The Tabernacle Christian Academy recently celebrated their new playground with a neighborhood party. The playground was a gift from Old Navy and Terracycle and was awarded through a competitive grant process. The celebration included food, games, prizes and entertainment.

The Tabernacle Christian Academy recently celebrated their new playground with a neighborhood party. The playground was a gift from Old Navy and Terracycle and was awarded through a competitive grant process. The celebration included food, games, prizes and entertainment. Established in 1974, the Tabernacle Christian Academy is a K-12 Christian day school. The academy is a ministry of Tabernacle Baptist Church, and is at 155 Academy St., Poughkeepsie. For more information, call 845-454-2792 or visit tabernaclechristianonline.com.

Though the tactics for reaching the audiences often needs to be different, it’s still most effective and efficient – you reach the mostpeople – when you combine audiences and catch everyone at once. The hard part, of course, is finding this middle ground. What will inspire and impact children and adults alike, without confusing one group or boring the other. At TerraCycle, we’ve found that one of the best ways to do this is to put green lessons where they’re least expected. For us, this means retailers and playgrounds. By placing bins in stores like Old Navy and by partnering with stores such as Target and Walmart, which cater to both adults and children, we can catch the attention of both groups. Many people don’t expect to see backpacks made from Capri Sun drink pouches on the shelves – drink pouches belong in the food section! These items often get an equal gasp from parents and children alike, albeit for likely differing reasons.

PDPlay, the leading designer and manufacturer of environmentally friendly commercial playground equipment for parks, schools, child development centers, communities and the military, announced earlier this month a partnership with TerraCycle, Inc, the pioneer upcycling and recycling company and Old Navy to design, manufacture and install four new playgrounds for the 2011-2012 school year. The playgrounds, donated by Old Navy and TerraCycle, are made from used flip flops collected from Old Navy customers earlier this year during a month-long “Flip Flop Replay” collection drive. The donation recipients are schools in Austin, TX, San Jose, CA, Poughkeepsie, NY, and a fourth that is yet to be selected.

To Poughkeepsie's Tabernacle Christian Academy — one of four schools nationwide to receive a donated playground made, in part, from recycled flip flops collected from Old Navy customers. The recipients of the playgrounds — made by PDPlay, manufacturers of environmentally friendly playground equipment based in Vista, Calif. — were selected through a competitive grant survey held by TerraCycle. The school, located on Academy Street, installed the playground with local volunteers.

The school, located on Tabernacle Street in the City of Poughkeepsie, will install the playground donated by Old Navy and TerraCycle Inc., a New Jersey recycling company, today with local volunteers on hand to help build the structure.

Tabernacle Christian Academy is one of four schools nationwide to receive a donated playground made, in part, from recycled, used flip flops collected from Old Navy customers during the store's month-long "Flip Flop Replay." The school, located on Academy Street in the City of Poughkeepsie, will install the playground donated by Old Navy and TerraCycle Inc., a New Jersey recycling company, today with local volunteers on hand to help build the structure.

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- Taking old items and making something new out of them has helped create a unique new place to play for some lucky children in Poughkeepsie. Tabernacle Christian Academy is one of four schools across the nation that will receive a donated playground from "TerraCycle" and Old Navy. This isn't just any kind of playground. It's made in part, from flip flops.

TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/>  is launching a new campaign with Old Navy next week called the Flip Flop Replay just in time for Earth Day. From April 22 through May 21 you can drop off used flip flops at any Old Navy store in the U.S. Then TerraCycle will recycle the flip flops into four public playgrounds at different locations around the country, marking the first large-scale effort to collect and recycle flip flops. TerraCycle has led the recycling charge with several successful programs <http://www.inhabitots.com/terracycle-backpacks/>  in the past including recycling Stoneyfield yogurt containers into toothbrushes, razors and more. Beyond flip flop recycling, you can join in on one of TerraCycle’s other “Bridgades <http://www.terracycle.net/brigades?locale=en-US&show_all=true> ” by sending in wrappers, corks, containers, electronics and more.

  When you look at community playgrounds, the last thing you’d assume those playgrounds are built from is flip flops. But Old Navy and TerraCycle are partnering together in a program that makes that happen. The Flip Flop Replay program facilitates the recycling of old flip flops to build community playgrounds. It’s all part of a national recycling program. Now through May 21, Old Navy shoppers can participate in Flip Flop Replay by depositing used flip flops in collection bins at local Old Navy stores.