Oakland -- Cleaning up Clinton Square Park in the Eastlake district means more than just picking up trash and pulling weeds to the 150 Oakland Adult Education Program students who participated in the day-long activity Friday.

It means taking ownership of their neighborhood and building a sense of community. It also helps them learn a few more English words and phrases to use as they transition into daily life in the United States.

"A lot of them are new to the community, but they don't have a sense of how to get involved and have ownership," said Sam Davis, who teaches English as a second language at the Oakland Adult Education center. "This gives them a sense of ownership."

Students at the adult school partnered with youths from Team Oakland to beautify Clinton Square in the heart of Eastlake, at 6th Avenue and International Boulevard.

Signs that say "Pick Up Trash" and "Pull Weeds" hung on trees in the park with pictures of people doing each activity. The students learned the English words for these basic functions in the classroom before they spent the day cleaning the park.

"The park is a community park next to my neighborhood school," said Duong Quan, a Vietnamese immigrant who took a break from scrubbing play structures to chat. "When we clean up the park we feel happy."

The event was organized by the Eastlake Revitalization Initiative, a branch of the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, which is working to renew the neighborhood.

Once home to writers Virginia Woolf and Jack London, the Eastlake district is one of the oldest in the city. It was first named Brooklyn, then the name New Chinatown took hold after several Asian immigrants moved in.

Eastlake is the official moniker of this neighborhood, which for years went through periods of decline.

"The challenge with this neighborhood is it hasn't had a continuous identity," said Laren Berkman, program member for the Eastlake Revitalization Initiative. "There is a whole history here, and part of what we are trying to do is bring it back to that."

It is now one of the most diverse communities in the nation, and the mix of people here speak 40 different languages, according to U.S. Census figures.

Eastlake Revitalization Initiative earned a grant to make $2.2 million of improvements along East 12th Street and International Boulevard near the park.

There are new bus shelters, bulb-out sidewalks that are safer for the area's many pedestrians, palm trees and lighting.

More changes are planned, including new play structures for Clinton Square Park. Berkman said each improvement is driven by neighborhood residents and leaders who meet regularly to talk about what is needed most in Eastlake.