Poplar Bluff, MO

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023

Project Category: Trails

Description: Poplar Bluff lacked a safe, continuous route connecting city neighborhoods to the Wolf Creek Trail, limiting mobility for older adults who rely on trails for recreation and access to services. The project built a 1.8-mile ADA-accessible concrete connector and installed an ADA bench, linking the city's trail system to 21 miles of forest paths. This permanent improvement opens year-round access to nature and supports physical and mental well-being. Early counts show more than 1,000 users, and the trail has spurred community events and investment. One resident said, "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see people on that trail."

Manchester, NH

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Trails

Description: The local chapter of the Nature Conservancy hoped to make the Manchester Cedar Swamp -- a popular nature preserve within Manchester's city limits -- more accessible to visitors of all ages and abilities. To do this, the group built the 1.2-mile All Persons Trail, which they designed to be level and unsloping. The trail is wide enough to accommodate two wheelchairs or two people with guide dogs. To help people with low vision navigate, project organizers created an audio tour app in English and Spanish. The Conservancy also installed benches and interpretive signs along the path.

Jackson, MS

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Trails

Description: The City of Jackson is working to develop the Museum Trail -- a four-mile, multi-use path designed to improve community health and wellness, connect areas of interest within the community and promote active transportation. Building on this work, the Jackson Heart Foundation improved wayfinding along the corridor by installed railhead and mile markers. Organizers say the signage helps visitors understand where the trail begins and ends and provides them with information about ongoing work to improve the path. Volunteers also created a mural at the trail's entrance. And to promote the trail, project organizers launched a new website and offered branded tote bags for donors.