About 70 EZCORP employees spent a sunny afternoon on March 31 improving a city-owned park in the company’s backyard as part of a community service initiative.

(Article by Marie Albiges, republished from https://communityimpact.com/austin/environment/2016/04/04/ezcorp-employees-spend-afternoon-beautifying-austin-park/)

The company—which acquires, establishes and operates pawnshops in the country—has a strong community service presence, said Community Affairs director Hannah Nokes. She said the Austin Parks Foundation approached her with an opportunity to beautify the park located behind the Rollingwood Center, 2500 Bee Caves Road, where EZCORP headquarters are located.

Employees from Endeavor Real Estate Group, which leases and manages Rollingwood Center, and Kimbia, a software company in the center, joined the EZCORP employees in laying mulch around the trees that fill the park.

Nokes said the trees were in “critical need” of mulching, as it has not been done in years.

The park is considered part of the Zilker Nature Preserve, which has more than 2,000 acres of land and trails specifically designated “low-impact” to keep nature thriving, said Bill Stout, the volunteer coordinator and environmental educator for APF.

The park is accessible from Rollingwood Center’s parking garage through a half-mile trail that winds between two private properties.

The trail and park are located at the bottom of the Eanes Creek watershed, Nokes said. Eanes Creek was dry at the time of the project but typically floods as soon as it rains, she said.

Parts of the trail are covered with weeds, stones and rocks that cause uneven footing and may be a danger to cyclists, Nokes said. EZCORP plans to tackle that project and improve the path after the rainy season, she said.

She said she wants EZCORP employees to treat the park as “their park” and be mindful of things like trash or evasive species.

“I think [the employees] responded really, really well [to the cleanup project],” Nokes said.

For most employees, March 31 was the first time they had stepped foot in the park, Nokes said.

Read more at: https://communityimpact.com/austin/environment/2016/04/04/ezcorp-employees-spend-afternoon-beautifying-austin-park/