The City of Auburn cordially invites the public to attend a special ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of Dorothy Bothell Park – in conjunction with the City’s Arbor Day celebration – at 9:30 a.m. next Wednesday, April 8, at the new park site at 5701 Lakeland Hills Way SE.
City officials, along with volunteers from the Auburn Parks Board, Auburn Tree Board and Auburn Garden Club and representatives from the state Department of Natural Resources also will be planting a Serbian Spruce in recognition of Arbor Day. Funding for the tree was donated by the Auburn Garden Club.
Located adjacent to the Lakeland Hill Community Center, Dorothy Bothell Park features three picnic tables, four sitting benches and a playground for the children with a swing set, climbing boulders, climbing pets and hidden dinosaur bones for kids to uncover.
The four-acre park was constructed through a partnership between the City of Auburn, Tucci & Sons, and Eagle Scout projects from Scout Troop Nos. 323, 401 and 510.
The park is named in honor of Dorothy Marion Bothell (1907-2008) Auburn’s first woman council member. Bothell passed away at the age of 101 last year. She was active in many local and regional civic and service clubs in Auburn throughout her lifetime and matriarch of the long-standing Bothell Chevrolet auto dealership on Auburn’s auto row.
Mayor Pete Lewis also will proclaim April 8 as Arbor Day in Auburn and encourages all citizens to support the efforts to protect our trees and woodlands, and plant trees to gladden the heart and promote the well-being of this and future generations.
Auburn is recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation as a TREE CITY USA, which recognizes communities that effectively manage their urban forest and meet four TREE CITY USA standards. The standards including having a tree governing body; maintaining a comprehensive community forestry program that spends at least $2 per capita on the urban forest; maintaining a tree care ordinance; and holding an annual celebration related to Arbor Day. A member of the Statewide Washington Community Forestry Council will be on hand during the celebration to acknowledge Auburn’s designation as a “Tree City USA.”
As part of Auburn’s Tree City USA designation, the City of Auburn Planning Department manages Community Grants that encourages citizens to apply for tree plantings in residential and commercial neighborhoods.
In exchange for financial assistance, groups must commit to plant, water and maintain the trees.
For additional information about the Tree Grants, call the City of Auburn Planning Department at 253-931-3090.
For more information about Arbor Day, tree planting, or parks in Auburn, call 253-931-3043 or visit www.auburnwa.gov.
