Dane County Land & Water Resources Parks Division Adult Conservation Team Common Parks Projects

Clean-up | Wood-Chipping Trails | Mulching Trees & Shrubs

Responsible to: Designated Park staff/ACT manager/Operations manager

Qualifications: Physical stamina sufficient to the job; ability to follow instructions and to work independently.

Objectives: A park that is clean and safe, of which the staff and the public can be proud.

Responsibilities: Pick up trash and put in garbage bags; sort recyclable into separate bags. Bags should not be over-filled or too heavy to lift. Self-tie the ends of the bag. Leave bags in dumpster, near garbage cans or designated site.

Do not pick up heavy, large items, medical waste, dead animals, oil drums, batteries or toxic items. Flag these & notify Operations Manager.

Training & Preparation: Orientation to park & map; information on safety measures; bags provided by Parks Dept. Volunteer provides own work gloves.

Objective: Provide adequate walking surface.

Responsibilities: Load wheelbarrows, using a silage fork. Dump wood chips on trail (Start dumping and

spreading from the middle of the trail and work back to the main wood chip pile). Use garden rakes to spread chips evenly to a depth of six inches. In low or wet spots, add extra chips. Spread to conform to the width of the trail. Do not cover turf on the trail.

You need several people taking wheelbarrows back and forth, 4-5 loading the wheelbarrows and several spreading the chips.

Training & Preparation: Orientation to park and work site; on-the-job training.

Objectives: Control weed growth, prevent injury to the plant, maintain soil moisture.

Responsibilities: Using wheelbarrow, shovel and rake, apply bark mulch to base of trees and shrubs. Do alone, in pairs, or group. Apply mulch in a circle around base of tree, or cover area around and under hedges or planter. If this base contains sod, dig the sod out to a depth of 2-3 inches, with a radius of two feet from the trunk. Caution: Do not damage the trunk with your shovel. Mulch should be placed in this excavated area forming a bowl around the tree. The rim of the bowl is the farthest from the tree. Mulch should be added to a depth of 6-8 inches, no higher than the "collar" on the trunk (a faint discoloration a few inches above ground). Make a small well in the mulch to retain water.

Training & Preparation: Orientation to park; On-the-job training. Mulch and tools (shovel, rakes, silage forks) supplied by the Parks Dept.

For information about these and other volunteer projects, contact Rhea Stangel-Maier, Adult Conservation Team Manager
at (608) 224-3601.
stangel-maier@co.dane.wi.us

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Revised: October 30, 2001