I just wanted to give a public shout out to these two young women who did some backbreaking volunteer work at Magnuson Park.

For those who are not already aware, a lot of work at our public parks is done by volunteers.  This is especially true at the offleash dog parks, and in parks that have plans underway in the areas of vegetation control and habitat restoration.

Invasive species of plants have been a constant problem for decades, but was a problem ignored for a long time. Now all parks with natural areas usually have some plan in place for remediation. This leads to longterm health of the area by bringing back the proper balance of flora and fauna native to that habitat type for our region.

It’s not easy work, but it is work that benefits everyone in the city in myriad ways. It even benefits those who never step foot in a park, though they may never know that. So we all owe a large debt of gratitude to all volunteers who do their part and our part.

The reason I am singling out these two women though is because they don’t even live in Seattle. They are vagabonds, traveling around the country doing good deeds. If I were 30 years younger I might consider asking to join them, because they appeal to my old hippy wannabe nature. If you see their van wave hello and tell them thanks!

Here’s the link to their blog post about Magnuson:

http://gypsygivers.com/2015/06/05/not-your-ordinary-day-in-a-park/

If you would like to volunteer at your local park, go to the appropriate city park page in the Links section. The park websites have info on volunteering.