Roughly 60 people came out to Austin Point in Woodland on Saturday to pick up trash, plant saplings and put up signs, the first such community event the Port of Woodland hosted in an effort to revitalize the property’s wetlands.

Within 24 hours, nearly half the signs were knocked over and most of the plants were destroyed after vandals struck, leaving port officials questioning how to take care of the land — and if it’s even possible to do so while allowing public use.

“A few bad apples can ruin it for everybody,” said Jennifer Wray-Keene, Port of Woodland executive director. “I don’t know the motivation of why somebody would do this other than they just wanted to destroy something.”

The volunteers — most of whom were youths, including members of the Woodland High School football team — picked up more than 500 pounds of garbage, planted about 200 saplings and drilled 20 signs into the ground letting visitors know they were entering a protected wetlands area. The port paid about $500 for the plants, and $150 per sign, Wray-Keene said. Eight of the signs were knocked over.

“We can’t do the plantings again,” she said. “It’s starting to be the dry season. We’re going to have to wait until it’s wet again for them to have a chance to root.”