Friends of the Parks of Allen County

Spend a leisurely afternoon strolling in the beautiful and much-visited Foster Park or admire a statue in the oft-overlooked triangle of Orff Park near a busy Fort Wayne thoroughfare - and an appreciation develops for a City Beautiful full of aesthetic parks and places to visit and enjoy!

 

On this site you will find like-minded people dedicated to educating about and advocating for our parks and public green spaces.

 

Over the Years

Since it was formed in 2000, Friends has had an active history of involvement in park issues. We emphasize projects that encourage planning, provide environmentally sound options, facilitate neighborhood involvement, allow us to participate as volunteers, and educate area citizens.  

                  

We have:

• Encouraged and helped obtain grants for comprehensive landscape studies and master plans for Lakeside, Swinney, and Memorial Parks, plans which integrate natural and past designed features with current park needs.

• Advocated actively for similar plans for other parks.

• Supported neighborhood groups working to improve the parks.

• Secured a park landscape architect for the placement and design of Fort Wayne’s first spray ground in Memorial Park.

• Sponsored and coordinated the Great Tree Canopy Comeback, an annual tree-planting day.  Since its inception in 2000, the Great Tree Canopy Comeback has resulted in hundreds of new trees planted in Fort Wayne parks.

• Sponsored lectures and presentations by recognized experts on park trends, landscape stewardship, and public/private partnerships.

• Publicized the national significance of the original Fort Wayne park system and its designers, who are among the most celebrated landscape architects of the early urban planning movement.

• Hosted a national seminar on park landscape issues.

• Advocated for construction methods that greatly reduced the impact of a major sewer project through a wooded area in the future park on the Buckner Farm property.

• Advocated at public hearings for cleaner rivers and greater protection of Cedar Creek, this region's only designated Indiana Natural, Scenic, and Recreational River.

• Testified about the use of two softball diamonds which were to be replaced by a dog park in Foster Park West, helping park officials decide to retain one of the diamonds.

 

You Can Help!

Preserving and protecting our parks and places of relaxation requires dedication to educating the public, advocating for the protection and maintenance of our parks, and hosting events that bring citizens of all areas together to celebrate the array of public green spaces – our parks.

 

Formed in 2000, Friends of the Parks is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the stewardship and improvement of the parks in the Fort Wayne, Indiana, area.  With your help we can accomplish those goals!

 

Join us to help educate your friends, families, neighbors, and others about the history of our city and county parks and to help us advocate to ensure that our parks and public spaces always hold a place of priority in our communities!