Volunteers work to make Snyder Park feel more welcoming

Volunteers were hard at work Wednesday morning planting new flowers and grass at Snyder Park.

Kathy McComaey, with the Master Gardeners of Clark County, said the goal is to make people feel invited when they come to the park.

“We are finishing up a year-long project,” she said. “We wanted this perimeter planting to welcome people.”

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The Snyder Park community garden has been developed over the past couple of years on part of the land that used to be part of the golf course.

Previously, shrubbery around the park didn’t look nice, McComaey said, and she feared it turned people away. Also, the old plants didn’t do enough to direct people to the preferred paths at the park.

“One of the goals is to encourage people not to step over it,” McComaey said. “This helps to guide people through the entrances.”

All of the work done has been by volunteers, she said.

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“These are all Master Gardener volunteers,” she said. “Our Master Gardeners are unbelievable. You tell them we need all hands on deck and they come.”

One of those volunteers was Dottie Burkholder. She participates in the gardening club because it’s fun a fun way to give back to the community.

“I am thankful that I am healthy enough that I can do this,” she said. “I love digging in the dirt with my shovel. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t enjoy it.”

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She has been a member of the club since 2002 and said the club helps her stay healthy and keeps her feeling young and active.

“It keeps me going,” she said.

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