You did it. You helped our team make an enormous pivot in how things have been done in the past and successfully navigate the entire month of April, volunteering week in and week out. We cannot begin to thank all of the volunteers who helped to protect our City. Both groups and individuals took time out of their days to get out, get to work, and clean up so many spots across Des Moines. We are still on the final leg of tallying all of the fun stats about how much work was done over the month but will have those numbers soon.

CITA

Central Iowa Trails Association was formed in 1993 and they are a 501(c)3 with an 11 member unpaid board and approximately 150 active paying members. The group has been helping our department maintain trails in an official capacity since 2013. In that time, the group has donated 3,760 hours valued at $107,310.40. The group owns two trailers with 3 "Brushhog" mowers, several string trimmers, and various hand tools for maintenance. They maintain approximately 15 miles of singletrack trails. On top of trail maintenance, the group has added trail signage and maps across the system, added trail paths to existing trails, and is building steel and wood sloped wall-ride for riders at Ewing. As remarkable as those numbers are they only tell a small percentage of the work their group has done for our Department. Their dedication and commitment to improving our trails through their work and by bringing attention to them, can't be measured. We thank CITA for all of the work they have done for us in the past and all of the work they will do for us in the future as we make our trails a key component of why citizens flock to our City.

UPCYCLE volunteers, in partnership with the City of Des Moines, Blank Park Zoo, Trees Forever, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, and Confluence Brewing help us improve our water quality, diversify our woodlands, and UPCYCLE our invasives into food and fun for Blank Park Zoo’s birds, reptiles, primates, and mammals. Volunteers will be provided gloves and tools to cut, remove, and treat invasive plants crowding out our woodlands and natives. Volunteers that attend will get a drink ticket to be redeemed following the workday at Confluence Brewing next door!  

Do you enjoy your city and have a group that would like to give back? We are now accepting applications for groups to Adopt-a-Park/Trail of their choosing. Adopters will be required to organize a cleanup at least 4 times a year and in return will earn a sign with their group's name on it letting the public know who has taken care of the area. If this is something you're interested in, you can find more information on our website below.

An AmeriCorps NCCC crew came to Des Moines to help the Parks and Recreation Department for four weeks this spring. The crew of six helped with a variety of projects including monument restoration at Woodland Cemetery; mulching at Clare and Miles Mills Rose Garden, Ewing Park Lilac Arboretum, and Franklin Community Garden; cleaning and prepping our pools and aquatic centers for the summer; and removing invasive species from several locations. Thanks to TMG Management for offering housing for us to provide the crew, the members thoroughly enjoyed exploring the City for their first time and hope to come back someday. They learned the behind-the-scenes about how a Parks and Recreation Department operates, and we’re grateful for all their help improving our facilities for the community to enjoy.

30,000 square feet of sod. That's the difference between those two pictures. Our entire staff wants to give a HUGE thank you to the 4 volunteers who were able to come to help them last minute to get this all done in a day. Thank you to Beth Stevens, John Zietler, Ben Burkhead, and Councilwoman Connie Boesen. Their help was badly needed with the amount of work needing to be done and they showed up big time.

On the 21st of May, we had a group of volunteers come to Riverview park to get the finishing touches done before the grand opening on June 4th. They helped remove trash and invasive species, chip paint, and place barriers around the trees. Pictured are the Lt Leon group. We appreciate everyone's help.

Every year Neighborhood volunteers will place an order at our Greenhouse for plants and flowers to be planted exclusively on the right-of-way, medians, street corners, and parkways within the city limits of Des Moines. Those flowers have been picked up by the groups and will be put in place around the City. Thank you to all of the volunteers who help beautify our City with this project.

Our partners over at Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation are looking for some volunteer help. They have a number of garlic mustard removal events and their annual Spring into Action event as well. If you're interested, check them out below.