The recently formed Maplewood Memorial Park Conservancy will hold an organizational meeting on Wednesday, May 24, 7:30 pm at the Woodland Parlor Room (60 Woodland Rd, Maplewood). During this working meeting, the group will gather input and form committees to work on the key areas of fundraising, public programs, marketing/communications, and landscape and hardscape design, restoration, and maintenance. Anyone interested in sharing their time and talent to restore the park and assure its future beauty is encouraged to come out with ideas and energy.

The Maplewood Memorial Park Conservancy is a public-private partnership working with the Township of Maplewood and the Maplewood Historic Preservation Commission to preserve, maintain, and improve Maplewood Memorial Park. The organization held its first public meeting on March 23, where it outlined the history and design of the park and discussed opportunities to restore key landscape and hardscape elements. Memorial Park was designed in the 1920s by the prestigious landscape architects Brinley and Holbrook and the Olmsted Brothers firm and is listed in the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places. This designation provides protection for the park through a state review process that ensures that any proposed changes are compatible with its history, design, and character.

The Conservancy’s first project, in celebration of Earth Day, was to replace the missing eighth elm tree to restore the park’s Eight Elms Memorial, dedicated to the eight Maplewood citizens who died in World War I. This event was held in partnership with the Township of Maplewood, who provided the tree and planting materials for the volunteers.

MMPC welcomes your participation and support. Annual membership fee is $25. For more information or to become a member, please join us on May 24, follow us on Facebook, visit our website at maplewoodmemorialparkconservancy.org, or contact us at P.O. Box 1091, Maplewood, NJ 07040.