Local Groups Join Forces to Beautify Downing Park

NEWBURGH – Community spirit was in full bloom as volunteers from Mount Saint Mary College joined forces with the Downing Park Planning Committee and the Garden Club of Orange and Dutchess Counties for a concentrated clean-up effort on Thursday, April 9.

Dozens of volunteers, including ten students and several administrators from the Mount’s Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) and the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), descended on Downing Park, working side-by-side with local residents to remove garbage, clear brush, and more.

The clean-up is part of an ongoing initiative by the Downing Park Planning Committee to beautify the park.

Downing Park was the last collaboration between renowned landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. Their plan for Downing Park was completed in 1889 and was a tribute to their mentor, Andrew Jackson Downing.