Build an In-tire Playground

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You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on sterile, mass-produced recreational equipment.Take Paul Hogan's advice instead

1979 is the International Year of the Child, and you could hardly do the tykes and teens in your community a better service than to provide them with a joyful place to sport and cavort. A playground needn't require scads of expensive prefabricated equipment, either, because you can build a better recreation set than commercial manufacturers offer . . . using discarded auto and truck tires! Millions of the worn-out "road riders" become junked giveaways every year . . . so why not work with your fun-loving youngsters (and recycle a bit of America's trash in the bargain) to construct your own super-fantastic, whale-of-a-time, free playground?

Please note that I just said you should work WITH the children. I started designing "outdoor rumpus rooms" years ago, and have since helped over 250 communities-from Ottawa to Tennessee-create their own playgrounds. The successes and failures I've experienced in these projects have taught me one vitally important lesson: Never build playgrounds without the total involvement of the children who will be using them!

There are several good reasons for "employing" youthful design and construction crews. For one thing, young people should be allowed to help develop their own play space. After all, most adults enjoy laying out a vegetable patch or redesigning their own homes . . . and young folks can have a lot of fun helping to shape their own "environments", as well. (Remember, too, that one meaning of the word recreation is "the act of building anew".)

In addition, your pre- and post-pubescent planners will make sure the finished structure is built to "scale", and that it includes playthings the children themselves will want to use. All too many professionally designed playgrounds go un-enjoyed because they simply don't appeal to young'uns!

More important, though . . . "offspring architects" may be necessary for a playground's survival. When outdoor fun sites are designed and put up by adults, children will often "re-create" the parks in the only way they can . . . by destroying them! If these same individuals have their hands in the planning and development of the game ground, however, the juveniles will want to maintain-maybe improve-their structures . . . rather than damage them.

HAVE YOUNG'UNS, NEED TIRES

Once you corral some "constructive" youngsters (this should be an easy task, as most children will be eager to help!), all you'll lack is your raw material: tires. Fortunately, an almost infinite number of old highway handlers can be had just for the scrounging.