A large crowd gathered in Waterford Park the evening of Oct. 4, 2016 to celebrate the grand opening of the Shared-Use Pathway Tunnel Grand Opening. Users of the pathway can now travel unhindered from downtown Frederick, underneath RT 15, through Waterford Park and beyond! Joining Mayor Randy McClement, City Planner Tim Davis, Waterford Park improvement coordinator Ginny Brace and member of Friends of Waterford Park (pictured below) were other dignitaries as well as scores of cyclists who can now make use of the extended paved pathway. View video of opening ceremony.
Members of Friends of Waterford Park gather for the Grand Opening of the Shared-Use Pathway. Project coordinator, Ginny Brace, is at far right.Scores of cyclists gather in anticipation of the Grand Opening of the Shared-Use Pathway. (Photo courtesy of Harriet Wise)
Scores of cyclists participated in the Grand Opening of the Shared-Use Pathway.(Photo courtesy of Harriet Wise)
The trucks have left and quiet has returned to the Park after a long period of construction. Trash cans and poop stations are in, but not being emptied. We will talk with the City about their pick-up schedule. Lights have been installed but not yet turned on. Many of us are happy that the park is still dark overnight. Lots of new people in the park, most enjoying the walk, a few with headphones separating them from the environment.. No trash on the ground or vandalism noted. Silt fences will come down when it is determined that the grass see is established enough to prevent runoff. Deer have survived the construction well it seems. We see them regularly, Mommas and babies mostly, although Joe took a picture of our resident 8-point buck lying in the stream. That guy has it good!
Worker bees are watering trees on slopes, fencing and watering the trees planted in April, and we are re-fencing trees in advance of the deer fall and winter rubbing/feeding. We had taken many fences down to make life easier for the mowers.
Pictures below show another project: the refurbishing of the woods paths and the new path connecting main mulched path to the old sewer line. The contractors left stones for us, and they are at the entryways to the mulched woods paths.We will complete the path work Aug. 30 in the evening. Enjoy – but the cardboard under the new connector may be a bit slippery at first, so be careful.
The Chesapeake Bay is in trouble due to pollution and sediment in runoff that eventually drains into the Bay. Most Maryland residents live within a half-mile radius of a drainage ditch, storm drain, stream, or river, and what we do to maintain our own landscapes can affect the health of the Bay and our environment. The Bay-Wise Residential Landscape Management program was developed by the University of Maryland as part of the Maryland Master Gardener program. These trained volunteers help citizens create healthier gardens and landscapes using sustainable practices. Private and public properties like Waterford Park which demonstrate such practices can be certified as “Bay-Wise” by first filling out an application and Bay-Wise Yardstick. Specially trained Bay-Wise Master Gardeners will then visit the property and determine if it meets the requirements. If so, a handsome Bay-Wise sign will be given.
This spring, Waterford Park applied to be a certified as a Bay-wise property. We completed the forms and toured the park with the committee from the Frederick County Master Gardeners (pictured). Their group also held one of their monthly meetings here where a large group of us walked the park together, identifying plants, discussing the work of Friends of Waterford Park and enjoying a walk in the woods on a fine late spring day. We are pleased to participate in this worthy program. More about Bay-Wise...
The Chesapeake Bay is in trouble due to pollution and sediment in runoff that eventually drains into the Bay. Most Maryland residents live within a half-mile radius of a drainage ditch, storm drain, stream, or river, and what we do to maintain our own landscapes can affect the health of the Bay and our environment.
The Bay-Wise Residential Landscape Management program was developed by the UMD as part of the MD Master Gardener program to help citizens create healthier gardens and landscapes using sustainable practices. Private and public properties such as Waterford Park which demonstrate such practices can be certified as “Bay-Wise.” For more information, please go here.
Pictured above (L to R) Virginia Brace receives “”Bay-Wise” designation sign from Master Gardner Suzanna Hill.
Check out the below picture of almost all of the 37, yes indeed, 37 volunteers who came out Saturday, April 23rd, to plant the 50 container plants we purchased with grant funds from MUCFC (MD Urban and Community Forest Committee) funds.
Regular FWP volunteers were joined by a Middletown brownie troop and Hood students organized by the Biology Honor Society.
Construction of the shared use path is in the open areas; this grant funded trees that grow in the understory where we have cleared invasives.
Species planted included: American and Eastern hornbeams, red maple, pagoda dogwood, Henry Garnet sweet spire, gray dogwood and witchhazel. In open spaces we planted silver maple, basswood and sycamore.
As always, Joanne Leathery provided brownies and cookies for the post-planting gathering. We had everything planted, watered, papered and mulched in just a little over an hour.
Andy Driscoll, FWP volunteer and professional arborist, demonstrated proper planting of container trees. He showed us to rough up the rootball and cautioned us not to plant too deep. Thanks, Andy.
Thanks to all, especially to Lesley and Kevin who put in hours of prep work Wed. – Friday.
Come join us as we plant 50 container trees. in the woods in Waterford.
10 am Saturday. We should be finished by noon. We will do a demonstration of planting technique first, then break into groups to plant, mulch and water.
We will be doing a lot of prep work Friday, April 22nd if you can help then.
Construction of the shared-use path connecting Waterford and Baker Parks has begun. The required black fence to protect the waterways from runoff and the L.O.D. stakes (limit of disturbance) are in place. The paved path will be replaced with a semi-permeable path that is 10 feet wide. The path will be extended to Carroll Creek where an 80 foot bridge will cross the creek. The low spot at the bend near the benches will be altered so we do not have pools of water and ice there. The construction of the tunnel under the ramp from Rosemont to Rt. 15 is scheduled for early May. That ramp will be closed for as short a time as possible. The path will then connect to the existing concrete path at Rosemont. Trees with white X’s will be removed. Trees with orange tape will be moved. (Top picture shows a staging area; bottom picture looks toward Carroll Creek where the bridge will go).
Jennifer Willoughby (below, center), Sustainability Manager for the city of Frederick, held several tree identification classes in Waterford Park which now has over 40 species of native trees.
Hooray! We are now “Friends of Waterford Park, Inc.”, a 501(c)(3) charity recognized by the IRS. We will open a bank account and soon will be operating independently. We owe a great thank-you to the Friends of Baker Park which has served as our fiscal agent for many years. We will let you know when our transition is complete and your dues/donations can be payable to us rather than to FOBP.
Park blooms – the surge of spring bloom is over, but several shrubs and flowers are in bloom. Look for white hydrangea blooms along the path near the new bridge. As the path curves into the open field of Waterford Park, the pink blooms of the swamp rose and the white blooms of buttonbush appear. On the hill at Meadowdale, the oak-leaf hydrangea is gorgeous, and the wild petunias are emerging. Many plants are in bloom in the meadow, most conspicuously the pink of the monarda (beebalm) and the bright orange of butterfly weed. In the woods, the bottlebrush buckeyes and elderberries are in flower.
Fruits of the chokeberry, native black raspberry and several viburnum are coming out.
Our Eagle Scout candidate is about 3/4 finished with his paths in the woods. We were able to treat all 24 of the ashes we wanted to protect. You can see tiny yellow plugs at the base of the treated trees.
Most of you have renewed. Let’s try to get the rest in so we can be done with that annual administrative task. You folks continue to be THE BEST! We have such great support. (If you need another membership form, go to www.friendsofwaterfordpark.org. Dave Maloney keeps a link to the form on the first page.)
