b'And while its easy to imagine vol-unteers doing things such as weeding and planting, their job can be surpris- Ask Carol .ingly complicated. MemorialParkisregisteredwith the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, which helps protect the park and keep it close to its original con-cept. The historic designation, howev-Memorial Park was dedicated in 1931.er, also means that all changes within HOWCreated in the Picturesque Style, it is listedtheparkneedstateapproval,which in the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places. can be time-consuming. And because The Olmsted firm is famous for com- theyaredealingwithlivingthings,MUCH ISkeepingMemorialParkclosetothe missions such as the entry roads to theoriginaldesigncanbechallenging.MY HOUSE Great Smoky Mountains, Acadia Na- Simple tasks such as replacing a deadWORTH? tional Park, and closer to home, Cen- tree can take a lot of thought and time.tral Park, Branch Brook Park, and theForthisreason,theConservancy SouthMountainReservation.Bothworked with Jennifer Ryan, a Rutgers firms were masterful at creating parksUniversitygraduateinlandscapear-in the Picturesque Style. chitecture. She helped the group de-We are a small town to have a parkvelop a master plan for every tree in ofsuchhistoricalsignificance,saysthe park. There are 605 of them, but Lyons. one in three is dead or failing. Due toCarol and her team will evaluate the value of your home, Soon after Memorial Park was cre- factors such as climate change and in- prepare, repair, stage, market, showcase, and bring you:ated,horticulturalistRichardWaltercreased traffic in the park, many trees became the Superintendent of Parks incannot be replaced with the same spe- * TOP buyers Maplewood. Walter led a team fundedciesthathadbeentherepreviously. by the township to maintain the park.Memorial Parks tree replacement plan* for TOP dollar During his long tenure, he added un- was an enormous project. of* in ONE weekend.usual trees, shrubs, plants and features,In addition to the replacement like the beloved (rustic wood) Dragontrees, the Conservancy has many on-Pit playground, to enhance the origi- goingrestorationandimprovement nal design. Walter led a team fundedprojects. One of the most visible is the by the township to maintain the park.Flagpole Hill restoration project, ad-SaysConservancyboardmemberjacent to Dunnell Road. The project, SusanNewberry,WalterhadgreatbasedonoriginalOlmstedBrothers influence on the park from 1932 toplans, creates a buffer for the roadway hisretirementin1970.Hethenre- using a variety of trees (like grey birch, mained on in an emeritus capacity asredbuds and flowering dogwood) andJoin our team at CVF Properties.a consultant until his death in 1990.shrubs.Eachplantandtreewasse-Trained in Germany, he took the parklectedtocreateavarietyoftextures in a more botanical-park direction. Heand sizes to make the park more en-was also a popular teacher, inspiring people to appreciate the many plant-ings in the park and to establish them in their own home gardens.Several decades after Walters ten-ure, attention to Memorial Park lan-guished due to budget cuts. But finally, in 2017, a group of vol-unteers emerged to help maintain Me-morial Park, forming the Maplewood MemorialParkConservancy.Says Newberrys fellow board member Da- Carol V. Fardinvid Nial, The Conservancy respondsKeller Williams Midtown Direct Realtyto the inevitable challenges: Trees de- c 917.450.8843 o 973.762.5400cline, shrubs grow shaggy or disappear,Jennifer Ryan, a Rutgers University gradu- cvfardin@kw.comate in landscape architecture, helpedcvfproperties.com Circ S le ao le fs EA xc w e a llenceEach office independently owned and operatedweeds become unsightly, and the parkthe Conservancy develop a master planrdstarts to look ignored. for every tree in Memorial Park.feature story /17'