Volunteers aid Earth Day cleanup.
On a hot and sunny Sunday in San Jose’s Alum Rock Park, the usual tranquility on the trails was permeated by the clanging of garden hoes and shovels, as dozens of volunteers worked through the morning to improve the area as part of an Earth Day event.
It was the firstever Earth Day celebration at the oldest regional park in the state where people were invited to give back to the planet and the park by helping with native plant restoration, the removal of invasive plant species, and trail maintenance.
Senior Park Ranger Huy Mac said widening the trails makes them safer for visitors who will have more room to hike and bike, and will help keep bloodsucking bugs at bay.
“The ticks are starting to come out right now, and they’re on the ends of the blades of grass, and so were trying to make it a lot safer by widening it out to about four to five feet,” he said.
Roughly 60 people working for a few hours managed to widen about a quarter-mile of pathways, mostly along the Todd Quick Trail, which is a portion of the park that was af-
Dozens of volunteers work the trails at San Jose’s Alum Rock Park
fected by the Lariat Fire, which burned more than 100 acres in the east foothills last summer.
Maria Salazar, 32, of San Jose, said she likes to spend some of her leisure time mountain biking in Alum Rock Park, and wanted to give back for the benefit of herself and others.
“It’s really cool getting to help maintain the trials I enjoy,” she said.
Other volunteers said helping out was a nobrainer.
“Well, it’s Earth Day, and it’s a really nice day,” Eric Oh of Newark said with sweat dripping from his brow in the sunshine. He and his friend Jingting Wu, 24, of Milpitas, both enjoy hiking the trails at the park, and spent the morning digging up, raking and flinging brush from the edges of the paths.
Alum Rock was also running educational programs Sunday, teaching visitors how they can garden at home with minimal environmental impact. There was also a ceremonial tree-planting at the end of the day’s activities.
Mollie Tobias, the head of the city’s parks and recreation volunteer programs, said the event at Alum Rock marked the end of a successful weekend of cleanup and beautification activities at many of the city’s 200 parks.
“It’s Earth Day, and I think it’s really important for us to give back,” Melissa Navarrete, 18, of Sunnyvale said. Both Navarrete and her friend Marisol Muñoz, 19, of Sunnyvale, had never visited the park before, and were upbeat about the hard work they were assigned.
“It’s not something we really do at home — we don’t have a garden or anything — so not only is it a good way for us to give back, but also a good way for us to learn through it,” Navarrete said. “It’s really beautiful.”
Mac hosts trail cleanup and maintenance events on the second Saturday of each month throughout the year, so would-be volunteers don’t have to wait until Earth Day 2019 to help out, he said.
“Alum Rock is the gem for our city,” Mac said, noting the park’s quiet seclusion and great views are just a few minutes driving from the bustle of downtown San Jose.
“It’s kind of special being out there.”