Proposed Hanover park receives $50000 donation – The Union Leader

By MEGHAN PIERCEUnion Leader CorrespondentAugust 20. 2017 11:16PM

Judith Reeve and Kelly Dent of the Sustainable Hanover Committee have donated their services in designing the landscape for a new to park to showcase sustainable landscaping techniques.(Courtesy photo)

The School Street Park will be located on an empty town-owned lot between School Street and the municipal parking lot behind Hanover Town Hall.

The Sustainable Hanover Committee spearheaded the project as a way to inspire and educate the public on how to create sustainable landscapes, said committee member Larry Litten.

Fundraising for the project is underway, Litten said, but a recent a donation from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation of $50,000 has taken a big chunk out of the expected $88,400 overall cost of the project.

A landscape architect and a landscape designer sitting on the committee have donated their talents to the project, saving on costs. The city-owned land has been a vacant lot for many years, but once had a house on it used by the town as a community center Litten said.

We hope construction will start next spring, he said.

One of the bigger features to be highlighted in the park will be a rain garden that will capture stormwater runoff.

We hope to actually drain the stormwater out of a large section of a parking lot, preventing it from going straight back into the Connecticut River, Litten said.

The park will also feature the use of native plants, ways to reduce lawn space, a pollinator habitat and edible landscaping.

The park also will include play areas for children and a sitting area.

We also think that we just need to promote the concept of people slowing down and enjoying nature, Litten said.

A website will also be created as an accompanying resource for the public, he said.

EnvironmentLocal and County GovernmentHanover

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Proposed Hanover park receives $50000 donation - The Union Leader