By Sara Ballenger
For students at Miramonte School in Los Altos, helping out is just a walk in the park - literally.
Third through eighth-graders participate in the “Adopt-A-Park” program, run by the city of Los Altos. The program encourages volunteers to help maintain the 12 parks in Los Altos.
Every week, a class of students at the private Christian school walks to Heritage Oaks Park on the corner of Miramonte and Portland avenues to clean, rake and trim. The six classes rotate cleaning duties on a weekly basis.
“They are learning about community service,” said Principal Wayne Hughes. “When a child gets involved in cleaning something, they take ownership of it. When they have ownership, they are going to care for it more.”
Students spend about an hour and a half raking leaves and the sand boxes, trimming bushes, cleaning the barbecue grills and picking up trash. They access wheelbarrows, rakes, and other cleaning and maintenance supplies from a storage shed on the parks grounds.
“Before, I would throw stuff on the ground,” said Stella Dugall, a seventh-grade student who helps clean the park. “A lot of people our age think they are too cool to do it. But it’s fun to be with friends and to do a good deed.”
Teachers also feel positive about the program.
“For me, it’s been positive to see kids involved in the local neighborhood,” said Ronna Sato, the former Miramonte School principal and current teacher who enrolled Miramonte in the program. “People in the park really appreciate it and that is nice.”
When there is not much in the park that needs tending to, students clean debris and dead branches along the north side of Portland Avenue, Sato said.
“It really collects along there,” she said. “Last January we removed 20 bags of trash from just that section.”
The response has been positive from the neighborhood, too.
“I appreciate it,” said Harriette Bachman, a Los Altos resident who frequents Heritage Oaks Park. “The students do the manicure work that keeps the park looking pretty. Those few things do make a difference.”
Seventh-grade student Heather McFadden is proud to make a difference in the community.
“When I am cleaning, I know that I am doing it for other people,” she said. “From this experience, I won’t look at community service as a chore but something that would be fun. Cleaning the parks helps you think about other people and to not be selfish.”
For more information or to volunteer for the “Adopt-A-Park” program, call the maintenance division in the public works department of the city of Los Altos at 948-0491.
