T Wall

Sat, Mar 3, 2012 : 12:54 a.m.

I was born, and raised, in Ann Arbor and I always loved playing in our parks as a child. Today our parks are not maintained due to budget cuts. Unfortunately, the only maintenance done is cutting the grass when it becomes unsightly. Our park rangers have been eliminated. It's almost impossible to catch the individuals who disrespect our parks and forests. Being a special education teacher for 30 years, I have come to realize that great changes come from educating our children. Both times I ran for Mayor I proposed a program called Hands On Ann Arbor. There are over 17,000 children in the Ann Arbor School System. Unfortunately, many of them do not have to do Community Service to graduate. The City could develop a Special Parks Committee where the Ann Arbor school children would be responsible to help maintain the beauty of the parks and woods close to their schools. This would be part of the Ann Arbor schools curriculum. For example, our Kindergarten children could plant flowers in the park. In the summer, they would go for a walk in the park with their parents to maintain their flowers. Also, the child would be taught to inspect the park to make sure no one had vandalized the park. There is a lot of work to be done in organizing this program by volunteers. I imagine the second graders could build a rock garden. The 3rd and 4th graders might be responsible to lay down woodchips on the paths. Most of the flowers, rocks and woodchips would be donated. In time, all the children would learn to love and take pride in their parks. Our Neighborhood Park Watch would encourage both parents and children to enjoy our parks and woods and take pride in their stewardship.