Volunteers make Denver's Civic Center Park "sparkle"

Civic Center Park will host Denver's Independence Eve celebration again this year. Volunteers are buy making the park sparkle for the occasion.

"We have weekly volunteers come in and enhance the horticulture here," said Sara Leitch, Development Director for Civic Center Conservancy.

Every Tuesday, the Civic Center Conservancy hosts volunteers from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Projects include planting, weeding, and harvesting vegetables.

"Three years ago, when we started the program, we knew that the park had maintenance gaps. We started our volunteer program to start filling those gaps," Leitch explained.

The Conservancy found that the Civic Center SPARKLES program elevates the standard of care at the park.

Micah Gurard-Levin is taking a few hours on a Tuesday to dig in the dirt.

"I do enjoy gardening, but I don't have the greenest of thumbs," Gurard-Levin told CBS News Colorado.

He's planting flowers in one of the many beds at Civic Center Park.

"I love Civic Center Park," he said.

The heavy spring rains pushed back planting this year, making volunteer help is much more important.  

"It's pretty cool to be able to spend time out of a work day doing something that the whole city and hopefully the state can come and enjoy," Gurard-Levin said.

He's working along side a dozen of his co-workers from Liberty Global, a telecommunications company with offices in Denver.

"It's great. It's a good way to get people together working across the different teams and getting to know each other," he said.

For Gurard-Levin, it's an investment of time and energy that he can feel proud of.

"The best part about doing this work is coming back throughout the season and seeing how the plants grow and really fill out the area," Gurard-Levin said.

LINK: Sign up to Volunteer with Civic Center Sparkles

Come enjoy the gardens and take in an evening of music and fireworks for Independence Eve. The gates open at 5 on Monday, July 3 with music beginning at 5:30 p.m.  The Colorado Symphony performs at 8:15 p.m. with fireworks around 9:15 p.m. The park is the only place to see Independence Eve this year. Find out more what you need to know before you go with our Users' Guide.