Community support is needed to preserve Crawford Park and the Friends of Crawford Park is actively seeking new members, especially since the Town of Rye is cutting back on the park's budget.
Hurricane Sandy’s toll on Crawford Park
Over huge 50 trees were lost or damaged in the park during the hurricane, causing the park to be closed for two weeks. The Friends of Crawford Park decided to act fast and reforest the park this year, so on December 4-6th we planted over 40 trees in the park. The trees we added cannot instantly replace the huge old growth trees taken down in the storm, but we are breathing new life into the park with a wide variety of evergreen and deciduous trees.
Since 1997 the Friends of Crawford Park have been working to restore and enhance Crawford Park, a 36-acre green space that sits between Ridge Street and Lincoln Avenue in Rye Brook. Many of you have been loyal members for years and we thank you for your support. As this year comes to a close, we hope to renew your interest in helping the park by sharing with you the progress we’ve made and the plans we have.
Another great year of progress
Looking back on 2012, we continue to make improvements to the park. Community donations went a long way.
· In early spring we reseeded the wildflower area and were busy dividing and transplanting irises and daylilies throughout the park.
· In May we had our Annual “Annual” planting day, when we planted hundreds of flowers in the sunken garden and the shade garden area.
· We planted new rose bushes in the sunken garden and around the mansion.
· We designed and implemented a new garden in front of the stockade fence across the road from the mansion to beautify a barren spot.
· And we were busy planting hundreds of bulbs including Daffodils, Crocus, Hyacinth, and Muscari up until the day before hurricane Sandy came.
In total this year we planted over 40 trees and 600 flowers and shrubs.
A new year of promise
Next year we’re eager to take on more beautification and restoration projects and hope you will help us out again. Our biggest effort is to improve the playground area, which needs much more than minor repairs. Other projects include:
· Planting more trees in the spring
· Further developing the once-barren lot a the entrance of the park
· Enhancing the pedestrian entrances to the park Betsy Brown and Wilton Road.
· Restoring the stonewall on the right side of Crawford Park.
And we also want to continue to maintain the sunken garden, the shade garden, the sunset site and reseed the wildflower area with more drought tolerant plants.
The Race continues
The 8th Annual Run for Crawford Park, which took place on September 30, was a huge success. Thanks in large part to our race coordinator, Sue Yockleson, we had many more local businesses sponsor the race. Many thanks to our contributors which include: Personal Training Institute, Red Mango, Rye Brook Youth Soccer, New Balance, Westmore News, Carmine Cerone Sportsmen Foundation, Family Discount/Ace Hardware, Kneaded Bread, Q Restaurant and Bar, Boot Camp by the Beach, Strauss Paper, Toughman Triathlon, Varmax Liquor, and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realtors. The money we raised from the race enabled us to plant the 40+ trees this month. Next year’s race is scheduled for Sunday, September 29th, 2013.
Please join us
Please consider giving again this year. You can donate and become a member online at www.friendsofcrawfordpark.org. Our donation level begins at just $25 and every dollar is spent for the good of the park. As you can see, we have many more plans for restorations and improvements.
Please help us grow a better park and a better community.
Sincerely,
Laura Klein
President, Friends of Crawford Park
