LYNNWOOD—Nearly 125 volunteers gathered in front of the Lynnwood Senior Center on Monday, January 20, eager to get their hands dirty beautifying the Mesika Trail—which runs behind City Hall along the Civic Center campus—in honor of Martin Luther King Day (MLK Day).
Amidst the crowd were Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02), Lynnwood Mayor Christine Frizzell, Lynnwood City Council President Nick Coelho, Lynnwood City Council Vice President Joshua Binda, CEO and Executive Medical Director of Kaiser Permanente Dr. Linda Tolbert, and National Youth Director at Family Peace Association (FPA) Yoshitaka “Yoshi” Goto.
This was the City of Lynnwood’s ninth year celebrating its Martin Luther King Day of Service where staff, and volunteers, have come together to restore and beautify city parks and trails. In previous years these volunteers have traditionally met at Scriber Lake Park but its closure for construction through 2025 diverted attention to the Mesika Trail which, according to Eric Peterson, Park Superintendent for the City’s Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Department, has been in dire need of restoration for some time.
The Mesika Trail was constructed in 1995 by the City of Lynnwood in cooperation with students at Meadowdale High School. Its name (pronounced mee-sye-kah) is a Chinook word that means “yours” and was chosen to denote ownership, as if to say “this is your trail,” according to the City’s website.
The trail is a soft surface loop trail that follows a seasonal stream in the forested greenbelt behind City Hall on the Civic Center campus. The greenbelt has mature evergreen and deciduous trees and native shrubs that provide habitat for wildlife. However, it has been in need of a gravel trail replacement and has been victimized by invasive weeds as of late.
By the end of the day volunteers will have removed the weeds, replaced 60 yards of gravel on the trail, and planted 25 native plants and 14 native trees—including Western red cedars, Douglas firs, and snowberry.
Peterson joked with the Lynnwood Times that in previous MLK Day of Service events volunteers have finished early so he made sure there “was plenty of work to do this time.”
Prior to attendees grabbing shovels, wheelbarrows, gardening gloves, and sheers, Mayor Frizzell shared a few words before introducing Representative Larsen who reminded the audience of the importance of volunteerism: not just today but every day.
“Martin Luther King Jr. always talked about the fierce urgency of now that is, and we say this in a lot of different ways, but there’s never a wrong time to do the right thing,” said Rep Larsen. “There’s a fierce urgency of now in the country and the region to always be out there helping our neighbors and there’s great opportunities to do that…whatever you can do to take an opportunity, not just today but every day and in the future.”
After Larsen’s time spent at Mesika Trail, he headed off to the Carl Gibson Center in Everett to attend Snohomish County Black Heritage Committee’s annual Greater Everett Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Rally. Following that event, he continued his volunteerism by lending a hand at the Mukilteo Family YMCA Day of Service event.
Dr. Linda Tolbert, CEO and Executive Director at Kaiser Permanente, followed Larsen expressing that “volunteerism is truly a core value” which she said aligns with Kaiser Permanente’s mission to serve its community.
“It’s truly a pleasure to be out here on a day like today where the enthusiasm is just rampant. You can see me with shovel in hand looking forward to laying gravel out on the path.” Dr. Linda Tolbert told the Lynnwood Times. “When we honor the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. this way it really does show how smaller actions, multiplied over several different sites, can lead to such greater impacts.”
Lastly Yoshi Goto, National Youth Director at FPA, spoke on behalf of his organization – which has partnered with the City of Lynnwood through events like this for the last two years – before City staff walked the crowd through the day’s operations and how to remain safe while doing so.
“The Family Peace Association is always happy to partner and engage families on this day of service to invest on the noble dream cast by Dr. Martin Luther King,” said Goto.
After wrapping up his time at the Mesika Trail Goto headed back to the Pacific Peace Center to host an MLK event of FPA’s own entitled Families Serving Together where family members of all ages could enjoy a light lunch while undertaking several indoor service projects.
The Lynnwood Times gave the opportunity to Mayor Frizzell to comment on the day and how days of service like these benefit local community members, but she declined to do so.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
