Many people driving by the 10 acres of fenced land near Vancouver Mall wouldn’t think to stop at the undeveloped natural area. But the efforts of a few dozen volunteers on Saturday may change some minds.
The land is the city of Vancouver’s newest park, Raymond E. Schaffer Park, and with the help of about 35 volunteers, the city launched efforts to build a new soft-surface trail around the perimeter of the property on Saturday morning.
The park started as a land donation to Clark County. The city acquired the park early last year, and last spring, brought in goats to clear some of the blackberry bushes and invasive plants the mowers couldn’t reach, said Hailey Heath, city volunteer coordinator.
For now, the park seems to be mostly frequented by people living in the surrounding neighborhoods. City officials hope to eventually turn the park into a developed space used by people throughout the community, Heath said.
“I really think that adding this soft-surface trail will help people realize (the park is there),” she said.
The work party was one of about two dozen volunteer projects hosted across the county as part of Clark County Connects Day of Service. Other projects included school campus cleanups, litter removal and garden maintenance at parks, sprucing up community centers and cleaning headstones at Fisher Cemetery.
This is the sixth annual Day of Service, attracting hundreds of volunteers each year, said Jack Hardy, volunteer leader with Clark County Connects. The volunteers at Raymond E. Schaffer Park had labor-intensive work.
“This is hard work,” Hardy said. “This isn’t just pulling weeds. They’re digging down and building a trail.”
For Sei Brown of Vancouver, the hard work was just a way for him to do good for his community, he said. Brown was with a group of volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“We try our best to be involved in our community,” he said. “It’s fun.”
Last month, Ryan Ojerlo, the Southwest Washington regional manager for Washington Trails Association, visited the park and used red flags to outline the path of the trail. The trail is designed to showcase the meadows and tall trees of the park, Ojerlo said. The soft turns of the trail, which follow the fence along the park perimeter, make the pathway feel natural, he said.
On Saturday, Brown and the other volunteers used shovels and garden hoes to clear the top layer of grass and weeds from the pathway. Engineered wood fiber — “It’s like a fancy bark dust,” Heath said — was spread on top of the newly exposed soil.
The trail is 5 feet wide and stretches for about 2,000 feet and is accessible for those with disabilities, Heath said.
Brenda and Randy Stowell brought their three kids — Trevor, 16, Abby, 14, and Brandon, 11 — out to the work party.
“Service is very important,” Brenda Stowell said. “To teach service and to just be out in the community and meet others who are serving.”
The east Vancouver family didn’t know the park existed prior to Saturday morning, but they plan to return down the road to see the progress the park makes, Brenda Stowell said.
The city has two more work parties scheduled for the park on Oct. 14 and Oct. 28. For more details, or to volunteer, visit the city’s volunteer calendar, www.cityofvancouver.us/volunteercalendar.
“Slowly but surely, it will become an amazing community park,” Heath said.
