Volunteers help beautify city buildings, amenities

Volunteers play a big part in the beauty of Cedar Rapids parks. The 55,000 plants around city parks, golf courses and public buildings are started from cuttings in the fall or transplanted from tiny seedlings in the spring. Volunteers at Noelridge Greenhouse help get these plants ready for parks staff and volunteers to plant.

Volunteers are enthusiastic about sharing their love of plants with others. If you attended the Easter Showcase at Noelridge, you saw volunteers helping to guide and entertain visitors. Recently, more than 120 preschool children and their teachers and several parents toured the greenhouse. Volunteers led the tours and are preparing for others.

The public is invited to the Mother's Day Showcase to view the colorful array of plants ready to set out as well as the permanent display of cactuses, orchids and tropical plants.

Noelridge Park has been enhanced by shade structures built by adult and youth volunteers and an herb garden planted and maintained by Master Gardeners. The Boy Scouts, their family members and friends who built some of the shade structures and the master gardeners who help in the park and greenhouse are all volunteers. Other volunteers weed and groom plants.

Please thank all who have helped beautify the city parks and educate the public about plants.

Bill and Jean Snyder

Cedar Rapids