Thanks to the help from a local Eagle Scout troop, five new picnic tables made of recycled lumber are now at Zion Nature Center (ZNC).
Xavier Stiles from Troop 358 coordinated this effort as part of his Eagle Scout project. In addition to the five tables for Zion Nature Center, the troop completed three additional tables for the Parks Department to place at other parks.
Last December, ZNC received a $5,000 grant from the Boone County Solid Waste Management District to fund the material for the new picnic tables. Parks Department staff opted to build the tables after researching a model of a picnic table that lasted more than 20 years in a park setting. Because that model is no longer available, the Parks Department purchased the recycled lumbar and galvanized steel frames and coordinated with Stiles and his troop to build the tables.
The wood picnic tables formerly at ZNC had reached the end of their life span.
“We are hoping to see 25 or more years of service out of the new tables, far exceeding anything we could expect from traditional lumber or even prebuilt recycled picnic table kits,” said Park Naturalist Mindy Murdock. “It’s a great investment for a product that will provide decades of service for the community.
The Parks Department hopes to replace all picnic tables and possibly even benches within the park system with the same product.