We post a fair few pictures here of recycled plastic lumber and furniture looking smart and shiny in schools, parks, waterways and such, and we’re very proud of the difference our products can make in these environments. The most amazing part of these projects, though, is often the hard work and community spirit poured in by volunteers and organisers. Today we’d like to take a moment to celebrate the people who build these things and show you a small part of the effort some people will go to to improve their surroundings for all of us, and in this case even for frogs.

Out with the old

Cathy Fowler, Outdoor Learning and Development Worker at Lower Fields Primary Academy, explains – “We had an old wooden bridge over a pond in the school wildlife area that had deteriorated to the point that it really needed replacing, and we wanted to use recycled plastic because of its long lifespan. We had a huge amount of support from the wonderful people at Bradford Environmental Education Service – you can see in the pictures how hard their volunteers worked!”

Trigger warning: picture of LOTS of froggies and frogspawn coming up. Scroll on if (like us) you find them cute, but if not – don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Frogs in pond.

It was imperative from the start of the project that the wildlife in the water and surrounding area was disturbed as little as possible.

Metamorphosis: Not just for frogs!

Volunteers remove the muddy wooden remains of the old bridge.

Step 1: Remove the old wooden structure.

Volunteers bail water from between temporary dams.

Step 2: Build small dams and clear the area to be built in.

The first uprights are driven in

Step 3: The first uprights are driven in.

Volunteers cut posts to length

Step 4: Cutting the posts to length.

Subframe complete, it's time to start laying the decking planks.

Step 5: Subframe complete, it’s time to start laying the decking planks.

Decking almost complete

Step 6: Finishing the decking!

Attaching the rails.

Step 7: Attaching the rails.

The boardwalk is finished. Time for a selfie!

Step 8: The finished article. Group selfie time!

The boardwalk is finished and looks beautiful in the park.

The boardwalk makes a beautiful, lasting addition to the school grounds.

As you can see, several pairs of hands made pretty light work of what was a big and muddy job. Well done to all the staff and volunteers involved in the project, we hope that the students enjoy their new recycled plastic bridge for many years to come.

If all this has made you think about building your own bridges and walkways you can find our range of recycled plastic lumber at https://britishrecycledplastic.co.uk/ – drop us a line and we’ll be happy to help.