Flodberg Park lies in the center of a neighborhood at the end of Alvarado Street, a tiny place with a grassy field, a blacktop, a play structure and tables for picnics.
There is also a long, colorful mural along a fence abutting the park, as well as a handful of trees planted throughout.
Both of those features were provided over the past two years by Freedom Rotary, which has adopted the park as part of the group’s overarching mission to undertake community service projects.
The group chose Flodberg Park for its location next to First United Methodist Church, the meeting place for a Scouting America troop that is also sponsored by Freedom Rotary.
In addition, the group will give away $22,000 in scholarships to students affected by the Pajaro floods.
For a future project, Freedom Rotary is considering building a bocce ball court at the park.
“That’s just what we do,” President Martha Denny said. “The Rotary motto is ‘service above self.’”
On Tuesday, the group held their meeting at the park, where they cut the ribbon on a new drinking fountain and water bottle filling station, the group’s project for this year.
The cost for the $4,000 fountain was funded by the annual Strawberry Jam Fun Run, an event co-sponsored by the group and by Friends of Watsonville Parks.
“We are not a big club, but we are mighty,” Denny said. “We may not have much, but what we do have we give to the community.”
In 2023 Rotary members sponsored the creation of a 100-foot mural that runs along a wood fence that flanks the park. Created by artist Erika Rosendale, the colorful mural reflects the words, “vibrant, freedom and playful.” Rosendale has created numerous murals around the county.
