Community organizations clean up the Washington Bottoms Park

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Several community organizations came together to clean up one Midtown Memphis Park.

In an effort to beautify the city, a nonprofit development organization, Works Incorporated, partnered with MidtownMemphis.org and Memphis City Beautiful to clean up Washington Bottoms park.

“We really are doing all of this to lift this property out of its blighted condition,” said Mary Baker with Works Incorporated.

Baker says a year ago, the park was filled with blight and kept people away from the area. They’ve been working to change that with the help of volunteers.

“We are planting native trees to provide nesting and food and shade and everything, but we’re also restoring what we’re calling the pollinator prairie,” said Baker.

She said this area needs people. She’s bringing people there because it’s been isolated. Volunteers of all ages worked together to remove the blight and plats trees.

“Right here, the solar blanket is going to kill Johnson Grass and in the spring we’re going to take this up and we’re going to plant sunflowers, and we’re going to have a gorgeous sunflower garden right here,” said Emily Bishop, with MidtownMemphis.org.

Volunteers say it’s all about taking care of the home.

“I believe that it’s important to make our city beautiful because it represents how we are as a nation and how our city is to us, basically a representation of us,” said Delilah Fields, U of M student and volunteer.

Organizers say they hope people will continue to preserve the community for years to come.

“The stress of life we all need a natural place like this to go every once and a while,” said Baker. “But if you are living in a depressed area you need it even more.”

“We want where we live to be cared for and clean and hopefully shady with a lot of new trees being planted,” said Bishop.

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