Volunteers from the Edwardsburg Sports Complex braved the cold, windy and wet conditions Saturday to plant trees in celebration of Earth Day.

It was the fourth consecutive year trees have been planted at the complex, which has undergone some big improvements since last fall.

“A lot of them are doing very well,” Patty Patzer said. “The pine trees look like they are doing pretty good. We are going to plant some more white pines as well as red maples. The ground is nice and wet for the trees today, so we will not have to worry about watering them.”

Board President Ed Patzer said he is pleased with the improvements made to the facility, many of which are to infrastructure and may not be noticed by anyone driving by the complex.

“Since last fall we are close to completion on our restroom pavilion and we hope to have bathrooms there by this fall,” he said. “We have built our maintenance facility that will house all the electrical for our lights long-term. Short-term, we have put two wells down — one eight-inch well and one five-inch well. The small well is for our fresh water and the larger well which is there for our irrigation and a back-up for our fresh water well.”

A third eight-inch well will be dug in the future.

“This winter and spring, Selge Construction has been out and put in a majority of the drainage system for the entire complex,” Ed Patzer said. “The sewer is in, but the sewer pumps have not yet been connected yet. Very shortly, Selge will be back to put in all our three-phase electric.”

Patzer said that the complex has spent over  $250,000 on the infrastructure improvements this spring.

A lot of that work was provided by an in-kind donation by Selge.

“They are putting in all of the electric as part of their in-kind donation,” Patzer said. “That is huge.”

Two new playing surfaces, which were planted a year and a half ago, will be ready to use this fall. Later on in the summer, Patzer is hopeful that Selge will be able to complete the parking area near the baseball arena and move the millings off the upper parking lot, which will free up more spots.

Patzer is also hoping that the excavation work can be completed this year for an additional one to three playing surfaces.