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Garden Club of Windham with Friends of the Garden on the Bridge (2023) Print
2023 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Park enhancements
└ Park enhancements
The project will transform an neglected park into a welcoming and functional recreational space, with seating and tables to encourage outdoor recreation, socializing and intergenerational interaction.
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See More Projects Like This One
Tucson, AZ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: City officials set out to revitalize the underused Francisco Elias Esquer Park, located around the corner from a large public housing community for older adults in Tucson's Barrio Blue Moon neighborhood. To address the needs of locals with disabilities, volunteers installed a wheelchair accessible walking path, benches and a dog comfort station for service animals. They also added passive water harvesting basins to draw birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife. At a planting party for community members -- one of several events to publicize the new amenities -- neighbors spent a day digging in the dirt and enjoying a renewed sense of community.
Richmond, VA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: This project installed picnic tables, benches and signage, plus improvements in the trail system, to an urban ecopark.
Omaha, NE
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: As part of efforts to revitalize a vacant building in Upland Park, this project made accessibility upgrades nearby. Project organizers installed a new walking path and accessible seating onsite. To beautify the space, volunteers worked to create public art. Additionally, this project replaced temporary garden beds with permanent raised-bed planters, which allow people to garden without having to squat down -- making the activity possible for people of all ages and abilities.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Windham, CT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: The project will create a community gardening program to help older adults grow food locally. It will enrich the design of a new green space at a senior center and will provide tools and weekly group sessions led by a master gardener.
Hebron, CT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The Town Center Project wanted to revitalize Hebron's village green and create the kind of downtown people want to visit. To do this, they invited residents to Take a Seat in a dozen hand-painted Adirondack chairs installed in the historic village center. Local artists entered a competition to design the seating, which volunteers assembled. Each wood-slatted chair has its own look, ranging from African-themed designs to an under-the-sea concept. The village stores over the winter to protect them from snow, bringing them out every spring for residents and visitors to enjoy.
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