MAPLEWOOD MEMORIAL PARK CONSERVANCY
Ensuring the legacy of our historic park and looking toward the future
The Maplewood Memorial Park Conservancy is a public-private partnership that assists the Township of Maplewood in caring for, restoring, and improving our historic local gem, Memorial Park, a twenty-five acre oasis in the center, and at the heart, of town, designed in the early twentieth century by Brinley and Holbrook and the Olmsted Brothers firm.
A popular community gathering space and home to events such as Maplewoodstock and the Fourth of July celebration, the park invites both passive and active recreation, with ballfields, courts, and an amphitheater, as well as a landscape designed in the picturesque style, with broad greenswards, copses of trees and shrubs, a pond, and rustic bridges over a channelized river.
The Conservancy develops long-term master plans, designs and oversees landscape projects, hosts engaging events, and seeks funding sources to ensure our beloved park continues to serve the many and varied needs of our community. For more about our initiatives and mission, see our About section.
News
The Conservancy is thrilled to announce that we have been chosen as a 2024 AARP Community Challenge Grantee for our Valley St. border and pathway project. We are one of only 343 grantees selected out of over 3,300 applications from across the United States!
This grant will allow us to begin our project, years in development, of creating a beautifully landscaped entryway along Oakview Avenue and the Valley St. A new pathway along Valley will mirror the existing path to the south of Oakview and will complete the interior walking loop around the park. This will allow a safe and pleasant place to walk and access the playground, courts, and ballfields, avoiding the narrow sidewalk along the busy roadway.
Landscape designer Jennifer C. Ryan’s beautiful plan, based on original park designs by the Olmsted Brothers and Brinley & Holbrook landscape architecture firms, balances sensitivity to historic precedent with adaptability to modern climate, benefits to wildlife, mitigation of stormwater runoff, and the needs of contemporary park goers.
The first phase of the project, funded by the grant, will be completed in the fall, and will include the path and the enhanced entryway at Oakview. Border planting along Valley St. will be the second phase.
The AARP Community Challenge grant program funds innovative, quick-action projects that inspire change in areas such as public places, housing, transportation, digital connectivity, community resilience, and more. More info can be found at AARP.org/CommunityChallenge.
Olmsted Network Features MMPC’s Year
FIELD NOTES
In January, the Maplewood Township Committee proclaimed 2024 the “Year of the Maplewood Memorial Park Conservancy.” Mayor-elect Nancy Adams read a proclamation that underscored the historic significance of the park and lauded the Conservancy’s accomplishments. READ MORE
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Fall MMPC Bulletin!
Read it HERE.
See past Bulletins HERE
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Maplewood Garden Club partners with MMPC to plant native trees in the park
Our good friends at the Maplewood Garden Club were awarded a grant from the Garden Club of New Jersey to beautify the park with native trees, and we are delighted that they asked us to partner with them on this project. On Saturday, Oct. 14th, With the help of MGC members Bill and Kathy Kohlman, Victor, and Ellery, and Girl Scout Troop 20407, we planted some native understory trees, including large leaf magnolia, sassafras, bladdernut, and silverbell on the slopes near the Oakland Rd playground. MMPC member Mary S. and some munchkins we enlisted from the playground planted some pollinator-friendly ground cover. Thank you to our fabulous landscape designer Jennifer Ryan for leading us, designing the plan, and hauling all the trees to the site. And thanks to MGC and the Garden Club of New Jersey!
Proposed Path and Landscaping Along Valley St. Get Rave Reviews
On Oct. 8. 2022, the Conservancy presented a full-scale mockup of a path and proposed landscaping along Oakland Rd. across from Valley Street between Oakview and Town Hall to garner public opinion…More
Events
MMPC Events Calendar
Couldn’t Make the 2024
MMPC Annual Meeting?
WATCH the March 21st Zoom meeting to see board members highlight past accomplishments and plans for 2024
The following officers were elected at the meeting:
Chair
Deborah Lyons is currently Chair of the Conservancy as well as a founding member. She has been an active community volunteer since she moved to Maplewood over 30 years ago, serving on boards and committees, and volunteering in the schools, parks, and neighborhood and art associations. She was a founding member of the Springfield Avenue Partnership and was its first director. With a background in art history, she has had a career as a curator and writer. Now retired, she recently became a Master Gardener, with a passion for native plants.
Vice Chair
Gary Nelson is the current Vice Chair of the Maplewood Memorial Park Conservancy as well as a founding member of the Conservancy. A resident of Maplewood for over 30 years, he is a long-standing member of the Maplewood Historic Preservation Commission and is also the current Chair of the Open Space Trust Fund Committee. Gary was an active member of the steering committees for the Open Space Element of the Township of Maplewood Master Plan and the Maplewood Memorial Park Master Plan. Gary’s professional background is in strategic planning and marketing communications.
Treasurer
Matt Brehm has been a fan of the park since he and his family moved to Maplewood in 2015 and you can find him there most days walking his two dogs. Matt is CFO for Cambridge Information Group, an investment firm focused on education and information services, and a CPA licensed in the state of New York.
Secretary
Ginny Kurshan is currently the Secretary of the Maplewood Memorial Park Conservancy as well as a founding member. She is a long-time resident of Maplewood. Ginny served for twenty years as the Chair of the Maplewood Historic Preservation Commission and played an essential role in the development of the Commission. She was an active member of the Steering Committee for the development of the Master Plan for Maplewood Memorial Park. Professionally, Ginny is an architectural historian having worked for the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission for 35 years.
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Weeding Wednesdays
Join stalwart volunteers to remove invasive plants throughout the park each Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. till noon. Meet at the Skate House off Oakview Ave.
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Trash Pandas Clean Park
on 4th Saturdays
Want to help keep the park clean and trash free? Join the Trash Panda Crew from 10:00 till 11:00 a.m. as they tackle park litter the fourth Saturday of every month. MMPC provides gloves, trash grabbers and bags. Meet at the Skate House off Oakview Ave. All ages are welcome.
Membership and donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Or mail your contribution to Maplewood Memorial Park Conservancy PO Box 1091 Maplewood, NJ 07040