MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- A neighborhood playground filled with swings, slides and monkey bars, gives children a place to go run and play while their parents get the opportunity to relax.
However, when the park becomes decrepit like the Ushinoya-cho Park the desire for a fun filled day in the park decreases.
Over the years the park has deteriorated, the swings rusted away and bushes, weeds and tall grass clogged the paths leading around the park. On June 13, the Navy Seabees took time out of their busy schedule to clean it up and restore the neighborhood playground.
"This is really a beautiful park, but it was in desperate need of a face-lift so that?s what we gave it," said Ensign John Beattie, Seabees assistant resident officer in charge of construction.
For their annual community relations project the Seabees brought out rakes, weed whackers, lawn mowers and a few gallons of paint to complete the project.
"Every year we try to give something back to the community. In past years we have gone to Atata Island, but this year we wanted to do something a little bit closer to the base," said Beattie. "It was a lot of work, but it feels good to do something for somebody else."
The Seabees cleared the paths around the park, mowed the grass, picked up trash, removed rust, repainted the playground equipment and trimmed the bushes. Thus providing the residents of the recently opened Casa Branca Apartment buildings, located directly across from the park, a place to go and unwind.
"I'm sure children and families will be moving in to the apartments soon, and it would be a shame if they didn't use the park,? said Beattie. "Hopefully the park is more inviting to residents now."
After all of the hard work the Seabees had a barbecue and enjoyed the sight of what they had accomplished.
"A lot of hard work and sweat went into this project, but it feels good to know that we did something for our community," said Seamen Apprentice Bobby Cook, builder with Station Seabees. "When we came out here, I thought that it was a lost cause but it really came out nice. Now that its finished, not only did the community get something, but we got a sense of satisfaction."