NATCHEZ — Local residents, students and gardening gurus were hard at work Saturday using their green thumbs and a little elbow grease to beautify Natchez for a community cleanup day.

Members of the Natchez-Adams County Master Gardeners, Leadership Natchez, Keep Natchez-Adams County Beautiful and Cathedral students and football players lined the medians on Liberty Road to spruce up the crape myrtle trees and liven up the courtyards at the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center.

The cleanup day crew removed weeds from around the trees, laid newspaper at the base of the trees to deter weeds and layered mulch over the newspaper. The crew also used clippers and chainsaws to trim dead and excess limbs from the trees.

Adams County Extension Service Director and County Supervisor David Carter said the trees were in very bad shape.

“You don’t normally use chain saws to trim crape myrtles, but that’s what we had to do,” he said.

The crew, Carter said, worked hard to revive the trees that had been neglected for at least five years and said it was important for the community to be involved in cleaning up Natchez and Adams County.

“This is one of our main ways into town,” he said. “It’s important we all get involved and take pride in our community.”

Master Gardener Princess Prudence Hernandez shared her gardening and tree care knowledge with Cathedral eighth-grader Colter Cauthen and Vidalia seventh-grader Allye Braley and said she was happy to see young people involved in the project.

“They are the ones that have to keep this legacy of beauty in Natchez and Adams County,” she said.

Cauthen and Braley said they learned a lot about caring for trees at the event.

“I can take the knowledge and take care of the community and make it look good,” Cauthen said.

Braley said the best thing about working at the cleanup day was seeing everyone’s community spirit.