East Aurora Advertiser

Friends of Knox Seeks Help from Thousands Who Visit Park



Never has the term “public park” been so appropriate as it has during the PAUSE necessitated by Covid-19 and put into place by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

With malls, churches, movie theaters, restaurants – even playgrounds – closed for at least a while longer, the public has rediscovered its parks in a big way. At Knox Farm State Park, attendance regularly tops 2,200 on Saturdays and Sundays and one thousand on weekdays, twice the amount of past years according to figures from the Friends of Knox Farm State Park, the non-profit organization whose mission is to help preserve the “unique character, history and beauty” of the park as well as lend a hand with maintenance, repair and improvement.

Adam and Amber Kabel watch their son Eli as he checks out what is happening on the other side of the fence at Knox Farm State Park on Sunday. The park was full of people escaping the confines of their homes attempting to get a little fresh air on what has been one of the warmest days of spring so far. Photo by Marty Wangelin

The park, with 633 rolling acres and a full catalog of bucolic pleasures along miles of footpaths—woods, ponds, wetlands, pasture—can accommodate the blossoming crowds pretty well, but not without wear and tear on the infrastructure. The park’s budget, already hopelessly stretched in normal times, is bound to be pared even closer to the bone because of the pandemic. “And, quite frankly,” Kathleen York, the executive director for the friends’ group, said, “several of the grants—some of them for high-visibility maintenance projects—from the state that the friends thought would be approved and that would have helped tremendously, are probably not going to be awarded, given the Covid-19 situation. Or they won’t be awarded right away.” 

So, she suggests that it’s time for all of us who use and appreciate the park to show it some love. 

The month of May has officially been designated “I Love My Park Month” at Knox Farm. In normal times, Park & Trail New York (www.ptny.org), the 35-year-old non-profit advocate for parks, trails and green space, designates a day in May as “I Love My Park Day” and encourages New Yorkers to volunteer in cleanup, repair and improvement activities.

Since “I Love My Park Day” won’t be happening because of Covid-19 distancing restrictions, York, on behalf of her board of directors and its 300 members, has asked everyone who loves Knox Farm to join with the friends and get involved during the month of May and beyond.

There are three ways that park visitors can help during “I Love My Park Month” at Knox Farm:

1) Donate directly. The Friends encourage everyone who loves Knox Farm and who uses it regularly to help out with a donation through their website, www.friendsofknoxfarm.org. Their Facebook page will lead donors to the website as well. 

2) Volunteer. Volunteer opportunities abound at Knox Farm. Help with the grounds as a member of the Garden Club, take a turn as an event monitor at the Mansion and during other fundraising, or sign up for special projects.  

3) Become a Friends of Knox Farm State Park member. Membership is available at several levels with dues as low as $20 and offers every member a voice in the future of this unique jewel in the park system.

The Friends of Knox Farm have become a vital partner in the park’s operation, going well beyond the care and rental of the Mansion. The non-profit friends are separate from the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, but director York and her board work directly with Knox Park Manager Andy Hillman to identify repairs and improvements that are critical, but unfunded in his budget. Then they raise money to tackle them.

White Frame Stables. Photo by Adam Zaremski

The friends set a fundraising goal of $100,000 back at the beginning of the year, long before they knew that the world would turn upside and their normal income-generating events would be canceled or postponed. But regardless, they’re determined to make good on their promise. 

Among those items on top of the list this year are restoring a portion of the iconic stone wall along Buffalo Road and making repairs to the guest house that sits adjacent to the Mansion. 

“In addition,” said York, “we are picking up a lot of the pieces of park maintenance and repair. These are small investments, but more of them that benefit the park as a whole. For instance, Andy Hillman just asked if we could supply the mulching for around the garden beds. Usually, he has the budget to buy the mulching and we have volunteers spread it. This year he has nothing. So we’ll take care of it.” 

For more information, visit www.friendsofknoxfarm.org/

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