Park Partners

Park Partner tasks vary greatly and do not require any special skills or abilities—just people caring about our City parks.

Volunteer opportunities include:

• Picking up litter
• Planning a park volunteer event
• Doing playground maintenance checks,
• Cleaning picnic tables
• Sweeping hard surfaces
• Clearing tree circles
• Raking leaves
• Weeding
• Doing trail maintenance
• Filling mutt mitt dispensers
• Being the eyes and ears for parks operations staff by reporting any problems

There is flexibility in the amount of time that Park Partner volunteers commit.

Gardening

Beginners and experienced gardeners learn about plants and have fun while weeding, digging, planting, and pruning with other volunteers.

• Deepwood Gardeners meet Thursday mornings at the Historic Deepwood Estate.
• Mission Street Parks Conservancy meet Tuesday mornings at the gardens in Bush’s Pasture Park.
• Lord & Schryver Gardeners meet Thursday mornings.

Deadhead Rose Bushes

Volunteer to keep the rose beds at Bush's Pasture Park looking neat and blooming by deadheading a bed or two from June until early October.

Deadheading removes faded flowers which keeps a neat appearance and promotes re-blooming by preventing seed production. The parks horticulturist hosts a rose pruning workshop annually in February.

Individuals, couples, families, and friends are encouraged to volunteer. You may want to adopt two or three beds, or may choose to care for more. You will receive an initial lesson in deadheading and then care for adopted beds weekly, at your leisure.

Pioneer Cemetery

Learn about the history of our community and spend some productive hours in pleasant company outdoors at Pioneer Cemetery.

Tasks include:

• Pruning
• General cleanup
• Headstone straightening
• Plot grooming
• Moss removal
• Pulling vines

Gloves and tools are provided. Work parties start at 9 a.m. and finish at noon or in the early afternoon. Work parties are usually scheduled for the second Saturday of the month, the following Monday, and the last Monday of the month during April through October. No work sessions are held on Memorial Day, but volunteers are always needed to run the visitor information station during the holiday weekend from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

New volunteers and organized groups should contact the volunteer coordinator to sign up before joining a scheduled work party. Returning volunteers can simply sign the log sheet each day they participate.