, Feb. 2 at 10 a.m. at Bernard Terrace. Lima, sponsors and school officials will be on hand.

For more information, contact Kristin Menson with LSU’s Center for Community Engagement, Learning and Leadership at 225-578-4245, or Billy Gomila, LSU Media Relations, at 225-578-3867.

Billy  Gomila 

LSU Media Relations

225-578-3867

bgomila@lsu.edu