Parks for People: The 2024 Olmsted Network Annual Conference Awards a GCA-funded Project.

Garden Club of Orange and Dutchess County and Newburgh Free Academy Share Olmsted Award for Project at Downing Park

March 12, 2025

By: Stacey Hawkins

Garden Club of Orange and Dutchess County (GCODC), with the high school students and teachers of Newburgh Free Academy, received The Caroline Loughlin Volunteer Service Award for the Root for Trees partnership at Downing Park. Dede Petri, former GCA president, presented the joint award at the 2024 Olmsted Network Annual Conference. 

The Root for Trees program, funded by GCA’s $10,000 Common Ground Collaborative (CGC) grant, is an experiential, education program that meets with local students throughout the year. In March 2024, the students and club members planted 300 bulbs, and in May, 2024, they planted nearly 200 plants. The hands-on curriculum teaches tree and plant care, as well as explains Downing Park’s urban and historic design by Frederick law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.

In addition, the 35-acre Olmsted-designed Downing Park, which opened in 1897, was Olmsted and Vaux’s last project together and is recognized as a park of distinction with lasting value for public enjoyment and community well-being. At the conference, experts shared insights into the park’s design and cultural significance, inspiring a collective call to action for its preservation.
Olmsted’s vision of accessible, well-maintained green spaces benefiting everyone underscores the need to protect these green spaces and aligns with the GCA’s mission.  The GCA’s CGC grants aim to support member clubs to build long-term relationships with diverse communities while developing, improving, and maintaining public land and programs.  And GCODC’s Roots to Trees partnering with Newburgh Free Academy continues Olmsted’s legacy.