Come visit our Ewing Park Lilac Arboretum, 5300 Indianola Ave., which will be in full bloom soon. | |
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We are in our busiest months of the year right now with multiple volunteer projects happening daily. It's an exciting time in Parks and Recreation and there are so many people to thank. The ones mentioned here are just a few of the hundreds of volunteers that have come out this past month to help. We appreciate each and every one of you. I wish I could bottle the joy and smiles we've seen as our volunteers reconnect with us and each other. Hopefully, some of the pictures below you've shared capture it.
Much of what makes Des Moines a great place to live, work, and play, is because of our community and volunteers like you! We've got exciting news to share below about how you helped us gain national recognition.
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Top 25 In The Nation
Des Moines Parks and Recreation now ranks among the top 25 park systems in the country, according to the recently released Trust for Public Land’s (TPL) 2022 ParkScore rankings, up from 35th in 2021.
The ParkScore compares the largest 100 cities in the United States. Des Moines, the smallest city by population in the program, soared above other cities such as Atlanta, San Diego, Tampa, and Omaha on the strength of added park amenities, and increased capital investments from the city and partners.
Thank you for the work you do to help support our City!
Callie Le'au Courtright
Parks and Recreation Supervisor
Volunteer Engagement
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Beautify our City
May 11-14
Want to help us spark joy in our community? The weather is looking perfect this week to spend time at our City Greenhouse moving flowers outdoors. These flowers were grown with the help of our Transplanting in the Tropics volunteers and are ready to go out to assigned neighborhood volunteers to plant throughout our community on public land as part of our Neighborhood Flower Program.
To View Openings Use Password: flower
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Plant Flowers @ Gray's Lake
May 12 (Rain Date May 13)
It's looking like sunshine and strawberries this coming week! With warm weather in the forecast, we're looking for a few people to head out to Gray's Lake for the afternoon to plant in the park. We originally wanted to get this project completed during Earth Month but the weather has delayed us. Help us get these beauties in the ground.
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Create Safe Playspaces
May 12
There's nothing more fun than bringing fun spaces to DSM! This is a great "team building" opportunity. Get your group together or come alone but be ready to spread some special playground mulch to provide safe places for our kids to play. All tools/supplies are provided.
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Don't worry we've got all the goods. We'll bring the watering truck, gloves, shovels, and more. We just need help getting 100+ trees in the holes to line a trail corridor. Once these trees grow in the Three Lakes Estates area, it will be a beautiful tree-lined trail on the south side. Join the fun! | |
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Sun and soccer...what more could you want! Help support youth sports in our State.
Snacks and lunch will be provided. A perfect VTO opportunity that lets you spend the day outdoors.
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Volunteers have been busy this spring growing plants in the greenhouse and it's time to get them in the ground. Help us beautify our parks.
All tools and supplies are provided. We just need you to come join us as we enjoy gardening in the great outdoors!
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An award-winning volunteer opportunity improving the health of our woodlands and waterways, with the City of Des Moines, Blank Park Zoo, Trees Forever, and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.
Participating volunteers get a free beverage at Confluence Brewing next door afterwards as a thank you for helping remove and "upcycle" invasive plants.
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Learn How to Monitor Bluebirds
Tuesdays in May, 10:30 a.m.
Want to learn more about becoming a Bluebird Monitor? Naturalist Joel Van Roekel will be walking Greenwood Park every Tuesday during the month of May to monitor boxes. You'll be able to see what a volunteer monitor does as you open nesting boxes to check for nests, eggs, and baby bluebirds.
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Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many people observe the day by visiting cemeteries or memorials and decorating graves. Our local cemeteries are alive with memories and volunteers can help preserve those memories and experiences. | |
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May 20
Woodland Cemetery
Help us honor men and women who died while serving in the military.
We need your help placing flags in standards (the stakes that hold the flag into the ground) and preparing for Memorial Day weekend in our historical Woodland Cemetery.
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May 28-30
Glendale & Laurel Hill Cemeteries
Love history, working with the public, and are ready to honor a national tradition and those it remembers?
Volunteers are needed for opportunities such as directing traffic or helping with administrative tasks.
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Save Threatened Butterflies
Almost Full
Milkweed is the host plant for monarch butterflies. Without milkweed, they won't survive. Help plant milkweed, diversify our native plantings and provide habitat for one of Iowa's most beautiful creatures so that it doesn't become endangered.
Sign Me Up!
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Wells Fargo Gives Back
Wells Fargo presented a $10,000 check to our Friends of Des Moines Parks this week. Their donation helped fund a new trailer and supplies for volunteer projects in our community, especially in some of our historically underserved areas.
In addition to the donation, we were very happy to welcome back the Wells Fargo volunteers after almost 2.5 years. They mulched plantings and cleaned up litter in Birdland Park. A special thank you to Erin Gill for her help coordinating the event.
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Thank you to all our April Earth Month volunteers. We are still calculating the final tally (due to weather a few of the projects got delayed and we are spilling over into May) but celebrating your success so far. This year more than 6,000 student volunteers helped make Des Moines green and clean! If you volunteered for Earth Month we'd love to hear from you. Please take our 3-minute survey. | |
Check out the haul that Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) volunteers picked up along the Interurban Trail (pictured above is staff member Jamie helping load their 700 pounds of trash). | |
Shout out to our friends at JLL for their enthusiasm and dedication. Rain or shine when they commit they come through. If you're driving the Martin Luther King Junior Parkway corridor heading out of East Village to the east side you might be admiring some of their spring handiwork. Great job JLL! | |
Cache In Trash Out
89 volunteers participated in our family fun eco-hunt/creek clean-up. Thanks to donations from the Westwood Neighborhood Association and local businesses, volunteers found fun “cached” prizes while cleaning trash from our trails and waterways. They donated 178 hours (valued at $5000+).
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Prospect Park sees alot of use with our disc golf course, Drake Rowing, a boat ramp, shelter, playground, and more. Thanks to the Adopt-a-Park volunteers from Watchmen Communities, IDALS and Shane Wulf, and all the Earth Month volunteers who gave it a good spring cleaning. | |
Every Kid Gets a Ball
In April, 230 youth volleyball participants (grades 1-7) received a new volleyball through the Every Child Gets A Ball initiative spearheaded by Friends of Des Moines Parks. This special donation was made possible by Smith + Frieberg Financial and the Friends. Thanks to our Friends, local sponsors, and community volunteers who are helping enrich the lives of children in our youth sports programs.
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Mayor's Annual Ride
Thank you to the American Society of Landscape Architects for hosting the rest stop, and Heather, Garland, Steve, Roberta, and Max at the starting point on Saturday, April 30. They helped Parks and Recreation Supervisor Molly Rupert and the Recreation Team host about 400 riders.
Watch the bikers at the start here.
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Thank you to the Bridges of Iowa and Cottage Grove Church for helping build furniture for our new Drake Park Shelter and the Grandview Park-Bob Mahaffey Shelter. They built 24 accessible dining tables and more than 110 chairs. | |
E-911 Trail Markers
Thank you to our Friends of Des Moines Parks and all the volunteers who are helping install our E-911 markers along our trails.
The signs will guide trail users through the twist and turns of the trail system, help them understand what jurisdiction they are in, and who to call for assistance. To learn more about this project and see all of the new trail icons, click here.
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Thank you to the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute for planting trees in Union Park and mulching Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. | |
Thank You Green Thumbs
Thank you to the 50 spring transplanting volunteers that helped us prep and grow more than 250,000 plants to beautify our parks, trails, cemeteries, and other public spaces in our community. It was so much fun to have you back after two years and collectively you donated more than $15,000 in time!
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INVISION has Vision
Thank you INVISION for donating pro bono your professional planning skills for future park improvements.
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Bankers Trust returned to Glendale Cemetery and did an amazing job! 105 years and still committed to our community! | |
PROGRAMS LED BY VOLUNTEERS | |
Bird Bird Bird is the Word
Tweet-up with volunteer John Bissell weekly at 11 a.m. in Gray's Lake Park (meet at the Terrace). From ducks to songbirds, Gray's Lake has it all. If you don't have your own binoculars we'll have a few on hand!
LEARN MORE
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Cemetery Tours
Take a walk through Des Moines history with local volunteer historians Archie Cook and Jeff Kleuver, or with Cemetery Supervisor Ganesh Ganpat. We offer three types of tours. Tour size is limited. Proceeds from our tours support the preservation of our municipal cemeteries.
Cost: $10
Distance: >1.5 miles, 2 hrs
Age: 12+
REGISTER NOW
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Yoga In the Park
Start off your Saturday with free yoga at Gray’s Lake Park led by some amazing volunteer instructors. Join us every week from June 4 to September 24 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. These classes are perfect for all skill levels, from curious beginners to advanced yogi.
LEARN MORE
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FROM OUR PARTNERS
Rendezvous on Riverview (ROR) is back again for some summer fun. Through a partnership with the City of Des Moines, the Parks Area Foundation operates the stage and invests revenue into the revitalization of the surrounding neighborhoods. See links below to view their full lineup or sign-up to volunteer at a concert.
View Lineup
View Volunteer Openings
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You are receiving this e-newsletter because you have signed up as a City of Des Moines Parks and Recreation volunteer or expressed interest in receiving our volunteer opportunities. If you no longer wish to receive notices of upcoming volunteer opportunities, please unsubscribe below or let us know at parksvolunteer@dmgov.org. | | | | |
