Welcome to People for the Parks and Trails of Jackson, Michigan!
People for the Parks and Trails (also called PPT) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the City of Jackson's public parks and trails through volunteering, fundraising, advocacy, and equity. If you're ready to make a difference in the Jackson community, join People for the Parks and Trails!
Summer 2023 Volunteer Season Saturday, June 17 at 10 a.m.: Gardening at Betsy Butterfield Park Betsy Butterfield Park is a popular neighborhood park on Jackson's southwest side, so it's important the park looks its best for visitors! Our group is going to spend some time sprucing up the park's gardens and picking up litter. Gardening tasks are likely to include weeding, trimming and spreading mulch. Be sure to bring work gloves! Betsy Butterfield Park is located at 2101 S. West Ave.
Saturday, July 22 at 10 a.m.: Mulching playground at Bloomfield Park This will be our first volunteer project at Bloomfield Park, a high visibility neighborhood park along W. Michigan Avenue. Volunteers will spread mulch at the playground and pick up litter. Bloomfield Park is located at 1305 W. Michigan Ave.
Saturday, Aug. 19 at 10 a.m.: Cleaning up trails in Ella Sharp Park Ella Sharp Park is Jackson's flagship park. It has extensive trails that need regular maintenance. This will be a volunteer project plus hiking adventure! Our volunteers will walk trails to look for trash and remove tree debris blocking trails. Volunteers will meet at the parking lot of Ella Sharp Museum, which is located off Birchwood Drive in the park. The museum's address is 3225 Fourth St., however the parking lot cannot be reached from Fourth St. About Volunteering Volunteer projects are open to all Jackson residents. No prior sign-up is needed, volunteers can show up and get to work! Equipment is provided by the Parks and Recreation Department. You are welcome to bring your own work gloves and hydration. Events often have coffee and water provided. The time commitment is usually around 90 minutes. Children are welcome at volunteer opportunities, provided they are supervised. Refer to the "Contact" section of the website if you have questions about these volunteer projects.
Fundraisers
Come get your vehicle washed at BlueOx Credit Union on Saturday, June 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. All proceeds will go to People for the Parks and Trails so we can continue our volunteer projects and fund park improvements. Our friends at BlueOx Credit Union are big supporters of our volunteer efforts and will be supplying the venue, supplies and much more!
BlueOx is located at 408 E. Ganson St. We will accept any cash donation amount for a car wash. BlueOx hosted a car wash for us last year and it was a big success. We're looking to make it even better this year.