New picnic tables installed at Green Acres Community Garden

Two picnic tables manufactured from recycled plastic, including dozens of plastic lids recently collected by area school children, now adorn Greene Acres Community Garden in Broadview Heights.

The sturdy new additions, manufactured by Wadsworth, Ohio-based Plastics-R-Unique, include one 6-foot hexagonal table and one 8-foot traditional style picnic table.

The purchases were made possible through fundraising efforts, as well as donations from the gardeners and local organizations, including the Broadview Heights Foundation. In addition, the Chippewa Garden Club and Emerald Necklace Garden Club contributed 400 pounds of plastic the groups collected in 2022 as part of their “Lids to Benches” drive to procure three benches for the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Elementary School on Oakes Road. Since that project did not require all the lids the students rounded up, the garden clubs graciously agreed to credit Greene Acres with ample poundage to reduce the retail price for their new tables.

“The support Greene Acres gets from local organizations, such as the Chippewa and Emerald Necklace Garden Clubs and the Broadview Heights Foundation, has been an important addition to our own members’ fundraising efforts and generosity over our 11 years of growing,” said Greene Acres President Erin Nowjack. “This latest contribution of plastic caps from the clubs may have been unusual, but it sure helped get these terrific new units into our beloved green space. … It was quite a sight to watch our garden members come together to unload and construct everything for the new tables. We love that they’re manufactured here in Ohio from recycled plastic, particularly considering that the kids from our local schools worked so hard to collect hundreds of pounds of lids that may have otherwise ended up in a landfill. [They] will be put to good use for years to come.”

Launched in 2013, Greene Acres Community Garden Inc. is an organic operation that includes more than 90 plots and 70 gardening members. In addition, the 14,400-square-foot green space features a monarch waystation, a rain barrel, education plots, composting bins and standing plots for members with limited mobility. Since the organization’s inception, Greene Acres gardeners have supported area foodbanks with more than 1,200 pounds of donations of fresh produce. For more information, visit greeneacres.org, or on Facebook at @greeneacresCG. Those wishing to make a much-appreciated donation to the 501c3 nonprofit can email garden officials at greeneacresweb@gmail.com. ∞

Photo: Members from Greene Acres’ construction and maintenance team (L–R) Rich Mendala, Dave Lenigan, Ed Thompson, John Nixon, John Goshorn and Larry Latine (seated) take a break after assembling the group’s new 8′ picnic table. Photo submitted.