COLORADO SPRINGS — The official Earth Day is Saturday the 22nd but there is a collaboration of volunteers in Colorado Springs making it a three-day weekend that started Friday.
“Three days three parks event,” said Drew Town who is part of the Ute Valley Park Friends group.
Three separate friends groups that care for Blodgett Peak, Palmer Park and Ute Valley park open space are sharing resources moving from one park to the next doing repair and maintenance work over three days.
“Try to encourage cooperation between the volunteers of the different park groups,” said Town.
Parks leaders say the volunteer work is appreciated and needed.
“The parks are always needing more work, especially after a long winter,” said Open Space Ranger, Mark Tatro.
The open space system of parks has a paid staff of about 20 responsible for 15,000 acres and 90 miles of urban trails.
“It's just a really big task that the 20 of us can't really handle by ourselves,” said Tatro, “So volunteerism is a really important aspect. And it's important for people to come out and kind of give back to the places that they love.”
“This weekend specifically is Earth Day. So, I think there's some big motivation for people to get out and give back a little bit,” said Town, “But you know, a lot of people really use these parks and really love these parks and want to see them continue to flourish and be well taken care of.”
A few days of work can help park sustainability for the summer ahead.
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