Students, teachers and staff at Vinland School are about to get a 35-ton lesson in recycling.

That’s the combined weight of a playground surface to be installed at the elementary school during the next month or two, thanks in part to a $10,000 grant announced Wednesday by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

The new surface – composed of shreds from old recycled tires – will replace the existing surface of decomposing wood chips, which already had been targeted for replacement this year.

The Baldwin City school district had planned to spend about $6,000 for a new load of wood chips, but the state’s $10,000 grant now justifies the investment, Superintendent Paul Dorathy said.

The district plans to order a $24,000 load of tire shreds through ABCreative, a De Soto-based company whose product will cover the playground’s 5,400 square feet with a layer of rubber 6 inches deep.

The school’s 95 students, from kindergarten to fifth grade, will be getting a softer surface beneath their feet as they slide, swing and climb at the playground at 702 E. 1747 Road, north of Baldwin City.

“If you look at it long-range, we’re talking about stuff that can go in there and pretty much be indestructible,” Dorathy said. “It will last longer and be safer for kids because it has more cushion to it. It holds its value.”

The surface’s color – either brown or a more reddish shade – is guaranteed for at least 10 years, said Cynde Frick, the district’s director of financial operations.

The grant is among 61 to school districts and cities statewide, using proceeds from a 25-cent fee charged on the purchase of each new tire in Kansas. Combined, this year’s grants amount to nearly $700,000.