Blackstone Parks Conservancy (BPC) volunteers are accustomed to projects taking time, years even. Long desired improvements to the parks may not be feasible for want of either time or money–or both. So it was with three Blackstone Park Conservation District projects this fall: a stair railing, two kiosks, and a fence.
Then, suddenly, these projects came together. The first to materialize was the hand railing beside the old wooden steps leading up from York Pond into the woodland. It is now in place thanks to Carrie Drake and her park committee and Jim Rocchio and his Parks Department crew.
A railing may not seem like much. To the many people who couldn’t use those stairs before and can now enjoy them, however, it makes a difference.
Two Kiosks built by the Tuesday Club, woodworking volunteers who collaborate with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), were marooned in South County for nearly a year for want of a truck. If a truck and driver could be found, who could unload them in Blackstone Park? They weigh over 200 pounds. And then, who would install them properly?
Recently USFWS Visitor Services Manager/Outreach Coordinator Janis Nepshinsky found a volunteer to deliver the kiosks to the BPC. Next, Fence Tech, the company that happened to be building a BPC fence on Angell Street that day offered to unload and install them. For all the people who wonder what the Blackstone Park Conservation District is–who it belongs to and who manages it—signs on the kiosks, of which there are now seven, hold the answers.
A new $3450 fence now graces the habitat planting on Angell Street thanks to the Conservancy’s first crowd-funding campaign and BPC members. For several years the exceptionally dedicated volunteer gardeners led by Mary Dennis and Anna Browder have waited for the BPC to upgrade their bamboo fence. We appreciate their patience.
Another Kind of Teamwork– The annual International Coastal Cleanup sponsored by Save the Bay yielded considerable trash in Blackstone Park by the Seekonk River. BPC Vice-President Carrie Drake guided McMahon Associate volunteers, who turned up some unusual debris.
Jane Peterson
