Viroqua, WI

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: The McIntosh Memorial Library serves as an accessible, welcoming community gathering space for the community. Library staff hoped to further draw visitors to the library by creating a new aviary in the center of the building. To do this, the library constructed a seating area, as well as a habitat for several songbirds. Organizers say the space serves as a venue for intergenerational story time, as well as a place to read and have conversations. To introduce patrons to the new space, the library hosted a Festival of Birds. In the future, they plan to host educational programming on birding, both at the library and along nearby hiking trails. Community members are already enjoying the aviary -- one older woman was in tears as she watched the songbirds with her son. She told staff the "aviary was one of the most beautiful features of the library."

Cleveland, OH

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: The May Dugan Center, which serves low-income older adults in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood, hoped to create a welcoming gathering space for its Seniors on the Move program. To make the Center's outdoor area accessible, organizers outfitted the space with four ADA-compliant picnic tables. Additionally, the Center provided program participants with herb garden kits, allowing them to create windowsill gardens in their homes. Ultimately, organizers hope experience tending the kits will help SOTM participants hone their gardening skills, which they will use to plant flower beds and raised vegetable plots at the Center. This project is part of the nonprofit's larger mission to help older adults manage their financial, physical and emotional wellbeing, allowing them to safely age in place.

Springfield, MO

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public space activation

Description: In the 1980s, many businesses moved out of Springfield's downtown. But in recent years, a new generation of entrepreneurs, artists and gig workers have begun repopulating the city's main commercial district. In light of the area's new vibrancy, the Commercial Street Community Improvement District is working to market the area and tell its story. The CID created a series of parklets with outdoor seating to give visitors a space to socialize and relax. They also commissioned a local artist to create a mural, using community feedback to inform the final design. The mural fits within a larger street art project. CID organizers say they hope these improvements will help the community develop a renewed sense of place.