Downtown Kelso is blooming, literally

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Kelso Rotary Club volunteer David Houten gives several plants near the Allen Street Bridge a fresh watering. (The Daily News)

On Friday and Saturday, 30 volunteers from local service clubs and schools and workers from the Department of Corrections planted about 500 plants, laid down bark dust and painted over graffiti near the Allen Street Bridge to make the downtown area safer and more welcoming.

“The vegetation was overgrown. It was a safe place for illicit activity,” Kelso City Manager Steve Taylor said. “This is a way to put a positive face on the downtown and to involve the community. It’s a message for folks commuting between Kelso and Longview.”

Including a $1,000 donation from the Kelso Downtown Revitalization Association, the project cost the city about $16,000.

AmeriCorps member Stephanie Owens helped plant and water the new garden space and said the three pear trees she planted on Friday are testament to the lasting impact of volunteers in Kelso.

“I like the idea of these trees. I call them my AmeriCorps trees,” she said. “People who ask us, ‘Does AmeriCorps have a lasting impact?’ Absolutely.”