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| Centennial Mall Renovation Design Plans |
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11.3.11 Two Capitol Commissions Support Mall Renovation & Design
Lincoln Journal Star By: Nancy Hicks
Two commissions that keep guard over the State Capitol voted unanimously Thursday to support the Centennial Mall design and renovation. The supporters included Gov. Dave Heineman, one of Centennial Mall's closest neighbors. The support came during a joint meeting of the two groups, the local Capital Environs Commission that looks at the area around the Capitol and the state Capitol Commission that monitors the building itself. Staff from Clark Enersen Partners showed the two commissions new renderings of the design for the seven-block mall.
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| Guests enjoy dinner on stage at Pinewood Bowl |
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10.28.11 L Magazine Story on A Night At Pinewood Bowl
An ideal summer evening greeted nearly 200 guests of the Lincoln Parks Foundation for its signature event, "A Night at Pinewood Bowl," Sept. 8 at Pioneers Park. Special guests included Mayor Chris and Judy Beutler, Councilman Carl Eskridge, County Commissioner Jane Raybould, State Senator Bill and Ann Avery, and other notable Lincoln leaders and philanthropists.
Guests were welcomed to the event by raptors on loan from Pioneers Park Nature Center. They enjoyed musical entertainment by Harris Music Studios and were served a gourmet dinner catered by Green Gateau on the Pinewood Bowl stage.
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| Luann Finke at Tree Week Reception at Finke Gardnes |
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9.28.11 City Plans Tree Week to Help Replace Trees Lost in Summer Storms
Fall is the perfect season to tailgate, play outdoor sports and even study for midterms. And according to Danielle Conrad, "fall is a good time to plant trees." Conrad works with the Lincoln Parks Foundation, which is part of a coalition of public and private organizations putting on a week-long event called Tree Week in Lincoln. With a reception and tree planting demonstration Tuesday and a tree planting event on Saturday, Tree Week is part of an effort on behalf of Lincoln Parks & Recreation, Finke Gardens and Lincoln Parks Foundation to recover from the storm damage over the past summer. Conrad said these storms had a significant impact on core neighborhoods and especially on trees in those neighborhoods. As a result, Conrad said "We (the three organizations) got together to try to figure out how to replant the trees." However, replanting trees isn't as easy as it sounds. Conrad said the recent budget cuts prevented tree-planting programs from rebuilding the urban forest. So far, only one in five public trees are being replaced, she said. Read the Full Story in the Daily Nebraskan
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| Our Trustee Mary Arth Leading the Way for Centennial Mall |
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8.11 L Magazine Cover Story-Revitalizing Centennial Mall
Mary Arth remembers strolling up and down Centennial
Mall as a little girl with her family on football Saturdays.
"It was just awesome looking up at the State Capitol," she
said. "It was the best. I thought Centennial Mall was the most
beautiful place ever.
Read the Full Story
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| Newly Renovated Hazel Abel Park at 18th & E |
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7.8.11 Finishing Touches of Hazel Abel Park Unveiled
Lincoln's very own "Victorian garden" -- Hazel Abel Park, 18th and E streets -- had its official unveiling Thursday. A $268,000 renovation project began in June 2009 as an effort to update park equipment, sidewalks and other attributes. Most of the construction was done last fall, but all of the plantings weren't complete until recently. The planting concept was to diversify from the mostly yew landscaping, trim the hedges because of safety issues and incorporate principles of the Victorian garden, said Mark Canney, Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department garden planner.
6.20.11 A Salute to Parks Volunteers
The neighborhood volunteers who are mowing Rudge Park and keeping it neat and trimmed provide inspiring examples of community spirit. The neighbors cut the grass with their own mowers in the 1.5-acre park south of BryanLGH Medical Center West. They also have planted and watered trees purchased in some cases with their own money. And it's just as remarkable that their commitment can be found all over the Capital City. Quietly and unnoticed by many, the volunteer effort on behalf of Lincoln's parks has grown from a few cases here and there to a large-scale mobilization involving hundreds of people. Read the Full Editorial
Learn more about Volunteer Opportunities
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| Neighbors Volunteer in Rudge Park-Mini Grant from Parks Foundation buys gas & supplies |
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6.13.11 Neighbors Keep Park Mowed-Mini Grants Still Available
It started as a tribute to a neighbor and friend, Mike Schumacher.Tom and Fran Westfall decided to plant some trees in their neighborhood park in honor of Schumacher, who had pancreatic cancer. "He loved that park," Tom Westfall said. Westfall made arrangements to plant 10 trees in the wandering oblong park south of BryanLGH Medical Center West. A city tree voucher program paid for half of them. The Westfalls bought the other five. A friend, Bryan Kinghorn of Kinghorn Gardens in Omaha, planted the trees last fall. Schumacher passed away about a week before the plantings, but he knew about the effort, Westfall said.Westfall carried buckets of water from his house across the street to the trees during the fall. This spring the grass in Rudge Park grew, wild and unruly, almost two feet tall in some spots.Rudge Park had become a new addition to the city's long-grass maintenance program, where grass is cut just a couple times a year. To Read More... 2011 Mini Grant Application
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| Sherman Field Forever Campaign Kick Off (from left): Mayor Chris Beutler, Harlan Chamberlain (Joba Chamberlain’s father), Lancaster County Commissioner Brent Smoyer, John Sampson, Lincoln Parks Foundation President Liz Lange and Lincoln Parks and Recreation Director Lynn Johnson. |
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3.31.11 PARK AT SHERMAN FIELD NAMED FOR SAMPSON FAMILY
Mayor Chris Beutler today announced that the area around the historic Sherman Field ballpark will be named Sampson Park to honor a local family. And he invited the public to participate in the Sherman Field Forever fund-raising campaign for renovations at the facility. Join the Campaign! Read the Mayor's Press Release Check out the Lincoln Journal Star News Story 3 Cheers for Joba Chamberlain-Pitching In to Help Sherman Field!
3.25.11 Neighborhood Park Update: Alternative Mowing & Mini Grants
- Contacts: Lynn Johnson, Parks & Recreation Director, 402-441-8265; Jerry Shorney, Asst. Director, Park Operations, 402-441-8259; Liz Lange, Lincoln Parks Foundation, 402-890-2865
The Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department will add more acres to its long grass maintenance program during the upcoming growing season -- an effort that saves money and has environmental benefits. At the same time, the Lincoln Parks Foundation is launching a new mini-grant program to encourage more community groups to volunteer to take on landscape maintenance and other improvements in neighborhood parks and along trails. Long grass areas are mowed one to three times per year, compared to about 14 times per year for active areas. They include areas of fescue which are allowed to grow seed heads and areas of "Prairie in the Parks," which have been seeded to native grasses. Parks began using long grass maintenance in low-use areas in 2004. Last year, about, 685 acres in 35 parks were managed as long grass. An additional 166 acres in 29 parks will be added to long grass management this year, and an additional eight acres will be seeded to native grasses. Read the Full Story
3.13.11 Nebraska's Centennial Mall in the News
Every year Centennial Mall looks a little shabbier. Every year it becomes a bit more unsafe, as concrete cracks and crumbles. A group of Nebraskans, including former governors from both parties, is working to scrape up enough funds for a $9 million mall renovation. The city of Lincoln has come up with $3 million. A campaign is under way to raise $3 million more in private donations. Read More... To learn more about the project or to lend a hand visit their New Website!
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