Join Us For Earth Day Clean-Ups on 4/23
Earth Day Clean Ups, 9 a.m., to noon Saturday, April 23rd at Gano Park and the River Walk, south of Point Street Bridge.
Providence and Seekonk Shorelines Get Attention.
This year, FPNA’s Board is sponsoring two Earth Day Cleanups in its neighborhood as part of its mission to enhance quality of life, while supporting Fox Point’s historic public areas. “Both events will take place on our riverfronts – Gano Park and the Providence River by the Hurricane Barrier, FPNA Board Member Alissa Peterson, says. “These two transition areas are central to this year’s theme of enhancing spaces for community gatherings.”
Providence River River Walk Cleanup
The southernmost extension of the Providence River Walk is getting FPNA’s attention for the first time through the Providence Parks Department’s Earth Day Clean Up, set for Saturday, April 23rd from 9 a.m. to noon. Committee Chairs Alissa Peterson and John Rousseau are both seeking volunteers, including event-day coordinators.
“We will be clearing an area of vegetation and pathways between the tugboats and the Hurricane Barrier along the shoreline, south of the Point Street Bridge, Peterson continues. “The waterways around Providence serve a vital role in the community as places of reflection and gathering,” she adds. Specifically, the Providence River Walk links the Jewelry District and Down City to Fox Point and India Point Park, Peterson emphasizes. “This large populace, who frequent this connector includes runners seeking fresh air, fishermen under the Hurricane Barrier and families out for walk.”
“The section of the park near the Hurricane Barrier now hosts trash and weeds,” she points out. “Our cleanup will remove the trash, cut back the weeds and plant perennials.”
FPNA’s two committees are seeking small Partnership for Providence Parks grants and staff support from the Parks Department on the day of the events. “At the River Walk, we need advice on selecting and installing plants, both flowering and non-flowering perennials that will return each spring. “Our goal is to make the location visually appealing, while recognizing the needs of the shoreline.
If you are interested in coordinating and/or volunteering on the River Walk clean up, contact Alissa directly at alissa.j.peterson@gmail.com.
Fox Point Greenway Readies for Bike Way
Gano Park's shoreline has been a site of Earth Day Cleanups for over five years. During this time FPNA with the assistance of the Providence Department of Parks, has restored and maintained a view of the Seekonk River.
FPNA’s goal is to restore the view completely from the Crook Point Bridge to the boat launch, an area that the Providence Department of Planning & Development has named as the Fox Point Greenway, Gano Park Committee Chair John Rousseau says. “This year, we hope to make the entire shoreline suitable for grass-cutting in the summer by cleaning it up and performing some slight grading of the berms along the shoreline.”
In the past, the Parks Department has assisted FPNA’s efforts by providing bulldozers to remove vegetation along the shoreline, Roussseau says. “We also are seeking dirt to grade the berm and seeds to plant along the river from the service road to the existing dog park.” This year’s effort is extremely important in view of the impending installation of the Blackstone Bike Way along Gano Park’s shoreline, which the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and Development, RIDOT, has scheduled in 2016.
As in past years, FPNA plans to purchase picnic tables with funds from the Partnership of Parks grant. “We hope to replace two of the five tables we lost during the construction of the NBC overflow,” Rousseau says. Please, volunteer for the Greenway clean up by contacting fpna@cox.net.
