The department needs residents help in maintaining their beautiful spaces.
By: Amy Filippone, Dept. of Parks & Recreation
The Moorestown Parks and Recreation Department has a diverse parks system that provide a place for many recreational activities — from flag football to a fenced-in dog park. We need your help in maintaining these beautiful spaces.
There are two synthetic turf athletic fields at Wesley Bishop Park that are used for football (flag tournaments and tackle), soccer, lacrosse and field hockey. Pryor Park has two synthetic turf baseball infields (outfield is natural grass). All ages play at these parks from five-year-olds to adults. If you have never been to these turf fields, stop by. They’re impressive. They’re obviously durable, but in some respects, they are fragile. We need your help in keeping them in the very best condition possible. The better they’re maintained, the longer they will last.
Following a few simple rules is all it takes. Anything taken on the field goes with you — water bottles and caps, snacks, hair ties, etc. No sunflower seeds, no peanut shells, no gum. No alcohol, no glass containers and no dogs.
Seeds and seed/nut shells and gum are particularly deleterious to the turf. Sunflower seeds and nut shells burrow into the material and are very difficult to remove. They get ground up during routine maintenance and compromise the “fluff” of the surface. Cleaning gum from the turf is extremely labor intensive. It has to be frozen piece by piece and removed.
We love our dogs, but turf fields are strictly off limits. The composition of the turf cannot handle animal waste. The new Swede Run Dog Park on Westfield Road is designed specifically for them. There are areas for off leash running and water and waste bags are provided. Swede Run Dog Park is away from the general population for safety and noise reasons. It is just for dogs and their people.
Wesley Bishop Fields are used year round and the bathrooms are open throughout the winter. Other parks’ bathrooms are closed during the winter when water is shut off. While the temptation may be to shovel during the winter, don’t. It damages the turf.
Many groups of volunteers help to maintain our parks, and hopefully, we will all follow their lead. The Moorestown Rotary Club have generously adopted three parks: The Breakfast Rotary has adopted Jeff Young Park; the Lunch Rotary has adopted Fullerton Park and the AMP Rotary has adopted the Swede Run Dog Park. They clean and spruce up these parks many times a year.
The Navy Aegis Group do a monthly project for the Parks and Recreation Department which could be anything from painting to laying yards of mulch. The Lacrosse Travel Team does an annual park clean up and the Bancroft School picks up trash every week while the weather is good.
So let’s join in! If you bring it, take it. If you see some trash — just pick it up! It really makes a difference.
