Friends of Fernridge Park, Inc. is a neighborhood-based 501(c)(3) that works with the Town of West Hartford to maintain and enhance Fernridge Park, the town's busiest park.  The Friends has adopted a long-term vision for the park and is working to implement elements of that vision beginning with the creation of a new circular path in the middle of the park to replace paths that were deteriorating or left unfinished after a new pool was installed several years ago.  When completed, the new path--The Promenade--will also unify existing paths leading into the park and create an exciting new element for activity and leisure.

Two-thirds of the path was installed last summer, funded equally by Friends of Fernridge Park and the town.  Now, Friends of Fern is responsible for landscaping the Promenade. We would like to install benches and trees along the Promenade, a newly repaved entrance into the park, and a new, path that leads from the tennis courts to this entry path. 

Thanks to a $2,000 donation from Trout Brook Landscaping and a matching grant from SustainableCT (https://sustainablect.org), a statewide municipal support organization, we have raised $10,000 to buy 30 trees, which will be planted in a few weeks, weather permitting, or next spring. Now we are looking for your support to purchase benches to place under those trees to provide a shady spot for people to gather to chat, read, and enjoy the park's many beauties.  Each bench costs $2,500 to purchase and install on the concrete pad the town requires. Each has space for a plaque that you can customize to honor a loved one.  If $2,500 is too much for your budget, for $1,500 you can purchase a customized plaque on half a bench. Or, you can leave a lasting legacy to future generations of park goers with a donation of any amount.

The pictures above illustrate how YOUR bench could look.