Turtle Park, located at Smick and Fountain Streets, is a part of Hillside Recreation Center property. Neighbors have used this space over the years for many purposes. In recent years it had fallen into disrepair and was used mainly by dog owners as a convenient place to run their dogs. Friends of Turtle Park was formed in the fall of 2023 to bring this park back to a more vibrant life. They envisioned a place where neighbors could bring their young children to play, have picnics, rest on shady benches, gather for neighborhood events, walk on paths through the woods, and bring their dogs.
Some of the ideas that were shared with us by interested neighbors: Poetry readings, musical performances, seasonal festivals, increased space for dogs with landscaping of the lower ground, plantings along both fences, a stump stepping play structure for the children, new swings & slide, repair of the fencing, a picnic table or two, a little library in a box, a place for quiet reflection or reading, storytelling, dogs and children playing nicely, a dog waste station, repair and expansion of lighting, solar lighting, lighting for holidays, creation of pathways through the wooded area, clearing of brush, terracing of the path up to Hillside and the path down to the lower area, bench in lower area, a pollinator garden.
The 2-On-Tuesday volunteers have added Turtle Park to the weekly rotation of green spaces they care for to achieve the vision for the park.
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