It was an unlikely setting for a birthday party.

“I’d like to help the earth on Earth Day, because it’s also my birthday,” said Fircrest’s Ethan Streun, who turns 9 on Tuesday.

The third-grader at Whittier Elementary School invited his friends to a party that included fresh air and hard work – and, of course, snacks and cake.

About 50 people, ranging in age from 2 to 80, attended the event. Many wore matching green shirts, and many children handled rakes that stood taller than they were.

Ethan, who does an eco-friendly task each year for his birthday, chose the park because he enjoys picking and eating the blueberries each summer.

A Chuck E. Cheese party it was not, and that proved a big hit with some.

“At first, this felt like a birthday party, and then it kind of felt like a public-service project,” said 8-year-old Madison McCann, a third-grader at St. Charles Borromeo School in Tacoma. “But it feels like a birthday party again. It’s one of the best parties I’ve been to. This is so much fun.”