If you are interested in learning more about adopting a park, click
here.
Project Updates
John Ball Adopt-A-Park Hosts Their First Event
Members of the Hough Neighborhood Association are making a difference at John Ball Park. This group, known as the John Ball Parkers, recently adopted John Ball Park. On Saturday, September 21st, twelve participants from the John Ball Parkers group gathered for a day of making a difference by raking leaves, trimming volunteer sucker bushes, and pulling weeds. Their participation produced 22 large bags of yard debris, representing over 660 gallons, plus a giant pile of English ivy which no paper bag could contain. Michelle Anderson Roth, John Ball Park’s point person, is looking to expand the group. If you are interested in participating or in receiving more information about this group, you can find them on Facebook listed as the “
John Ball Parkers.” - update written by VCPRD volunteer, Shirley Brost
Orchards Park Cleanup
On Sunday, September 8th, 40 volunteers from St. Andrew's Lutheran Church spent 3 hours cleaning up Orchards Park. The volunteers picked up 6 bags of litter, removed English ivy, pulled weeds from the rose garden, washed picnic tables and signs, and swept the asphalt paths. The volunteers had spent the morning working around their church, but still had plenty of energy to clean up the park. The volunteers did a great job and really made a difference!
SOLVE Riverside Cleanup
Members of the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Corksport, as well as other volunteers, braved the extreme weather for the Frenchman's Bar Beach Cleanup on Saturday, September 28th. This cleanup was held in conjunction with SOLVE's Beach and Riverside Cleanup held on the 28th throughout Oregon and SW Washington. While many of the coastal cleanups had to be postponed due to the inclement weather, many of the inland events were a go. Four bags of small trash and three bags of recyclable cans and bottles were collected in a little over an hour. Despite the heavy wind and pelting rain, everyone stayed positive and determined to get the job done!
Check out the other project updates here!
Recreation Volunteer opportunities
Do have experience working with kids? Want to give of your time one or more times a week? Enjoy playing with kids? Love hanging out at Firstenburg or Marshall Community Centers? If you answered yes to any of these questions then a Child Watch volunteer position may be for you. To learn more about the Child Watch program click
here. If you are interested contact Hailey at
hailey.heath@cityofvancouver.us or complete an online application
here.
Volunteer Spotlight
The Blandford Canyon Ivy Pull Team has been hard at work reclaiming the canyon and removing English Ivy and other invasive plants over the last year. Henry Sessions, a neighbor who lives near the Canyon, has organized monthly ivy pulls and engaged almost 100 volunteers throughout the year and removed nearly 20 yards of ivy. Henry does a great job leading the volunteer crews by teaching volunteers why this is important work, how to be safe and how to remove the invasive plant. We appreciate his dedication and perseverance to save the beautiful trees and landscape of Blandford Canyon. Thank you Henry! Click
here to get involved or join this season's last ivy pull on October 12th, 2-4pm.
Volunteer Summary for September
Active volunteers: 744
Volunteer events: 27
Total volunteer hours: 2,720
Monetary value of volunteer hours: $60,220*
*Based on the national average of $22.14/hour as determined by the Independent Sector.
At this event we will remove cigarette butts and other litter from our parks, green spaces, and public walkways throughout the City of Vancouver and Clark County. Last year volunteers removed 25 pounds of cigarette butts from these areas. Cigarette butts are not only the most commonly found piece of litter, but also can leach toxic chemicals into our waterways. Contrary to popular belief, they are not biodegradable and can persist in the environment for years. We will meet at the clubhouse at the Luke Jensen Sports Complex, upstairs in the Bud Van Cleve Room, and then disperse to various parks and other areas (transportation will not be provided, so please plan accordingly). Lunch will be served after the event from 12:30 to 1:00 pm. Please 
The Clark County Day of Service on Saturday, September 14th was a huge success! Over 400 volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other community members came out to our parks, trails, open spaces, and cemeteries and donated 1193 hours of volunteer time. Volunteers pulled scotch broom and other weeds, removed plant protectors, cut new trail, counted trail users, and cleaned up several parks and cemeteries, among other activities. One group even assembled and installed six new benches and 10 barbecue pits at Captain William Clark Park in Washougal that were generously donated by the Rotary Clubs of Clark County and Georgia Pacific.
