MANSFIELD — Picking up trash at Burton Park is a regular pastime for the Greter family.
As neighborhood residents, Brandon and Narda Greter and their daughter would frequent the park. They even purchased their own trash sticks from Home Depot to bring on their outings.
Their efforts over the years have even earned them multiple awards within the Richland Soil and Water Conservation District’s Earth Stewardship Celebration. The effort joins citizens across the state and country in celebrating the Great American Cleanup.
So when Brandon Greter became the co-chair of the marketing committee for the Mansfield Arts and Culture Sector, it seemed like a natural extension of his work to include sector members in the park clean-up.
“I live in the neighborhood and I knew I’d be there picking up trash and hanging out anyway,” Greter said. “So it turned into a whole event and we invited all our artists that we work with to come pick up trash with us and bring the whole art community together.”
On Sunday, April 21, a group of community members and volunteers from the Mansfield Arts and Culture Center decided to “adopt” Burton Park as part of their contribution to the 28th Annual Earth Stewardship Day Celebration.
The group banded together to clean up litter in the park, and plant native wildflowers and bushes around the tennis/pickleball courts. The event also had birdhouse projects for children, prizes, and a collaborative mural project on the pavilion led by local artist Wenn Yockey.
True Collaborative Effort
According to Victoria Hoefler, chair of the Mansfield Arts and Culture Sector, the event came together with the generous support of Mechanics Bank, Home Depot, Alta Greenhouse, Meijer, and Two Cousins Pizza.
“It became this whole community project, and we want people to see that you can manifest things when you come together as a community,” Hoefler said. “Don’t complain about the parks, jump in and give some of your time, and we’ll make a difference.”
Hoefler said the entire idea came together in about two months. She added she was particularly grateful for the support of the Mansfield Parks Department.
“Fortunately our new administration supports that,” she said. “It may not happen right away because they’ve got more important things to do, but they do support it.”
Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry acknowledged the group’s efforts in a Facebook post, saying, “We appreciate all the help to make our parks shine a bit brighter!”
Both Hoefler and Greter agreed they would like to see more collaboration between local artists and the Parks Department. The goal of the Mansfield Arts and Culture Sector is to help artists find opportunities for public art.
Greter recalled a similar experience of painting a community mural with his daughter at Johns Park a few years ago.
“It felt like such a cool opportunity as a kid to be able to give back to the playground,” he said. “This is a place for kids, and it was such a neat way to give ownership to the people in the community.”
