Correspondent photos / Sean Barron Leah Forni of Campbell stands next to large trash items she and others found during a cleanup Saturday in Jackson Park in the city.

CAMPBELL – After Emily Forni joined a group to clean a little-used open space, you could say she had a leg up on the others.

“I found a phone. There’s a microwave (oven) in the woods,” Emily, 12, a Campbell Elementary School sixth grader, said.

Emily was among those who took part in a two-hour cleanup gathering Saturday morning in Jackson Park near Jackson Street and Murray Avenue. One of the rather unconventional litter items that she set into a garbage can — itself a litter item — was what appeared to be the leg to a beige plastic mannequin.

Several adults and children used plastic garbage bags, grabber devices, gloves and other related equipment to remove years’ worth of trash in the park and surrounding hillside, which was filled with discarded fast-food wrappers, alcoholic drink bottles, plastics and beer cans. A variety of unconventional items was collected as well, such as a few small bicycles, rideable children’s toy cars and a TV set or two that lacked their innards.

The Mahoning County Green Team supplied the equipment.

Standing next to some of those bigger finds that had been placed on a picnic table was Emily’s mother, Leah Forni, who expressed a desire to do her part to rejuvenate the seldom-used greenspace.

“I love this community I live in,” said Forni, who collected, among other things, a decomposed pair of flip-flops, an iPhone missing the camera part and a toy firetruck. “I want to help any way I can. I want to see this park come back to life.”

Forni, who joined the Struthers Rotary Garden Club about two years ago, added that she hopes to see the park enjoy a greater amount of community use, including children playing there. One day, she would like to see the park being used for larger events that include movie nights and musical performances, Forni added.

Echoing Forni’s wishes was Councilwoman Mary Janek, D-3rd Ward, who said she plans to encourage people to gather there to watch sunsets starting in May. The park is on a rise that overlooks Wilson Avenue on one side.

She also wants the park to see a greater degree of connectivity.

“I’m looking forward to planning events and using this park in conjunction with Roosevelt Park this spring and summer,” Janek said.

In addition, Janek recently submitted an AARP grant to build a quarter-mile walking track around the perimeter. She also hopes the park will be home to a soccer field, as well as disc golf.

Right now, most of the sparse Jackson Park resembles a rectangular grass field, with little more than three swing sets with no swings, a half-court basketball court and a few sliding boards. A small road dead-ends at a gate, and near the parking lot is a deteriorating fence that once acted as a baseball backstop, but is nearly obscured by vines twisting through the openings.

Also not hesitant to get their hands dirty were Chloe Perry and Manny Nunez, both of whom are Northeast Ohio IMPACT Academy freshmen. They collaborated to clean part of a hill that was covered in discarded trash of many sorts.

“This is my first time at the park. I didn’t know it existed,” Chloe said, adding that she is interested in zoology and helping to rehabilitate injured animals.

For his part, Manny quickly filled his black trash bag with numerous whiskey, wine and baby bottles, along with tinfoil.

“Honestly, I like going a lot and helping around a lot,” he said.

Others who see much greater potential for the space include Councilman Timothy O’Bryan, D-1st Ward, who referred to the park as “a hidden gem.”

Calling Saturday’s cleanup “Part 1,” O’Bryan said he plans to have a similar gathering in late May to continue with efforts to beautify the park, which is in his ward.

“As bad as it looks, it’s baby steps,” he said about Saturday’s cleanup. “It’s a start.”

O’Bryan’s tossed-away finds included several worn tires he found in a wooded area that abuts a hillside.

As a young spring season progresses and nature begins a new life cycle of green rejuvenation that will soon abound, Leah Forni hopes that by working together, dedicated volunteers and others will succeed in breathing new life into the park she helped restore.

“It’s amazing what a difference an hour can make when a bunch of people work together,” she said.

City workers were to collect the bags of trash today.