By Noel Paterson, president, Lake Wilderness Arboretum Foundation

Make a Difference Day in Maple Valley is an important time for us at the Lake Wilderness Arboretum, and this year was no different.

Essentially, we are an organization built by volunteers, with over 20 acres of gardens to maintain. That is a lot of work! And the people who volunteered to help with some of that work on Make a Difference Day, really did make a difference to us, improving the gardens and main looping trail around the Arboretum.

I especially want to thank our dedicated volunteers who help us each week, and led all of our Make A Difference Day projects.

Also, thanks the following community groups for providing us with a big boost: Cub Scout pack 711, Cub Scout pack 459, Girl Scout troop 42265, KMAD – Kids Making aDifference Club from Cedar River MS, THS Sustainability Ambassadors, THS Global Academy students, Maple Trails Garden Club, Lake Sawyer Community Church, and the Master Gardeners of King County.

Thank you to everyone else who volunteered with us on Make A Difference Day, and any time of the year. We sincerely appreciate it!

Visit LakeWildernessArboretum.org, email info@lakewildernessarboretum.org or call 253- 293-5103 to volunteer or donate.