`

Nearly 500 youth weeded, shoveled, mulched, planted and learned gardening skills in the Gardens at Lake Merritt as participants in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Monday, January 16, 2012.

“It is a wonderful thing to see all these young people coming together to improve their community,” said Mayor Quan.  This is the biggest MLK Day project in Oakland today.”

Special thanks to Justice Corps, Climate Corps, Americorp Vista, the Sierra Club, Cal Corp, the Coast Guard, Oakland Public Works, Oakland Parks and Recreation and the Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt  for a tremendously successful service day in the Gardens and Lakeside Park.

In addition, thanks to Waste Management for supplying the Gardens with 70 yards of compost and to Malibu Compost for their ongoing support of the Gardens.

Park Supervisor Tora Rocha, lead coordinator of the day’s activities, which included 22 projects in the Gardens, said, “This is amazing, everyone is working so hard; these volunteers are making Oakland proud.”