Snohomish City Councilwoman Lya Badgley began picking up litter at the local skate park last spring so she could show her 7-year-old daughter, Isabel, what it means to give back to the community.

"I adopted the skate park right away when I became aware that litter was bothering people," Badgley said. "The skate park is a great opportunity for the community, and I would like to see its continued success. So if one of the problems was trash, I was willing to go get out and pick up the trash."

Badgley's husband and daughter agreed to help, too.

That involvement, along with conversations she had with Butch McGuire, the city's parks-and- facilities manager at the time, inspired Badgley to reinvigorate the city's Adopt-a-Park Program, which began in 2003.

Last summer, mother and daughter spent Thursday evenings at the local farmers market to promote the Adopt-a-Park Program.

"That's where I met the majority of the people involved in the program now," Badgley said.

As a result, scores of Snohomish residents picked up garbage, dispersed wood chips and weeded flower beds around town last year. In eight months, the program attracted nearly 20 families and groups, and generated more than 1,200 volunteer hours.

"The best part of this program is being a role model for my daughter as well as a role model for the people who use park facilities," Badgley said. "I believe in creating opportunities for them to be involved in their own parks as well as see that they can make a difference in their communities."

During summer, Badgley and her family cleaned up the skate park every Sunday afternoon, she said. But because more people have adopted the skate park, "it lessens the load for me and my family."

Badgley's efforts have transformed the city in more ways than one.

"Different families and organizations now pick up litter in the skate park, and my daughter now thinks that people giving back to their communities is just a matter of fact," Badgley said. "And so now if we're anywhere and she sees garbage or litter on the ground, she'll always go, 'Look, Mom, we've got to go take care of that.' "

Jim and Sonia Rahm have volunteered at Claytown Park as part of a Tillicum Kiwanis group for about a year. The retired couple often mow the lawn while school groups do weeding.

"We usually go together," said Jim Rahm, who is also in charge of the program's Web site. "I trim; she mows."

"I like the fact that it saves the taxpayers a couple of bucks," Jim Rahm said. "I also like it because I know that our city doesn't have enough personnel to take care of the job due to budget cuts."

Because of cuts, the city is down to one part-time and one full-time worker to manage the parks.

One new challenge is the city's recent ban on pesticides in parks.

"It's great for public health," Badgley said. "[But] using chemicals is a fast, effective and cheap way to deal with weeds. Now we'll have to find other methods, including manually removing weeds, that the city can't afford."

But Badgley remains undaunted.

"I'm confident that with the community support we'll be able to keep our parks well-maintained, beautiful as well as pesticide-free," she said.

Judy Chia Hui Hsu: 425-745-7809 or jhsu@seattletimes.com