Keeping our Park Clean

The neighborhood association has been looking for solutions to the trash problem that we have at Heller Park. This problem is especially bad after some of the sports groups play in the park.

Our park is a popular place for sports teams and we are happy that the park is so well-used. The fact that our park is popular and well-used by citizens both within the Heller Park community and outside of it means that we have a good case for improving our facilities. However, we really need everyone to chip in to make sure the park stays clean.

We have been trying to find out contact information for the sports groups that regularly use the park so that we can ask that they try harder to clean up after themselves. We've contacted the Parks Department, but the only group that has registered with them is the soccer group that plays at the north end of the park on weekends. If anyone knows the contact information for any of the other sports groups that regularly use the park (for example, the frisbee and touch football groups), please send that information to info@hellerpark.org.

We have many dedicated neighbors that take the initiative to pick up trash when they are visiting the park. One neighbor in particular had a good suggestion that can help us keep our park clean until we can convince the sports groups to do a better job cleaning up after themselves. His suggestion for the neighbors is "when they go down to Heller Park for whatever reason, they might always take a plastic bag with them and pick up litter as they find it. That would probably solve the problem ... and keep the park clean! It'd still be nice if the organized sports people did their part ... but in fact, we will probably end up doing their part for them more often than they will." Thanks for that suggestion!

One final idea for addressing the litter in the park would be for the neighborhood to officially "adopt" the park. The Parks Department has a volunteer program called "My Backyard Park Partner Program." It allows a group of volunteers to adopt a park and then schedule regular times for volunteers to meet in the park for "park clean-ups." This can include picking up trash, spreading mulch on playgrounds, painting structures, maintaining plantings, or any other maintenance task. The Parks Department will provide trash bags for park clean ups, and of course, the Parks Department will still be responsible for providing regular maintenance and any heavy maintenance that is needed. They will acknowledge our contribution with a sign in our park and a certificate of appreciation. If you are interested in spearheading a "My Backyard Park Partner Program," please contact the neighborhood association at info@hellerpark.org and we will work with you to help recruit a core group of volunteers. You can also get more information by visiting the Parks Department website at http://www.cityoftulsa.org/recreation/parks/Volunteers.asp .