Viewfinder: Park Cleanup Leaves Trees Happy

Community efforts left nothing but happy trees in this weekend.

At 8 a.m. Saturday morning, hundreds of volunteers gathered to assist Commissioners Joan Leonard and Mike Hall in a .

Equipped with shovels, rakes, leaf blowers and other tools, the community spent the day raking leaves, removing graffiti, pulling weeds and laying mulch.

"Eighteen (dead) trees were already cut down yesterday by ," said Commissioner Leonard of prep work completed on Friday. "They'd been dead for years—two were struck by lightning, others affected by storms, and a bunch died from old age."

Leonard said residents who missed Saturday's cleanup may partake in another method to help beautify .

"For a $600 donation, you can purchase a bench—complete with a plaque dedicated to a loved one—as well as an ash tree that we'll put in the park," said Leonard. "And we're now also offering the option to purchase a tree only, for a $200 donation.

"It's a way to make you feel like you're connected to this park, especially if is meaningful to you in some way, as it is to so many," said Leonard.