Volunteer with Parks Tacoma

Meet at the trail entrance on the west side of the Zoo Maintenance buildings on North Animal Loop Rd.

Join us to take back the trailside from nonnative blackberries and set the native berries free. We'll work in this sunny stretch of trail to free up native salmonberry and huckleberry in this favorite birding spot and entrance trail to our beautiful forest.

This site is stewarded by local botanist Romey Haberle. In March, we will start the morning by scoping out early emerging spring flowers including osoberry, salmonberry, hazelnut and alder. We will then focus on removing blackberries from the west side of the trail and then will finish the morning by adding wood chips to keep those blackberries away.

This opportunity is best for ages 12+ because we will mostly be working with blackberries and those bite back!

Tools and gloves provided but please dress appropriately.

Parks Tacoma manages over 2,812 acres of parks and green space, historic landmarks, community centers, beautiful gardens, and special attractions that give us all a chance to get out and play more.

We're asking you to chip in by investing your time and talents to help us improve parks and green spaces, protect neighborhood buildings, and promote a healthier environment while also helping to build a stronger community.

Our roots

Park Volunteers, formerly known as "CHIP-in!" originated in 2003 when Parks Tacoma faced a lack of funds for maintaining all of the city's parks. Rather than take drastic measures - simply closing parks and walking away - a proactive approach was taken to develop a partnership between the park district and the community to help keep parks open and operating.