AARP Hearing Center
AARP Livable Communities Map
City of Eastport (2018) Print
2018 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Park enhancements
└ Park enhancements
The City of Eastport wanted to give visitors to its new park an interactive, low-impact activity, suitable for people of all ages. So they installed a music part onsite. The space features several permanent, outdoor musical instruments, including a drum set and a yantzee and duet -- both of which are mallet instruments similar to a glockenspiel. The improvements are part of larger remediation efforts to transform a former landfill on Passamaquoddy Bay into Cony Park, a four-acre outdoor space.
Photo Gallery
Image:
Click on a photo to learn more
See More Projects Like This One
Pollock Pines, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: This project set out to create a park, where Pollock Pines residents can gather. Following community engagement efforts, organizers with Community Economic Development Association Pollock Pines decided to highlight local history through the greenspace's design, paying tribute to early settlers, the Old West, the Pony Express, wagon trains and the gold mining and logging industries. To give residents a place to exercise, they also incorporated fitness equipment specifically designed for older adults.
Tallahassee, FL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Following a year-long planning process, the City of Tallahassee constructed a linear park in its Greater Bond neighborhood. The park includes a walking trail stretching from Speed Spencer Stephens Park on the east side of the city to the St. Marks Trail to the west. Originally a drainage easement, the site once had an open ditch running through it. To ensure the new park's accessibility, the City installed a bench swing and a wheelchair-accessible drinking fountain with a water bottle filler. Designed as a community gathering space, project organizers hope the linear park acts as a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization.
Windham, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Residents in Windham lacked safe, walkable spaces, making it hard for older adults to access public areas. To address this, the department upgraded a community park by adding a stone dust surface under a picnic pavilion, installing three ADA-compliant tables and building a 62-foot path to the parking lot. Volunteers age 50-plus helped with installation and joined the opening celebration. The pavilion now offers a shaded, accessible spot for socializing and watching park activities, supporting physical and emotional health for older adults. It also advances Age Friendly Windham's plan to improve public spaces and lays groundwork for a future GRACE Trail to encourage intergenerational recreation.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Bowdoinham, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: The Town of Bowdoinham provided elevated planters to six residents who, because of disabilities, could not maintain traditional, in-the-ground gardens. Members of the local Masons Lodge constructed the raised beds and delivered soil to each recipient. To showcase the planters, the Town hosted a community meal featuring local produce, which included a presentation about the benefits of raised beds. In addition, the Town founded a garden club, which meets monthly.
Chelsea, ME
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Older adults in Chelsea had few accessible spaces for social connection or healthy activities, leaving many isolated. The project transformed a schoolyard into an intergenerational garden with eight wheelchair-accessible raised beds, a convertible bench and a canopy. Residents and students planted, harvested and shared produce, which supplied the local food bank and monthly luncheons. Donations and repeat visits showed strong community engagement. Future plans include expanding raised beds and adding a permanent structure for year-round use.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
LEARN MORE AND STAY INFORMED
Find articles and resources about making communities more livable for people of all ages
Download or order free publications from AARP Livable Communities
Sign up for the free, weekly, award-winning AARP Livable Communities eNewsletter
Don't see your community listed?
LEARN HOW IT CAN JOIN THE NETWORKConnect with your AARP State Office
AARP has offices in all 50 states as well as in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
AARP Maine State Office
53 Baxter Boulevard
Suite 202
Portland, ME 04101
United States