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ADOPT-A-PARK Program fosters park care Lions Club 'adopts' Ashland Creek Park Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Feb. 2, 2015 at 7:24 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Feb. 2, 2015 at 7:24 PM » Social News The new, about-to-open Ashland Creek Park is a big place and needs some loving care from the community, a need to be filled by the Ashland Lions Club, which will team up four times a year to pull weeds, spread bark chips and trim invasive blackberries along the creek. Service clubs here have a long history of work in the Adopt-A-Park program and Lions will be joined by Kiwanis and Rotary members at seven-acre Ashland Creek Park, starting the last week in February to do the initial planting of flowers, bushes and fruit trees, says Pete Jorgensen of the Lions Club.  “It’s good for us all to get together and be out doing something actively, beyond our meetings and our sight and hearing assistance,” said Jorgensen.  The new park, located on Hersey Street between Oak and Water Streets, features a playground, a community garden with 45 plots, a basketball half-court, gazebo, walking trail, orchard and other features. It retains a generations-old fig tree and has wide views of Grizzly Peak and the Cascade foothills.  “The Lions have done a lot of volunteer work at North Mountain Park and Lithia Park and we don’t mind jumping into another project,” said member Bob Miller.  Although city Parks & Recreation has a full-time crew for park maintenance, “our crew is not as big as other cities,” says Lori Ainsworth, volunteer coordinator.  “We have a lot of open space and at least 37 properties to look after. We’re always doing trail work and need help with maintenance. It brings a buy-in, a real sense of ownership and an extra set of eyes. They’re always finding fallen trees or graffiti and helping to make the city safer.”  Park adoption is especially helpful for weed reduction, says Ainsworth, as the city uses no pesticides in any parks, except the golf course.  The 783 acries of parks are not just adopted by service clubs. Several businesses, shops, schools and individuals have taken on the role, including:  • Bluebird Park — Recology Ashland Sanitary; • Calle Guanajuato  — Albertson’s in Ashland; • Dog Park  — NatureWise; • Garfield Park  — The Yogurt Hut; • Hunter Park  — Ashland Tennis & Fitness Club; • Lithia Park Japanese Garden  — Richard Anderson & Alison Date; • Briscoe Geology Park  — The Jefferson Center; • Clay Street Park  — The Siskiyou School; • Garden Way Park  — The Soroptimists; • Glenwood Park  — The SOU Green House; • Oredson-Todd Woods  — John Muir School of AMS; • Railroad Park  — Wells Fargo Bank in Ashland; and • Scenic Park  — Rotary Club of Ashland, Lithia Springs. Ashland Creek Park is set to open in April, tentatively. Gardeners may start work in their plots on March 1, notes Bruce Dickens, parks superintendent. Not including the land price, the park cost about $800,000. It helps meet the goal, he adds, of having a park within a quarter-mile of all residents in the city.  In addition to their work in vision-hearing and parks upkeep, the Ashland Lions sells ice cream in summers to donate to school band programs and maintain benches and the bandshell in Lithia Park. The club membership is aging and they’re looking for younger members, says Jorgensen. More information is available at www.ashlandoregonlions.org or 541-482-2515.  Reach Ashland freelance writer John Darling at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Feb. 2, 2015 at 7:24 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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