Sunday the group will be planting seedlings at Hawk Nest Park, 3750 Kiskadee Dr., a newly established park.

Dan McClintic, the volunteer coordinator for the program, said the planting will begin at 1 p.m. and is open to the public.

The program utilizes volunteers to help restore the health of three parks — White Memorial Park, Henry Fine Park and Hawk Nest Park — and can use as many volunteers as possible, he said.

“Volunteer days are really easy,” McClintic said. “All volunteers really need to bring are boots or shoes they don’t mind getting muddy.”

Tools for the planting and plant removal as well as snacks for the volunteers will be provided.

Tim McCaffey, director of parks, recreation and arts, said with the economic times and continued budget reductions, community participation in helping with the parks is helpful to the city organization.

“We’ve begun to rely heavily the past couple of years on volunteers to assist us with these efforts,” he said.

The program focuses its attention on invasive species removal, seedling planting and litter pick up. Taking out invasive species creates an opportunity for natural species to reinsert themselves into the environment, McCaffey said.

Tina Andrews, a resident of the subdivision Hawk Nest Park is in, said the park is about 90 percent complete, and there still is planting that needs to be done.

Andrews and her husband have been involved with the parks department prior to the park’s establishment. They worked to get the grant for the park and helped get homeowners involved in helping the city determine what type of amenities to put in the park.

Stipulations of the grant require plant species native to Michigan to be planted in the park, she said. Subdivision homeowners donated money for trees that still need to be planted.

“It’s two streets over from where I live, and I am very happy to be involved if the city needs help with anything,” she said. “The more vegetation we have over there, the nicer it will be.”

Studio art senior Amanda Seger said she had not heard about the park volunteer days previously but would like to attend them in the future.

She said those who enjoy parks and visit frequently should do their part in helping with the upkeep.

“I hate seeing litter places, no matter where it’s at, but especially outdoors,” she said.

McClintic said the next scheduled park cleanup is at 1 p.m. July 9 at Henry Fine Park, but more opportunities before then are possible.

“There’s a lot of environmental problems nowadays, but local ones sometimes get overlooked,” he said.

More information about the program and volunteering can be found at cityofeastlansing.com/healthyparks.