5th Annual Community Green And Clean At Main City Park Coming Up

GRESHAM, OR — Built in the 1970s and revitalized in 2013 after years of neglect and misuse, the Tsuru Island Gresham Japanese Garden and Main City Park have been selected for the fifth annual Green and Clean Day of Service on Saturday, April 28.

From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. participating volunteers from the community will "help with a variety of spring cleaning landscape and maintenance projects," according to Gresham city officials. All ages are welcome to join in; and afterward, from 1 to 2 p.m., the city will host food and entertainment.

"Main City Park is one of our community parks that truly has something for everyone — from baseball to horseshoes to tranquil beauty to a place for kids to play. We’re excited to partner with the Gresham Japanese Garden to spruce up the whole park for the spring season," city spokeswoman Elizabeth Coffey told Patch in an email Wednesday. "Creating and maintaining safe and enjoyable places for families and children to gather and play is one of the top priorities of our mayor and council. Our whole community benefits from safe, clean and beautiful parks."

The Tsuru Island garden has been through a lot since it was first constructed in the 1970s by volunteers from the Japanese American Citizens League. According to the garden's official website, much of the history behind the construction on the three-quarter-acre island has either been lost or was never written down in the first place.

Following its construction, however, the garden was enjoyed for several years after its dedication in 1975 — before it became a hangout for vandals, transients, and hooligans by the late 1980s.

Overgrowth and neglect made the island an eyesore in Main City Park until 2011, when a cousin of one of the garden's original constructors sought help revitalizing the area for the community to use again.

"A group of volunteers came to the city and asked if they could help restore the Garden," Coffey explained. "The city was delighted to partner with them to restore the garden to its original beauty — it’s a tremendous asset to Main City Park, and really enhances the visitor experience."

Between 2011 and 2013 the park was cleaned up of blackberry bushes, irrigated, and given electric infrastructure by city staff and neighborhood volunteers.

In 2014, the garden was re-introduced to the community following more than 8,000 hours of dedicated sprucing. The bridge to the island over Johnson Creek was rebuilt over the next year, and today the garden is as popular as ever.

Described as an "oasis of beauty in the middle of downtown Gresham," the garden and Main City Park are testaments to the community's commitment to ensuring livability and comfort in their city.

To highlight the garden's importance in Gresham and give folks an idea of its benefits, the city produced the following video, which was later posted to its YouTube page:

For more information, and to RSVP for the Green and Clean Day of Service, call 503-618-2482 or visit the Green and Clean page on Gresham's city website.

Image via City of Gresham