IRMO, S.C. — The community park in Irmo is a fan favorite to town members. It's home to the famous Okra Strut Festival and a fun place to play and have events.
Recently the Department of Public Services has added a new piece to the park. A re-purposed oak tree was made into a park bench near the playground area.
Department of Public Services Director Whitt Cline explains, "Last fall we removed a tree from the park- it was old and needed to be taken out. We took it back to our facility, we shaved all the bark off of it, we let it dry out and then we sanded it down over the winter and this spring we applied some stain to it and we now have a nice bench for the playground area of the community park."
Cline says he received inspiration for the project when his daughter was studying in Europe. He says she sent him pictures of parks there using their resources, like this bench.
He also tells us of plans to continue making projects like this one, "As we take down some of the older trees in the park, as needed, we would like to make some more benches like this. And maybe some sculptures or anything else we can find a way to reuse the material from the park."
Not only is using resources like the ones in your own yard environmentally friendly, they are also cost effective. Little projects like this one are a small step in the right direction for a greener Irmo community.
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