Local club, city workers maintain garden
Dunne Park is a bit different than most of Hollister’s city
parks.
It’s smaller, for one thing, and it has a large barbecue pit,
where on cold days a group of men will throw on some logs to keep
warm while chatting the day away. The playground equipment is a
little outdated, but the tennis courts are pretty well kept, and
there is a large clubhouse, where many local groups hold various
meetings and activities.
Local club, city workers maintain garden
Dunne Park is a bit different than most of Hollister’s city parks.
It’s smaller, for one thing, and it has a large barbecue pit, where on cold days a group of men will throw on some logs to keep warm while chatting the day away. The playground equipment is a little outdated, but the tennis courts are pretty well kept, and there is a large clubhouse, where many local groups hold various meetings and activities.
But the most remarkable difference between Dunne Park and its contemporaries is the lush, fragrant rose garden that sits on the park’s southern corner.
The upkeep for that garden falls not only to city employees, but to members of the Fairview 4-H organization, which for the past seven years has planted, pruned and pulled weeds as part of the group’s community service project.
“It’s a cool project, and really fun,” said member Jay Church, 14. “I think seeing how beautiful the roses look helps make everyone’s day just a little better.”
The group begins anew each January by pruning back the roses, removing weeds and pulling out any dying plants. A few weeks later, they return with new roses, and then return periodically throughout the course of the year to help city workers maintain the garden.
Fairview 4-H adopted the garden as its main community project in 2000; since then, members continue to enjoy working with the roses, according to Irene Sanchez, the group’s community club leader.
“The kids have fun working together, gardening, and they learn teamwork at the same time,” Sanchez said. “They feel so proud when they drive by and see how pretty the roses look. Without their hard work, that wouldn’t happen.”
Community service projects play an important role in 4-H, Sanchez said.
“4-H really tries to teach community service, and we do several other projects throughout the year,” she said. “But annually we’ve done the planting and heavy pruning in the garden, and we work with the city to maintain it. Sometimes, if there is quite a bit of weeds, the city will come out with us with a dump truck and clean up all the rubble. They always seem very appreciative of our efforts.”
Sanchez’s daughter, Alexis, is 14 and serves as the group’s treasurer. She says being a part of the garden project has made her realize the importance of helping others.
“I’ve learned that we need to take responsibility for ourselves and for our community,” she said. “Everything works better when we all help out. With the garden, if we help make it look good, then everyone can appreciate it and enjoy it. I hope our group will keep doing this for many years to come.”
Other community service projects Fairview 4-H has done include going to local nursing homes to visit with residents, helping out at the annual 4-H Pancake Breakfast and volunteering at local animal shelters.
But it is the Dunne Park Rose Garden project that remains the group’s favorite.
“It’s a lot of fun. I get to hang out with my friends and we make the flowers look really pretty,” Erika Brown, 10, said. “I like helping people. It gives you a good feeling.”
