Young Man’s Recycling Effort A Success At Skate Park

By Kendra Bobowick

Sixteen-year-old Adam Mangiafico’s effort to keep the skate park at Dickinson Park clean has caught the attention of resident Howard Lasher.

Mr Lasher recently purchased a permanent recycle container after reading about Adam’s pursuit in past months to clean up the park where he and friends spend a lot of time on their skateboards and bikes.

“I wanted to help Adam achieve his wishes,” Mr Lasher said. “This is great for the community.”

Mr Lasher recently met at the park with Adam and Parks & Recreation Director Amy Mangold. On August 31, the first Friday of the new school year, the park saw more than a dozen skaters riding the ramps, teetering at the edge of a bowl before whipping downward, and in general enjoying time with friends.

“I think the town needs places for the children to come to,” Mr Lasher said. That the area is cleaned and maintained, and that one young man thought about how he could help, impressed Mr Lasher, he said. Helping Adam “is something I wanted to do,” he said.

“I also try to help Parks &  Recreation. To help is a privilege,” Mr Lasher told Ms Mangold.

“We’ve been lucky for [Mr Lasher’s] help,” Ms Mangold said. “He has been more than generous.”

Regarding the skate park —  a project that celebrated its ribbon cutting in December 2010, after more than eight years of planning and fundraising — she said, “It has been more successful than we could have hoped, and has been needed for so long.”

While the skate park has been a success, trash has already been one of its ongoing problems.

“There is a lot left behind, and it’s admirable that Adam has made an effort to keep it clean,” said Ms Mangold.

Noting that the freestanding, covered bin “is working” and prompting parkgoers to use it since its installation in late July, Adam also notices that peers follow his example when they see him cleaning up and tossing items into the recycling bin.

Adam had spent many months picking up trash at the park during 2011, and in January 2012 he proposed the idea of a recycle bin. Although there were trash bins on site at that time, he had to take recyclable items home to dispose of them.

When she first spoke with Adam in January about the recycling, then considering all the town’s parks overall, Ms Mangold said, “I think we should be as green as we can and pursue recycling at all our parks. Other groups in town do volunteer recycling projects.”

Adam soon joined that effort. His recycling fits in with a goal of Ms Mangold’s, to work with different groups to make a larger scale recycling effort a success.

Those interested in coordinating volunteer recycling efforts with the Parks and Recreation Department should call 203-270-4340.