Patriotic volunteers spend the day sprucing up Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A group of patriotic volunteers spent the day Wednesday sprucing up Evergreen Cemetery as a way of paying their respects to those buried there.

The volunteers cleaned up dead trees and excess brush with the help of tree-trimming trucks.

The organization in charge of the clean-up, Saluting Branches, says that safety is just as important as aesthetics, and potential dangers are becoming more prominent with winter just around the corner.

Saluting Branches cares for veteran properties like Evergreen Cemetery, where veterans from as far back as the Civil War are buried. It is also the resting spot for famous poet Helen Hunt Jackson and philanthropist Winfield Scott Stratton.

"Within my family, it seems like we’ve had a service member contribute dating all the back to WWI, so just being able to have the opportunity to give back and just the camaraderie that's displayed amongst local arborists is the most humbling thing," volunteer Matt Puckett said.

Volunteers planned to trim more than 200 trees today, but with 200 acres of cemetery, a lot of work still needs to be done.