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Milliken Plant Trees at Schools

Children are more at risk to the sun's damaging rays.

Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 2/26/2007 12:00:00 AM

“Rising temperatures signal an unrecognized hazard for elementary schools,” says David Caples, president of the floor covering division of carpet manufacturer Milliken. On February 16, Arbor Day, the manufacturer launched Making the Shade, an initiative to plant trees on elementary school playgrounds.

Marking the manufacturer’s first anniversary for Trees for All, a tree planting initiative for customers and the firm's supply chain, Making the Shade is a partnership with the Georgia Forestry Commission. With the program, Milliken intends to increase safety on elementary school playgrounds through added shade protection. Children are more susceptible to ground level ozone and skin damage can occur in as little as 15 minutes of overexposure to the suns ultraviolet (UV) radiation, site program organizers. Plus, elevated playground temperatures reduce air quality and increase risks for children with asthma and other lung related issues.

The first school to benefit is Franklin Forest Elementary in LaGrange, Georgia. With the new plantings—including the Dura-Heat river birch and Nuttall oaks, all now 12 feet high—high temperatures will be lowered, benefiting 500 students in grades pre-K to five.

“Not only will the trees provide much needed shade for our students on the playground areas, but they will also greatly add to the beauty of our campus,” said Franklin Forest Elementary School Principal Janet Johnson.