Lending a hand

Ed Moan says he’s been weeding most of his career. He grew roses for 29 years commercially and now works at Liberty Park Florist and Greenhouse. Each Wednesday, Moan voluntarily spends part of his day off weeding flower beds, sweeping up grass clippings and picking up trash at Parkwater Neighborhood Park.

In April he officially “adopted” the quarter-acre park near Felts Field through the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department’s Adopt-a-Park program.

“I just called (the Parks Department) and said the park needs some work,” Moan said. “I didn’t know about Adopt-a-Park.”

But the program works well for him.

The city Parks Department mows the lawn, cleans the restroom and removes garbage from the park trash cans. They provide him with garbage bags and any equipment he might need.

Moan lets the department know if something needs attention, such as graffiti or a broken drinking fountain.

“I’m the park watchdog,” Moan said.

He lives a block away from the neighborhood minipark at Koren and Commerce. This makes it convenient for him to spend a few hours each week tidying up the playground and picnic area.

“The kids are gone, and my wife said I had to find a hobby,” Moan said.

Moan, 52, has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years. He was on the Chief Garry Park Steering Committee, which allocated community development block grant funds to build the park in 1998.

“Lots of kids use the park,” Moan said. “The little kids use the playground equipment, and the older kids use the basketball court.

“Before the park was here, they played in the street.”

He said he can accomplish a lot in the three hours he spends at the park each week, and taking care of the park takes his mind off other things.

Even though he pays taxes to maintain the park, he doesn’t mind pitching in to help.

“If it doesn’t happen, then my park doesn’t get taken care of,” he said.

He said neighbors tell him how much they appreciate what he does, and that makes him feel good.

The Adopt-a-Park program began in February.

Since then, 300 people have contributed more than 2,000 hours of volunteer work, said Marion Severud, community relations supervisor for the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department.

Participants include individuals as well as church and service groups.

When the minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church challenged his congregation to make a difference in the community, the first thing that came to Mary Lou Johnson’s mind was a trash cleanup. They formed a group they call the “trash team.”

The trash team cleans up the area around the church on Fort Wright Drive, and each month from March through October the group takes on additional projects.

The group has adopted Lincoln Park at 17th and Crestline on the South Side.

“The park is actually in pretty good condition,” Johnson said. “A number of us on the trash team happen to live in the area, and we’ve been picking up trash there for years individually.

“We plan to go back again this fall.”

The group volunteered for the knapweed project, part of Riverfest at High Bridge Park, for its project this month, and in July it plans to do cleanup at Pioneer Park.

“I would like to see everyone in Spokane clean up where they work, live and play,” Johnson said.

“If they did that, we would have a beautiful city and we would be exercising our environmental stewardship.”

On June 4 about 75 Girl Scouts from Service Unit 406, from the Mead School District, and their parents adopted Friendship Park in north Spokane for their annual Green It and Clean It project. The Girl Scout program promotes awareness about keeping the environment clean.

According to Raelene Raynor, service unit secretary, most of the girls were in the 9-12 age group, but Brownies and older girls also participated.

“We had two hours and a lot of people; we really got a lot accomplished,” Raynor said. “We painted the backboards for both baseball fields. We raked, we picked up garbage, we painted the enclosure around the garbage bin, and we weeded and planted flowers by the Friendship Park sign.

“The girls couldn’t get enough painting and planting,” Raynor said.

“This program shows pride in our community, pride in our city. Just because we get to use the parks doesn’t mean that we can’t give back and help maintain them. The kids aren’t going to damage something that they spent so much time cleaning and making pretty.”

She would recommend the Adopt-a-Park Program to others.

“They were very well organized. They had the tools and everything there that we needed to participate,” Raynor said.

“All you have to do is call Marion (Severud) and set a date. She’ll keep you posted as to what needs to be done.”