From the Maplewood Memorial Park Conservancy:
The Maplewood Memorial Park Conservancy, a nonprofit, volunteer organization that works with the Township to care for and improve Memorial Park, has an event-filled day on Saturday, November 9. Celebrating the completion of Phase 1 of its Valley St. Pathway Project, a ribbon cutting will be held at the site on Valley St. and Oakview across from the municipal building at 11 a.m., followed by a nature walk with landscape designer Jennifer Ryan around the newly completed interior pathway loop at 11:30. Coffee and pastries will be served.
The day begins at 10 a.m. with the Conservancy’s Trash Panda crew’s regular cleanup event, a one-hour trash pick-up blitz. Meet at the skate house at Oakview Avenue to get bags, gloves, and grabbers.
From 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., join the Conservancy at the lobby of the Maplewood Train Station on Dunnell Rd. for an exhibition of landscapes of Memorial Park done this fall at its popular plein air event Painters in the Park. Local artists will be showing their work and refreshments will be served.
The Valley St. Pathway Project, based on original designs by the Olmsted Brothers and Brinley & Holbrook landscape architecture firms, provides a safe and pleasant route through the park shielded from the busy roadway, while making the playground and other park amenities accessible to walkers of all ages. Phase 1 of the project, including the path and landscaping at the Oakview entryways, was generously funded by a 2024 AARP Community Challenge Grant. This program funds innovative, quick-action projects that inspire change in areas such as public places, housing, transportation and more. The Conservancy was one of only 340 projects chosen of 3,300 applications nationwide. The project aligns with AARP’s goals of making communities more livable for people of all ages by providing pedestrian safety and accessibility and the Conservancy’s goals of restoring original design elements and enhancing Memorial Park as a beautiful community space for all. Plans for Phase 2 include benches and landscaping along the Valley St. border.
For more information, contact the Conservancy at info@maplewoodmemorialparkconservancy.or, visit their website, or follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
