The Selectboard and Town Administrator in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, approached the Conway School in 2021 with the request to redesign Winchester and River Street Parks, located in the heart of downtown. The desire for improvement of these spaces had been long-voiced by community members. Many respondents from an open space survey in 2021 requested improvements to Winchester Park, and a volunteer group is organized to begin some work at River Street Park. A Rapid Recovery Plan (RRP), completed in 2021 as a response to the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, also recommended that Winchester and River Street Parks be reinvigorated to bring more people downtown to boost the economy. Winchester Park is currently used as a gathering space, but River Street Park is mostly unused (by humans). The town sees opportunity to make both parks more inviting, fostering community connections and enhancing the lives of human and non-human residents.
