2021 began with the completion of a 2020 project – our Friends group purchased all new message boards for the park with help from a grant from our local community foundation. Those message boards were installed early this year and have been a help to the park staff in posting information about events and activities throughout the park.
On May 1st, we hosted our annual Mr. Lincoln’s Neighborhood 5K Run/Walk after cancelling in 2020 due to COVID. We had around 80 registrants and a very successful event. Each participant received an event t-shirt (with a design that paid homage to the Mars Perseverance Rover wearing a Lincoln stovepipe hat). We also received donations for door prizes that were given away in a drawing after the event.
In August, we volunteered on a Saturday to renovate the outdoor bird viewing area at the Nature Center. We removed a lot of overgrown vegetation, placed a new liner in the pond that we purchased, and then placed stones around the edge of the pond. We also installed a new water pump in the pond donated by local sports shop owner Barbara Ayer and purchased some new bird feeders.
In September, we provided popcorn and drinks and information about our Friends group at the Pioneer Day event held at the Col. William Jones Historic Home. Other volunteers demonstrated pioneer skills including cooking, spinning, and hatchet throwing. Plans are for this to be an annual event that we will help with and support in the future as well.
The Friends group also purchased four dog waste receptacles with signage that have been recently installed in the park for dog walkers who have already put them to good use.
In October, we once again hosted our Fall Frolic events in the campground which included lots of crafts, games, pumpkin painting, hay rides, popcorn, and a Halloween egg hunt. We charged modest fees for most of the activities (as usual) and this serves as a significant fundraiser for us each year. These activities were also back to normal after being severely scaled back in 2020 due to COVID.
Our efforts to attract new members included mailing letters seeking memberships as well as having our information flyer available in the park and at events. We also posted membership information on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages and on our website.
We made a concerted effort to increase our number of volunteers this year. Each year we are a sponsor of the Lincoln Amphitheatre located in the park and in return we receive two tickets to each event that we give away in random drawings. This year we created an online entry form that included a survey with several questions including gauging interest in volunteering. We were able to take the responses to the survey and contact several new volunteers who helped at our Fall Frolic events.
Our current major project that will go into 2022 is providing funding for significant trail improvement work on trail #1 around the lake…which is the most popular trail in the park. At the end of 2020, we received a generous donation of $5,000 from a member of the community and we have earmarked those funds for the trail improvements.
Save these dates for events coming up in 2022:
First Wednesday of each month at 6 PM CT: Monthly meetings
Wednesday, Feb 16 Member Appreciation Dinner
Saturday, May 7 Mr. Lincoln’s Neighborhood 5K
Saturday, Oct 1 Pioneer Day at Historic Col. Jones Home
Saturday, Oct 15 Fall Frolic
Saturday, Oct 22 Fall Frolic
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