On the first Saturday of October, more than 50 volunteers converged around Duck Lake, William Land Park’s largest pond, armed with rakes, gloves and a determination to clean up the park’s pond and surrounding areas.

DUCK LAKE in William Land Park is a source of wildlife and local fishing. Land Park Volunteer Corps members called the safety of the water into question when dead fish and birds were discovered. / Photo courtesy, Jill Booth MacDonell

These folks are called the Land Park Volunteer Corps and they meet each month to take part in what they call “park work days.” The group was created after the City of Sacramento had to cut Department of Parks and Recreation employees by more than 60 percent in the last three years. Neighbors and city residents decided to step up and do their part to keep their local parks running green.

“I think it’s wonderful what the volunteers are doing because it maintains the ecology of the area, and it’s vitally important when you live in such a crowded area that you have a place you can take a walk or have a picnic in,” said Greenhaven resident, Alessia Wood.

Every month for nearly over two hours, the environmentally-aware group cuts, prunes, plants, and fills garbage bags of debris. But overgrown bushes, roots and left over picnic garbage is not the only thing this group picks up. Land Park Corps organizer, Craig Powell, said there are times when volunteers also see dead fish and birds around the big pond area.

“Some of our volunteers use extension nets and weed around the border of the pond. It’s a dark, murky pond. It’s very difficult for anyone to look at to see what’s in it,” Powell said. “Besides the concern of the appearance of Duck Lake, our main concern is that there are a lot of migratory birds, like the Canada geese, and families who fish there every single day for food for their table. We are not aware of anybody testing the quality of this water to see if it’s safe to eat the fish from there.”

Duck Lake was established in the early 1920s, and is located in the western-most part of the park, along Land Park Drive. Duck Lake was drained, dredged and widened in the winter of 1959. In 1998, it was stocked with 370 trout.

Powell claims that at one time he has seen 15 to 20 dead fish floating on top of the pond and that he has called and alerted the City.

“That should raise some alarm; there is something going on,” he said. “The response I got back from the City is, ‘it just happens sometimes.’”

Powell suspects that run-off from the street is the cause. He believes the City has failed to put in new plumping pipes to resolve the problem.

City leaders say that is not the case. While no testing has been done on the water by either the City or the Volunteer Corps, officials said there are a number of potential reasons for the issues the neighbors are concerned about at Duck Lake.

“Duck Lake is filled with well water from the park’s ground water wells,” said Jessica Hess, City of Sacramento Department of Utilities spokesperson. Ponds such as this do not have natural filtration systems and tend to become polluted from the wildlife they attract. And the hot summertime temperatures is another issue; the water is relatively stagnant.”

According to Hess, the pond gets run-off from two sources: the golf course and a drain. The golf course is the main source of run-off. This water flows through some grassy areas which act as a filter to help extract any potential contaminants from the run-off. The drain in the parking lot on 15th Ave, which runs alongside Fairytale Town, sends water into the botanical garden.

“This botanical garden acts as a natural filter for the urban runoff from the parking lot,” Hess explained. “As the urban runoff goes through the garden, the plants and small ponds within the garden act like ‘nature’s soap’ and allow the contaminants to settle.”

Then what about the dead fish and birds seen around the pond area?

TRIMMING, CLEANING AND CARING for William Land Park are the members of the Land Park Volunteer Corps. The group meets the first Saturday of every month to work on maintenance issues in the park. / Photo courtesy, Jill Booth MacDonell

Some say it could be caused by people pouring liquids and throwing trash and debris into the pond or on the ground nearby – where it can then flow into the water.

“These, too, can impact the amount of available oxygen which can impact water clarity,” said Hess.

Susan Helay, Birds Exhibit supervisor at the Sacramento Zoo, suspect’s human error can also be to blame, particularly among those who fish out of Duck Lake.

“We get a lot of the ducks that have swallowed fishing hooks, or their necks are tied up in left-over fishing lines,” Helay said. “Sometimes we can’t catch the birds to help them because they fly away. Not to mention, many of these animals and fish get old and die off naturally as well.”

Helay did say that if there were several fish or birds found dead at one period of time then there should be concern, but they have not seen anything like that recently.

“Sometimes the animals’ waste in the water can impact the amount of oxygen available which can impact the clarity,” she said.

Helay added that the well-water that is provided at the pond is considered safe and is used at the Zoo as well.

Councilman Robert Fong said he is aware of the Volunteer Corps concern about the District 4 Duck Lake and surrounding area. He said that the City is doing everything they can to keep the park and ponds safe and clean.

“The water in the pond is being filled with well-water, the same water we use in City drinking fountains,” said Councilman Fong. “I’ve been going to William Land Park as a kid, it’s one of our crown jewels, and we would never do anything to hurt one of our natural beauties.”

The recession has hit the wallets of the majority in this country in one way or another. Local governments are not immune from having to make changes to their day-to-day spending either. People have been laid off and services once taken for granted have been eliminated completely.

THE LAND PARK VOLUNTEER CORPS is making a difference in the neighborhood. This grass-roots group works hard at tidying up William Land Park and the surrounding area. They receive no compensation for their hard work, except for an occasional “atta-boy” from a passing neighbor. / Photo courtesy, Jill Macdonell

But in Land Park, despite the recession and deep budget cuts, residents have found a way to sprout something positive: in the form of the community-driven Land Park Volunteer Corps.

If you live near or frequent William Land Park on the weekends, you have probably seen members of this group hard at work tidying up the park and surrounding areas. That is where the group meets each month to take part in what they call “park work days.”

Craig Powell, lead coordinator of the group, described how the community came together to beautify the park.

“I used to be a member of the Land Park Community Association and I saw first-hand how deep the budget cuts were every year,” Powell said. “I didn’t want to see our beautiful parks deteriorate before our eyes.”

Initially it was hard to get the word out about helping clean up the area, but Powell said he always had a feeling that if they put out a call, the community would answer. On May 1, 2010, Powell and associates delivered 1,000 letters to Land Park residents asking for workers and donations.

He hoped for a few volunteers and perhaps a few hundred dollars in total.

Instead, Powell was met with a staggering 400-plus number of volunteers and over $9,000 in donations. Since that time, the volunteer corps has gone to work reinvigorating the park.

The work days, which take place the first Saturday of each month, begin behind Fairytale Town at 8 a.m. for a breakfast that is catered by local businesses. At 8:25 a.m., six to nine teams are dispatched to work on different projects that are decided upon days in advance by Powell and park superintendent Frank Hernandez. Of the 400 or so contributing members, roughly 60 to 90 are there to work on a given work day. From 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., the teams work continuously on their projects.

“It would blow your mind how much work they get done in two and a half hours,” Powell said.

The monthly projects include trimming the badly overgrown ivy behind Funderland that Powell said “encroaches onto the pathway,” maintenance of flower beds on Sutterville Road, weed wacking, clipping and cutting outgrowths at the bases of trees, pond clean-up, bush trimming and even helping to renovate the stables at the pony rides by adding a new roof.

The group has taken part in 11 park workdays so far since its May 2010 beginning, and Powell said that 90 percent of the bushes the group has trimmed had not been trimmed in years. Powell calls these endeavors “monster bush trims.”

The money that is donated is used to supply tools and supplies for the work that needs doing. Workers range from young to old and all are welcome to join in on the clean-up effort. The non-profit organization receives no compensation for the work they do other than the donations made to help fund the outings. But according to Powell, the response from the community has been payment enough.

“Our pay comes from getting ‘atta boys’ from people passing by,” he said.

People are curious to see what the group is doing and Powell said that everyone seems to think it’s a great idea. Powell notices more and more new people showing up for the work days due to word of mouth from other members. Anyone is welcome to join in on the projects as Powell explained that “someone can arrive having never gardened or landscaped before and will be able to do so after two and a half hours.”

While none of the volunteers receive wages for their work, Powell said that the payoff is in seeing the results of their toil right in front of them.

“People can see exactly what they’ve done and they get that endorphin rush of working hard and then sitting down to have lunch.”

ALL THAT IS NEEDED to help out with the Land Park Volunteer Corps is a pair of your own gloves and a willingness to “get down to business.” Financial donations for the purchase of gardening tools are also welcome. / Photo courtesy, Jill Macdonnell

The work days end with a lunch also provided by local businesses.

From humble beginnings that came about because of huge budget cuts, Powell cannot get over how quickly the group has grown in just over a year.

“It has been more successful than I ever thought it would be,” he said.

The group runs nine months out of the year from March through November. Anyone interested in becoming a part of the corps can contact Powell by phone at (916) 718-3030 or by email at ckpinsacto@aol.com. The group has a mailing address where donations can be sent and Powell said that the corps is looking to broaden the fundraising base. Donations can be sent to: Land Park Volunteer Corps., 3053 Freeport Blvd. #231, Sacramento, CA 95818.

The next park work day takes place on Aug. 6 at 8 a.m. at the normal “base camp” behind Fairytale Town. All the group asks is that you bring your own gloves and a willingness to get down to business.

benn@valcomnews.com