The historic Keney Park in Hartford is undergoing a beautification project this summer. The transformation will focus on adding artistic enhancements to its trails.
On Thursday morning, leaders of local nonprofits including RiseUp and Friends of Keney Park joined Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam to announce the revitalization effort.
“This park connects all of the communities in North Hartford,” said Arulampalam. “In spite of its great historical significance, in spite of its vast land and beauty, I think it has been underappreciated for a number of decades.”
The group promised funding, volunteer support, and artistic additions to the park including adding a welcome mural and adding informative artwork signs.
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“This project is to clean up and enhance an existing nature trail,” said Friends of Keney Park Executive Directory Ryan Grew. “We are looking to make and create a welcoming space for all.”
The park, which is 693 acres, is one of the biggest public parks in New England. The land was donated by the Keney family in the 1800s. Despite offering a pond, playground, and trail among other amenities, some members of the community are wary.
“There’s a stigma with Keney Park and hopefully this takes that stigma away,” said Asha Hargrove-Duroche, who frequents the park with her kids. “It’s going to be really cool to see what it’s going to look like.”
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Executive director of Community First School in Hartford Timothy Goodwin brings his students to the park weekly.
“When we come into the park there’s no cars, there’s no roads, it’s safe,” he said. “We can just let them explore or go on their own.”
Goodwin’s school is one of the organizations leading the efforts to clean up the trails.
“We saw this old nature trial and these posts, and we said what’s this,” he said. “There’s parts where its open, parts where it’s falling apart. And we said, why don’t we fix it?”
“It our home, it our backyard,” said Renee Palmer, a teacher at the school. “The best place to clean is your backyard. That sort of why it made sense, since we’re already here using it, we might as well keep it clean.”
The beautification project is set to take place this summer and has the goal of finishing around September or October.
“The park is a community gem,” said Shavonne Dawson a parent at the school. “I really would love for the people in the neighborhood to take care of it better. Use it for what it’s for and enjoy it.”
