Oso Creek Park Adopt-A-Park volunteer Art Norman proudly shows off the work completed by volunteers that has made the park a vibrant addition to the community. Staff photo
While Spring Break might have a reputation as a crazy week for college students, a trend for several years now is for students of all ages to participate in a volunteer project during their break. The city of Corpus Christi’s Adopt-A-Park program is a great option for kids, families, businesses and, yes, college students. The programs kicked off in 2009 with a wide range of volunteers, including church groups, Boy and Girl Scouts, companies, individuals, families and disabled citizens.
Volunteers do trash cleanup, add mulch to playground and landscape beds, prune small trees and shrubs, power wash graffiti, plant new trees and shrubs and water them when needed.
“These groups take pride in their adopted parks, and it makes a huge positive impact on our community,” Neal Patel of the parks and recreation department told Corpus Christi Business News. “In 2014 alone, we recorded over 2,460 hours donated by volunteers.”
One example of the notable improvements that volunteers have achieved is at Oso Creek Park. Once an over-grown, unofficial trash dump, the park is now a thriving destination location for hikers, mountain bikers and joggers — thanks to the committed efforts of volunteers led by Art Norman. Norman adopted section 2 of Oso Creek Park in 2009 when the program was first initiated.
“I had gotten into mountain biking when I lived in Austin,” Norman said. “I had my eye on the Oso Creek Park for awhile and thought it would be a perfect place for biking trails. So when the opportunity came, I applied for the Adopt-A-Park program as an individual.”
The company for which he works, HighTouch Technologies, immediately joined him in the effort.
“HighTouch provided the initial seed money to start the cleanup of the park,” Norman said, “as well as 500 volunteer hours by employees.”
Volunteers hauled away more than two dozen truckloads of trash and have cleared nearly five miles of hike-and-bike trails. After five years of committed work, the park continues to be improved and maintained.
Volunteers have started a habitat restoration effort guided by a Master Naturalist. Norman leads a volunteer day every third Saturday of the month.
The community now holds events at the park throughout the year. On March 15, the third annual Dirty Leprechaun Off Road Fest will be held.
“With the Adopt-A-Park program, you get out of it what you put into it,” Norman said.
Because of budget and workforce constraints, the parks and recreation department relies on the efforts of volunteers to maintain parks, Patel said. All Corpus Christi parks are available for adoption. There is no minimum volunteer time requirement; however, the city asks that volunteers report their hours. Patel added that all volunteers are welcome.
“Anyone who has the time and passion of having a safe, functional and beautiful park, can volunteer,” he said.
The program requires adult supervision of children 16 years and younger. The requirement ratio is one adult per five participants under the age of 16. To apply for the program, fill out the application at ccparkandrec.com or call 361-826-3400.
