Volunteer opportunities still available for Salina Spring Spruce-up

Charles Rankin, Salina Journal
·4 min read

Salina's Spring Spruce-up 2024 is coming this weekend, with the Friends of the River Foundation announcing several areas around the city needing volunteers.

According to the Friends, this year's event, happening from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 27, is the next example of the Salina community coming together with spirit and civic pride.

"Volunteers are encouraged to engage in a multitude of tasks, including landscape beautification, trash removal, painting, and more," the Friends said of what happens each year. "With a diverse range of volunteer duties tailored to suit various interests and skills, participants can contribute meaningfully to Salina's beautification."

Weather might hinder river portion of Spruce-up

Jane Anderson, executive director of the Friends of the River Foundation, said she is excited for another year of the Spring Spruce-up.

"We're going to have a huge day," Anderson said.

This year, Anderson said around 250 to 300 students from Kansas Wesleyan University will be joining in the cleaning, with many helping with picking up trash and removing honeysuckle from the Smoky Hill River.

Although the skies during cleanup look to be clear, according to Anderson, the unpredictability of Kansas weather might be an issue for the river cleaning.

"I'm really worried about rain for the river," Anderson said. "Saturday should be fine, it looks like (rain) will come in the afternoon, it's Thursday (I'm worried about)."

Anderson said too much rain can cause the riverway to fill up, meaning volunteers won't be able to clean up trash, a scenario that is not new to Anderson or the Spruce-up.

"We've been rained out three or four times now, which is weird 'cause we've been in a drought," Anderson said. "Even if we are (rained out), we'll still be cutting down (those) invasive species."

Anderson did say that even though the river cleanup may not happen, the rest of the projects for Spring Spruce-up should still be a go for Saturday.

"Everyone else, I think, should be fine," Anderson said.

What projects are slated for this year's Spring Spruce-up in Salina?

Youth group members of First Covenant Church and other volunteers work together to pull weeds and pick up trash at the 5 Corners intersection of Broadway Blvd and Pacific Ave. on Saturday during a previous Spring Spruce-up.
Youth group members of First Covenant Church and other volunteers work together to pull weeds and pick up trash at the 5 Corners intersection of Broadway Blvd and Pacific Ave. on Saturday during a previous Spring Spruce-up.

This year, volunteers are needed for 11 different outdoor projects around the city. Here's a look at what to expect at each of the locations with where volunteers should go in parentheses:

  • Ashby House: Landscape and campus clean-up. (143 S. Eighth St.)

  • CHDO (Community Housing Development Opportunity): Paint house, garage, and basement (700 W. Crawford St.). Paint house and seed lawn (746 Choctaw Ave.)

  • City of Salina: Placing medallions on storm drains about trash in the waterways. (The Temple’s parking lot, 336 S. Santa Fe Ave.)

  • Smoky Hill River: Cutting down invasive honeysuckle bush and clean-up of trash at the Smoky Hill River near the YMCA. (Park at Kenwood Cove and meet at the YMCA parking lot.)

  • North Town District: Clean-up landscaping at 5-Corners. (N. Ninth St. and N. Broadway Blvd.) Picking up trash on an empty lot. (Marifah Motel southeast parking lot, 1846 N. Ninth St.)

  • Salina Downtown: Prep planter pots, clean up trash corrals, general cleaning of parking lots and alleys, clean out storage corral in alley, and power wash 67401 plaza. (Strand Plaza and Barolo Grille’s back patio, 112-114 South Santa Fe Ave.)

  • Salina Food Bank: Spreading new soil and mulch in garden beds, weeding and planting, cleaning carts, sanding and staining garden beds and re-taping the warehouse. (255 S. Chicago St.)

  • Salina Rescue Mission: Garden, painting, storage organization. (1716 Summers Rd.)

  • The Temple: Mulching and planting flowers outside, painting and decluttering spaces inside. (Use the north red door to come in at 336 S. Santa Fe Ave.)

More: Kansas Wesleyan raises $2.7 million for student scholarships on a single night

Volunteers are asked to wear appropriate clothing for working outside and to bring their own work gloves. Children under age 12 can volunteer, but must be accompanied by an adult.

Following the spruce-up, a Repair Café will be happening from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. where participants are encouraged to bring a small, everyday item in need of quick repair. Examples include things like a table lamp, bicycle, clothing or a quilt. The event is hosted at the Salina Art Center Warehouse, 149 S. Fourth Street, and is free of charge.

Finally, the City of Salina is hosting Free Landfill Day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at the landfill, 4292 S. Burma Road as well.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Salina Spring Spruce-up 2024 seeking volunteers