Back to School

Asphalt sea at Capitol Hill SchoolLast month, Capitol Hill Elementary School won a $15,000 grant to improve its playground, the result of a video that illustrated the bleak landscape of its 2-acre asphalt slab. The next phase, removal of some 3,500 square feet of that asphalt, will get under way at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 9. The event is being coordinated by Depave, a Portland nonprofit organization dedicated to the removal of pavement. Organizers have put out the call for volunteers. Lunch, refreshments, gloves, goggles and tools will be provided. Volunteers should wear long pants and closed-toe shoes. The school won a nationwide video competition sponsored by Kaboom, a national nonprofit that helps communities build playgrounds, and Let’s Play, a community partnership led by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, to get kids and families active.Out of the 118 video and grant applications that Kaboom received from around the country, Capitol Hill was one of 10 finalists — and the only Oregon school — competing for votes in an online voting competition. Capitol Hill School’s video placed in the top five to win a $15,000 playground equipment grant. The pavement is being removed to make way for a soft-surface play area with native trees and plants, a story circle and new play equipment.

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