Kutztown Borough workers started the serious nip and tuck work April 13 for what will be a serious facelift for the small, triangular park that welcomes visitors who arrive in Kutztown on Rt. 737.
The effort was initiated by the newly formed Kutztown Thriving committee of KCP, the Kutztown Community Partnership. Plans include cutting out two failing cherry trees and a set of overgrown Yews and replacing them with native flowers and shrubbery.
“The trees were badly diseased and would have noticeably begun to die shortly,” said Nancy Brooks, Main Street manager for KCP. “The yews are poisonous to wildlife and to people and have really grown out of control for years.”
The “Welcome to Kutztown” sign will remain undisturbed, Brooks continued, but most of the plantings will be completely renovated to include native flora that support the pollinating insects and birds that are under such pressure brought on by environmental changes. Not only will the flowers provide food, but the plants and trees themselves will nurture the juveniles and provide places for them to feed and shelter.
Dr. Robyn Underwood, who teaches biology at Kutztown University, is one of the planners for the plant selection.
“The garden is planned to be beautiful,” she said, “but will be limited to native plants specifically selected to support native pollinators. Kutztown Thriving is so new that we are just forming our vision for the future, but this project represented a need and an opportunity to make the community just a little nicer.”
Two Kutztown University students did the actual design for the garden, bringing their own specialties to bear. Phoebe Bender, an art education major, worked on the aesthetics and did the renderings seen with this article, while Brooke Leister, an environmental science biology major, worked on plant selection.
As the garden matures and needs to be thinned, the group plans to have a native plant sale to share the flowers and plants with the community. This will help spread the pollinators and support further efforts of the group.
The idea of the committee occurred to Brooks at a conference as she listened to speakers touting what other Main Street organizations around the country are doing. When she returned, she sent a letter to those she thought would be interested in such an organization and must have struck a chord, because the Kutztown Thriving committee formed shortly thereafter and immediately began making plans.
Committee member Deb Rohrbach commented, “It’s such a grassroots group. Once the idea was proposed, it just took off. I’m impressed with the energy and enthusiasm. I’ve never worked with a group this enthusiastic.”
She went on to comment that the group is just settling in and organizing itself and new members would be welcome.
The organization is so new that a complete plan of attack has not fully been developed, but early projects, such as extending the Saucony walking path, a growers’ market and support of the arts have been discussed.
When approached by the committee about freshening the park, the borough not only welcomed the idea, but offered several other plots for them to work with. Their thinking was that the group could beautify other areas and save the maintenance that currently takes place at taxpayers’ expense.
