Havens students, including 2nd grade Cub Scouts Pack 3 Den 2, spent Saturday morning, November 15 working hard in Oakland’s WD Wood Park pulling out fennel, ivy, and Scottish broom.
Hudson, 2nd grade, helped the students learn why the plants need to come out. “What does flammable mean?” he asked. We learned that all of these plants take over space so that native plants can’t grow well. Ivy chokes the trees by digging into the bark. And Scottish broom is highly flammable.
The kids were keeping the nearby houses safe from brush fire while having fun with pruning shears and saws. We found several fuzzy caterpillars and one long lizard. All kids were rewarded with cookies made by neighborhood families and with a little on the swings and playing football on the grass.
Find out what's happening in Piedmontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“This park is too small for the city to maintain,” said a resident who joined us. But since Lisa Lemus and her husband started these monthly park clean-ups, this park has thrived. Residents use it every weekend and a nearby preschool comes here to play every day, rain or shine. Another local family joined in the work and learned about scouts as well as service.
You can help at Wood Park too! Lisa and her team are there the third Saturday of every month. Learn more at www.friendsofsausalcreek.org
Find out what's happening in Piedmontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Havens Community Service Crew is proud to introduce our young students to these service projects. To learn more or to participate, please contact us at havenscrew@gmail.com