2012 Report for Scantlebury Park

Year

2012

Number of volunteers

8

Total volunteer hours

45

Number of events

3

Yards mulch spread

10.00

Summary

Scantlebury Park is likely one of the most functional, well-used public space you will ever encounter. From morning until evening children enjoy the play equipment - one set for the younger kids another for the older - teens play basketball, families picnic, and, most of all, everyone enjoys the splash pad. Situated along the Farmington Canal Trail behind the Rose Center, Yale Police Department, and Yale Health Clinic, Scantlebury park draws visitors from throughout the Dixwell neighborhood and beyond. When asked about this success the park founders are clear about how it happened: every aspect of the park is the result of community input and participatory planning. 'The first people we approached for input was a group of ten and eleven-year-olds,' park co-founder Roxanne Condon will tell you. 'They wanted separate play areas just for younger children so they wouldn't be bullied, and they wanted no broken glass on the ground.' This year, summer youth employees who grew up playing in the park and who have worked on maintaining the park every summer returned to weed around the bases of the park trees, spread wood chips, water plants, and do other maintenance. Their efforts are protecting the trees they planted from damage from lawnmowers and reducing the need for herbicides. Thanks to them the trees will be healthier and Parks Department employees will have more time to devote elsewhere in the park.