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Veneta, OR

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: During the COVID-19 pandemic, staff at the Fern Ridge Public Library were determined to offer a safe outdoor space for residents to congregate. When a large, centuries-old Heritage Oak tree fell on library grounds, they took the opportunity to construct a courtyard, enlisting local artists to create benches from the tree's wood. To make the space inviting, volunteers planted native Oregonian plants and laid down gravel to create an accessible pathway. What had been a weed-covered yard became a peaceful seating area for casual meetings, quiet reading and public performances.

Buffalo, WY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Hundreds of veterans' graves in Johnson County lacked markers, leaving families without visible recognition of service. Volunteers from the American Legion and VFW installed more than 375 durable metal markers across three cemeteries, assembling and placing them over summer and fall. The markers provide lasting tribute, ensuring families can honor veterans for decades. Volunteers described the work as extremely meaningful, recalling names and memories while walking the grounds. The group plans to continue adding markers as needed.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.

Avoca, IA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: Avoca's Main Street already had green space and places to sit, but Avoca Public Library organizers wanted to give residents a reason to spend time downtown. To invite people in, they installed oversized, weather-proof musical instruments outside the library. Since the instruments don't require any training or talent to play, they are popular with residents of all ages. Part of the town's creative placemaking plans, the new music park is located near the site of Avoca's weekly summer farmer's market. "It's a fun part of the town now," Avoca resident Sunshine Schoeller said.

Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects

Lincoln County, ID

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Addressing community health

Description: When the Lincoln County Youth Center opened in 2021, children would run laps around the building's wide, circular hallway. To allow visitors to exercise, the Lincoln County Youth Commission created an indoor fitness track in the hall. With the track, the Lincoln County Youth Commission hoped to make the Center a welcoming space for residents of all ages. The rural community lacks sidewalks, making walking outdoors difficult for the community's older adults. The Lincoln Loop is ADA-accessible and offers a climate-controlled environment for people to exercise all year round. The path also includes stations where people can perform stretches and warm-up exercises.

Glenns Ferry, ID

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: The City of Glenns Ferry activated a neglected plot of land into a new, multigenerational park, which they named the Oregon Short Line Park. The space was previously the site of another park, which the City removed in 1980, leaving the land to sit in disrepair. Improvements include a new basketball court, a paved area for other games, a shade structure, benches and ADA-accessible swings designed for children, infants, adults and people with disabilities. In addition, the local branch of Future Farmers for America created an interactive musical installment comprised of a playable bell and a beat wall. Located near the city's historic museum, the Oregon Short Line Park is the only park on Glenns Ferry's south side. In the future, the City plans to add landscaping and xeriscaping.

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