The village of Beverly Hills is holding a park cleanup May 6. Participants will choose from a list of tasks to help clean up Beverly Park.
By: Mary Genson | Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle | Published April 25, 2023
BEVERLY HILLS —The village of Beverly Hills is continuing tradition this year with the annual Spring Park Clean Up.
The community is invited to come to Beverly Park anytime between 9 a.m. and noon May 6 to participate in keeping the park beautiful.
“We have an annual park cleanup every May to kick off the warm spring park season,” Village Clerk and Assistant City Manager Kristin Rutkowski said. “In the past, we’ve tried to pair it with a tree planting, but this year we’re not having the annual tree plantings — it is just going to be the park cleanup, but there will be an opportunity to plant some wildflower seeds or some bulbs in the park if people are interested in planting.”
When volunteers get to Beverly Park, there will be a list of tasks so everyone can find something that is a good fit for their abilities. Some of the tasks involve pulling weeds, taking down holiday lights, raking, removing invasive species and trash pickup.
Rutkowski said people can help for as long as they want, whether they stay for an hour or the whole time.
Participants are asked to meet at Beverly Park, but if there is an ample amount of help, some helpers will be sent to Riverside Park to clean up debris from recent storms.
“This is a great community event to come out to get some fresh air and help clean up and beautify the park and get to know your neighbors,” Rutkowski said. “It’s great to get out with the community for a common purpose and help clean up our village.”
Parks and Recreation Board member Janice Hausman has helped with this event for several years.
She recalled a story from last year about how one volunteer was finding it difficult to plant trees, so she decided to weed the butterfly garden instead. Since helping last year, this volunteer has been very helpful in taking care of the butterfly garden and plans to continue tending to it this year, even though she can not make it to the spring cleanup this year. She is an example of the event inspiring people to go above and beyond to benefit their community.
“It is nice to take pride in your neighborhood and your community. The park is one of our special places in Beverly Hills, and so to take a little bit of time out of your day to go and help make it nicer for everyone is a nice thing to do,” Hausman said.
There is a SignUpGenius for the community to sign up to participate in the Spring Park Clean Up. The page can be found on tinyurl.com/ParkCleanUp2023.