Students at Beach Grove Elementary have had enough of area residents and their dogs using their school playground as a toilet.

Following a brainstorming session between teachers and principal Rick Hall, Grade 2 teacher Margo Hardy decided that her class would take on an awareness project to bring the issue to light for the community.

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The students have made signs, which will be posted along the fence in a dog park that is adjacent to the school playground, and the class all wrote letters to the Optimist expressing their feelings.

“We just keep finding dog poop by the swings where the kids play,” said Hardy. “I have had students who step in dog poo and then track it all through the classroom. We do have the dog park right beside us, which is great, but people should pick up after their dogs.”

Hardy said it’s been an issue for the seven years she’s been at Beach Grove.

“We can see the playground from our classroom window and we see people with their dogs,” she said. “We have also had instances where we have kids go out onto the playground to pick up something and had big dogs chase after them. They are nice dogs, but you have kids with real dog fears and that could be a safety issue. We use the grounds all day long, not just at lunch. We all love dogs, we just want people to be more aware.”

Hall said when he walks the grounds he carries dog poop bags in his pocket to pick up the mess.

“This is a health issue. The playground should be a safe place and free of the dog messes so our kids don’t have to worry about this,” Hall said.