Park upgrades can be costly and feel overwhelming, especially for smaller municipalities. DCNR’s Small Communities Program caters to these municipalities. It offers lower-match grants for municipalities with populations of 5,000 or fewer. The Small Communities Program encourages breaking large projects into several phases. Spreading your project over several years helps keep costs below funding limits, and it […]
Chutes and Ladders Playground Opens to Packed Crowd in Harrisburg
After more than a year of construction, state and local leaders recently cut the ribbon on the new Chutes and Ladders Playground at Reservoir Park in Harrisburg. “Our parks are the cornerstone of our community,” said Harrisburg Mayor Wanda R.D. Williams. “Thirty years from now, the children here today will tell their children about the time their […]
Featured Park Project: Acquisition Protects 1,000 Feet of Creek in Susquehanna County
Clifford Township in Susquehanna County recently expanded its Township Community Park thanks in part to a DCNR grant. The East Branch of the Tunkhannock Creek flows through the park. The land acquisition adds 11 acres and another 1,000 feet of creek frontage to the facility. The township also installed a new pedestrian bridge to improve […]
Middletown’s Hoffer Park Reopens with Locally Inspired Features
Hoffer Park, a popular recreation spot in Middletown, reopened April 1st, 2023. The years-long park renovation, funded in part through Keystone Fund dollars, involved the design of playground implements that evoke the visuals of numerous local landmarks. Middletown is home to Penn State Harrisburg, Harrisburg International Airport, and Three Mile Island (TMI), the now-closed nuclear […]
Chester County Golf Course to Become Public Park
Natural Lands announced the preservation of approximately 106 acres in New Garden Township, Chester County. The land, formerly the site of the Loch Nairn Golf Club, was purchased by the Township for use as a passive-recreation park, which is slated to open to the public in 2024. Conversion of the land from a golf course […]
Malvern Cuts Ribbon on Quann Park Renovations
Malvern Borough in Chester County recently cut the ribbon on improvements at Horace J. Quann Park. The park, described by Chester County Commissioners as a treasured gem for the community, has an updated basketball court, baseball field, sidewalk, fencing, and trees. The Malvern Environmental Advisory Council also added a rain garden to the park to […]
Wesleyville Borough Updates 1970’s-Era Playground
Wesleyville Borough in Erie County has a new playground thanks in part to a $79,100 DCNR grant. Funding came from the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund. The Borough also received a $79,100 Community Development Block Grant from Erie County to provide the matching funds toward the new play equipment at Memorial Park. This project rehabilitated […]
Encouraging Exploration
On my first day, I was taken aback when I realized that this oasis existed. To say that I was genuinely surprised would be an understatement. I could not believe that Philadelphia has this large space which so many residents were unaware of. I wanted to get the word out, to get people to come to Awbury and see the great things that the arboretum offers. In my first few months there, every day that I came to work I would see something different. Whether it was a homeschool class participating in an activity outside, a new artist gallery in the Cope House, or exploring a new part of Awbury, there was always something new.
A Lovely Piece of Hatfield
Back when my sons were younger and playing Connie Mack and American Legion Baseball, I spent nearly every evening – most of spring, all of summer, and a good way into fall – at the park, sitting in the snack stand of the baseball field. The park is my favorite place to be deep in the fall, when the leaves have changed and everything is all reds and golds and oranges.
Lifelong Memories
Having Vincentian allows us the opportunity to maintain the fields and grounds in terrific condition and is an overwhelming improvement to the quality of play. The fields are utilized every day throughout our spring and fall season and provide a tremendous sense of team-building and friendships for our youth and a true sense of community for our adults.
Landscape Improvements
In my time at High School Park, I have seen its wildlife diversity and habitat value markedly increase because of this work. Resident birders have reported almost four times the amount of migratory birds using the park now. Fox have been seen roaming the meadow trails and resident hawks are a near-constant presence. This past spring, I spotted a bald eagle in the creek while walking my dog. All this points to greater diversity and better stormwater management in our community.
Prescription for Parks
I and many other Pittsburghers have been lucky enough to grow up with Frick Park in our backyards. As a child I spent nearly every day in the park walking and biking to school, exploring, and playing. I was astounded when I learned that Frick Park draws people in from all over the region and the world.
Connections
When Ambrose and I met, it was such a joy to find out how much he liked being in nature. He started to join the hikes and together we found new areas of Fairmount Park to explore. Now, for meditation hikes, he leads the hike portion. It has been great to collaborate with him in that project and also in life (we recently got married at Valley Green Inn). For us, the parks continue to be a source of rejuvenation: a way for us to connect with nature, and with each other.
Reviving a Tradition
My active participation at Adams-Ricci Park started when I was appointed to the township recreation board in 1998, after many years of coaching youth sports. By then, we had a community park with a few sports fields, pavilions, and courts. It was a good base, but we needed to grow the park to meet the needs of a rapidly growing community. Two major expansions increased the park to 125 acres and incorporated more sports fields, a great system of walking paths, and pavilions.
My Favorite Park
New Hanover Community Park happens to be my favorite park in the township. It offers so many activities and amenities, including basketball, baseball, Frisbee golf, hockey, a walking trail, and a fenced-in playground. Dogs are allowed in the park on a leash, which enables me and my dog Max to enjoy the park.
Growing Blessings
Thankfully, there are multiple individuals with decades’-worth of gardening experience who, quite eagerly, have answered all of my questions. I never knew what I was missing until my very first plants (which were kale, beets, and carrots last year) had sprouted. This joy is available to anyone! In my second year, I’ve been blessed with that same irrefutable joy of witnessing my crops come to life in the soil provided by the garden.
Our Meeting Place
Through a grant from the Keystone Fund, we were able to construct a new playground on higher ground. This means the playground can stay open year round, and also provides new, safer equipment. During the construction, kids in the park would come up to me and thank me for the new playground, saying they couldn’t wait for the grand opening. I received more positive feedback on the playground improvements than any other project I’ve been involved with, and mostly from our youngest residents!
The Community Meeting Place
The facilities at Rexroth Park were perfect for our organization’s needs. Volunteer non-profits like us depend on fundraising to maintain our programs at a minimal cost to participants. Rexroth not only supplies great fields for the kids, but also has a concession stand and pavilion that provides a source of income to help support our efforts. In addition, there is a youth-oriented playground, to the delight of our parents, which allows younger brothers and sisters to have some fun during practices in a safe environment.
Sunshine and Stretching
Last summer our team hosted a class in Hoopes Park for the public and enjoyed some brunch items afterwards, which allowed everyone to spend time enjoying the park and getting to know each other. There are plenty of trees to cool us down and provide some much-needed shade on a humid summer day. We’ve seen that people really look forward to the chance to get out of their offices or homes and into a park for some fresh air and to be a little closer to nature, whether it be for yoga, running, biking, or other activities.
Site for a Popular Tradition
Lazybrook Park has proven to be an amazing venue for the Tunkhannock Rotary Harvest and Wine Festival. This event, held annually in October, has been an extremely successful and popular tradition for local people, in addition to folks from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.
