Located at 533 E. Ohio Street in Millvale, PA.  

Before Rainbow Raccoon Park was...  well...   “Rainbow Raccoon Park”, it was a vacant piece of land that was not serving the community whatsoever.  It was littered (not to mention rather dangerous) and had to be cleaned up by dedicated community members and local students.  When we were cleaning up the lot, we found all sorts of trash like bottles, concrete, wooden skids, weeds, and even metal car parts burried in the ground in some cases.  Community, volunteers, hard work, and a clear vision/plan made it what it is today.

• Tristan, Peter, Cheyenne

Located at the entrance of the park, this colorful sign creates a strong first impression and helps attract attention from people who may not already know about the park.  Beyond its appearance, the sign also represents community involvement and local creativity.  Many visitors may not realize that the sign was designed by Sadie Wilkinson, a former student of Shaler Area High School.  The final production was completed by Pannier Graphics in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, a company known for creating durable outdoor signage.  This project highlights the importance of supporting local artists and businesses while creating a welcoming and lasting feature for the community.

• Ava and Jordan

This is the Rainbow Racoon Park mascot.  It's a 12.5 ft, 5,000 lbs. steel structure.  The material alone cost near $7,000.  The cutting services were about $9,000 in labor cost.  All costs were paid through donations and grants.  “I don’t think there’s anything quite like it really anywhere else in the city, or in other cities as well, for that matter,” says Filip Agren, the artist who created the sculpture.  “It’s a really special example of what Pittsburgh can do.”  It is a public art and draws tourists.  Agren continues, “I built the Raccoon out of Corten Steel.  It's a special type of steel which can be outside and won’t rust away.  Basically, the rust on this kind of steel protects it from further weathering.  I chose this material because it lasts forever and it's made in the USA and relates to Pittsburgh's rich history of steel manufacturing.”  When asked what was the hardest part of the Raccoon to build, Agren said, “Definitely the body!  I began the process of building the Raccoon by starting with the smallest assemblies first: the feet & hands, then the snout and ears; followed by the rest of the head.  Then I built the tail and started connecting it to the feet. The body was huge & very tall, making it the most challenging part because each component weighed a lot.”

• Ellie, Kenna, Mackenzie, Alyssa

Located directly across from Rainbow Racoon Park, the side of Strange Roots Experimental Ales is decorated with a vibrant mural representing the beauty of Millvale as a community.  Painted by Shane Pilster and Max Gonzales of “Do What We Love”, they took time to carefully review feedback from community members on what they wanted to see represented.  The mural focuses on the central theme of diversity and inclusion that thrives in the Millvale community.  Notably, they chose to include the saying “live your dream, protect your peace” as a dedication to Maureen Girty-Risk, a valued member of the Millvale community.  Danielle Spinola, founder and self-proclaimed “TEA.E.O” of Abeille Voyant Tea Co., advocated for this dedication alongside her brother, Dennis Hock.  Spinola explained that the quote represents a family motto that they have: “Her way of saying: create healthy boundaries, so you can live your life in the fullest, most authentic way for you.”  Overall, the piece was a heavily collaborative effort, which also integrates drawings made by local students.  The artists worked hard to capture the students’ visions, but that was not the hardest part of the process.  Max Gonzales described the process of interpreting these drawings, along with the challenges, stating “One of the biggest challenges was the weather.  We had started this project in April and did not finish it until June.”  For reference, a majority of their projects take only a couple weeks to complete at most.  They turned the challenge into further development of the project, enriching the final result.  The finished mural stands as a beautiful, lasting testament to the imagination of local youth, the unique style of the artists, and the resilient, inclusive spirit of the Millvale community.

• Chloel, Nick,, Emilio, Izzy

The bottle cap benches were created by collecting plastic caps for months.  No joke... MONTHS!  They were individually cleaned and taken to a recycling company in Indiana, PA.  #5 plastic is not recyclable curbside in Pittsburgh, so the Shaler Area students, including 2026 senior Kori Wilson, held a cap collection drive for the majority of the 2024-25 school year in order to reach the necessary amount for the benches.  Kori, the Sustainability Club president, said she used Instagram to promote the project along with word of mouth.  The club ended up filling the Sustainability classroom with bags and bags of bottle caps collected by students, neighbors, friends and families.  The caps were melted down and placed into molds to create the structures.  The benches were placed in the park in May of 2025.

• Emma, Chloe, Lilly, Maleena

The pump bike track is a circuit of rollers and turns that are designed to generate speed by "pumping" bodies instead of pedaling!  Creators say that shifting weight and timing movements over the smooth terrain helps a cyclist maintain the momentum around the track.  This track relies on soil instead of asphalt or concrete and uses less materials.  Built by BMX bike experts, such as Millvale resident, Michael Potoczny and volunteers, such as former Shaler Area student, Jack Schlotter, this track is flat out fun.  Potoczny said, “It reduces the environmental impact and cost.”  Two days of planning went into the creation of this pump bike track.  It then took four days to make and complete.  The machines used to create the track included a Dingo and Plate Compactor.  Hand tools used included a wheelbarrow, a spade shovel, a flat shovel, watering cans, water buckets, and rakes to help finish out the project.  Maintaining the track isn't hard either!  All it needs is some watering, replacing the washed away dirt, and hand packing it in.

• Lillian Heine, Enzo Bauer, Brody Baranowski, Gianna Salitrik

The community worked with Tree Pittsburgh to plant many of the trees at the park.  These include native trees, such as Eastern Redbud trees, and recently fruit trees were planted including three paw paw trees and two hazelnut trees.  The trees help foster fruit for the park’s visitors!  Tree Pittsburgh’s vision is to “create a healthy urban forest for all by inspiring and engaging people to maintain, plant, and protect trees.”

• Jordan, Nate, James, Roman

The signs were created cooperatively by Shaler Area students, which include the names of plants, garden labels, and an installation of the Crocus Project.  The Crocus Project is an initiative that aims to engage young people and create beauty out of a horrible historical event, and the planting of the yellow crocus flowers did just that.  “As young people, it is our duty to tell the stories of the past and try to not make the same mistakes again. To turn something so horrendous and vile into a beautiful memorial, it is a very special thing,” says Erin.  “I feel Rainbow Raccoon Park has instilled a newfound sense of pride in our community.  It is an amazing project.  And we got the chance to work on it hands on, members of the community, with the cap collection for the benches, with book donations, with painting and planting etc. it is really something to be proud of.”  As for Nathan’s efforts on the project, for accessibility purposes, he created braille to be incorporated onto the signs.

• Matthew, Allison, Daniel

One thing that seems to be a struggle when it comes to large amounts of rain is the overwhelming amount of water that has nowhere to go.  Some previous students of Shaler Area High School saw this problem and decided to take action to solve it.  They created beautiful rain gardens to capture all of the excess water and benefit the plant life.  They also planted many types of plants and flowers that began to thrive from this new creation.  Two of the students who worked on the rain garden were Adriana Dorovenis and Kaysia Chelli.  Chelli said, “The main goal of the park was to help promote native vegetation inside the park while also aiding the land in storm water management.”  This would help stop the park from being flooded after heavy rains.  These students wanted to make a functional rain garden while preserving the natural beauty of Rainbow Raccoon Park.  The two girls said that this project took a little over a year to do and they did encounter some challenges.  The most challenging part was picking the right types of plants.  “For the rain garden specifically, it took a while to figure out what type of plants we wanted to include, so we needed to make sure the plants we chose could withstand large amounts of water,” said Adriana.  These girls put in a lot of dedication to making this rain garden which still functions today!

• Megan, Tallulah, Paige

This is a small garden inside of a large tire that was found in Girty’s Woods and repurposed to reside at Rainbow Raccoon Park.  The tire was filled up with bricks to create a platform for the pots, and there were seasonal and year-round flowers planted inside.  The tire was painted black, blue, and rainbow colors with environmentally-safe paint. The Sustainability Club at Shaler Area High School worked to create the garden in the spring of 2026.  One of the club members who worked on this project quite a bit was Cece, who said “I would say my favorite part of this specific project was painting the tire.  I've always loved to paint, and it was fun to cover the tire in bright colors in hopes it will make people curious about it!.”  This tire shows how seemingly random things like bricks and tires can be recycled and repurposed into something as pretty as the tire garden!

• Cece, Mady, Brooke

Rainbow Raccoon Park in Millvale has so many wonderful features, including a storage shed made out of recycled materials!  Jeff Jaeger, the creator of the shed, made it entirely out of old wooden pallets other wood projects that would have been wasted otherwise.  The shed features solar panels to help power the shed, as well as rain barrels along the sides to help collect rainwater that can be repurposed.  The shed is super cool and even has a new pergula off the side of it for added shade to hang out under it or have some lunch.  It's up to you, really.  You can visit it today at Rainbow Raccoon Park!!

• Rylin, Lily, Cassandra, Molly

These solar panels that were installed by Anthony Stewart are a great sustainable source of energy for the park!  They are sustainable because they “collect energy directly from the sun and convert that energy into electricity.  We then store that electricity in batteries that are used to power lights, charging equipment, and other uses like powering music through amplifiers,” as Anthony explains.  There were some difficulties Stewart faced while installing the solar panels stating, “It was below 30 degrees and snowing the day we were on the roof mounting the panels.  As I regularly work outside in all weather, it wasn't the worst thing, but we made it through.”  He did a great job, and the panels are a great sustainable addition to the park!

• Sofie and Ella

The rain barrels in the park were installed by Anthony Stewart and serve as a way to collect extra rain to help prevent overflowing and pollution of the waterways.  Anthony had some members of the Shaler Area High School Sustainability Club help to install the barrels.  Stewart commented on how the barrel materials, which were old olive barrels, are sustainable,  “We did not recycle them but instead reused them after thoroughly cleaning them.”  Christian Mendoza was part of the Shaler Area Sustainability Club when they were installed.  He said “it really shaped my commitment to environmental service.”  These seemingly normal barrels contribute to the betterment of the environment as well as lead people towards sustainable thinking. The water collected will be used in many different ways from rinsing off a section of blacktop, to soaking a rag to wipe off the tables and benches, and of course, watering the gardens.  But don't drink from them...  let's be smart about this, folks.  They are truly an amazing feature in this park.

• Envy, Kaitlyn, Seda

The retaining wall features bricks that have been repurposed and donated by New Sun Rising.  They were donated to Rainbow Raccoon Park in order to keep as much as possible, sustainable.  There are plans to use this wall to frame an accessible entrance to the park.

• Jackson, Ryan, Dylan, Brayden

Rainbow Raccoon Park is home to a  Free Little Library.  Mackenzie Herc  and her father constructed it together during Mackenzie’s senior year at Shaler Area High School.  The materials they used to build it were mainly from scraps of other projects.  “The most rewarding part of the project was knowing that I was making something that people could use for years to come”, reflects Mackenzie.  The library was painted with colorful characters by the Shaler Area Sustainability Club the following year.

• Brady, Dylan, Sally

The basketball court at the park is one of the main highlights. With the GAPP (aka GAP Park) being closed for basketball and Rainbow Racoon Park being the only easily accessible court in Millvale, the park gives those who live in Millvale a spot to come together and enjoy a sport whether it be one on ones, twos, threes, or any size of game.  Jackie Michalik, TABS Asphalt & Concrete who paved the court area shared, “Our contribution to this project was one of local support to the community.  There wasn't a process, more of a shared vision. Our future hopes for Rainbow Raccoon Park to watch it grow and become a core part of the community as envisioned.” 

• Chase, Beck, Nico, Alex 

The Construction of this chain-link fence system took 3 days and involved 3 people.  The fence itself is 309 feet long, with a 12 foot gate.  “The vinyl gauge was included so it doesn't hurt the children’s hands and the animals,” says Chris Cooper, who built the fence.  To ensure its continued safety, it’s recommended to check the fence once a year for stability.  The fence posts are installed 36 inches deep into the ground.  This design was made to create a secure lasting barrier.

• Rylee,Nick,Justin,Logan