In honor of Earth Day, Valero volunteers came to Phil Hardberger Park and cleaned up the Historic Homestead and the Children’s Vegetable Garden in April. We are incredibly grateful for their service. The butterflies are grateful too!  Many butterflies have been seen fluttering around the plants that are bouncing with life.

The Historic Homestead is a destination for school field trips, Third Saturday programs, the Children's Vegetable Garden Program and the annual Dairy Days event. We look forward to offering programs in person again, starting in the fall.  

The Valero team filled at least eight bags with weeds and pruned branches. There would have been more, but large items, like fallen branches were instead carried off into the park to create habitat for small wildlife in the park. 

In 2020, for the safety of everyone, volunteerism was drastically cut back and many areas that were maintained by volunteers had gone a little “wild.” Thankfully, things are looking up and volunteer activities are slowly returning to the park. 

Volunteers are important partners for the Conservancy and park staff. The Weed Wednesday group tackles conservation projects, similar to what the Valero Cares team did. Volunteer Greeters staff tables in the park on Saturday mornings and answer questions from park visitors. Others help with our nature education programs. 

If you are interested in donating your time to the park, you can learn more about the volunteer opportunities here: https://www.philhardbergerpark.org/volunteer.