The Fulton County Community Foundation had Park It with the Foundation at Richland Restoration Nature Park and the Fulton County Bark Park on CR 450N outside Rochester Tuesday, June 4. The event was meant to bring awareness to the county parks system and highlight work completed thanks to FCCF funding.

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By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

ROCHESTER — The Fulton County Community Foundation has granted more than $425,000 for Fulton County Parks over the years.

Fulton County Parks and Recreation Board President Bill Morton pointed that out during the FCCF’s Park It with the Foundation event Tuesday, June 4. It was held at Richland Restoration Nature Park and the Fulton County Bark Park, a dog park, off CR 450N north of Rochester.

The event was meant to bring awareness to the county parks system and highlight work completed thanks to FCCF funding.

Fulton County Community Foundation Director of Development Brian Johnson said it’s the first time the foundation’s had Park It with the Foundation.

“There’s a lot of people that don’t even know this place exists, and if they do, they may know that the dog park exists, but they don’t know what else is here, so there’s a total of 60 acres on this property that’s a really neat space,” he said.

“We’ve got four really cool parks in the county, and one of them is really visible and the other three are just kind of off the beaten path if you don’t know where they are,” added Johnson.

The others are Prairie Edge Nature Park, Germany Bridge County Park and Aubbeenaubbee Landing.

The FCCF most recently gave monies to Richland Restoration for several elements, including another pavilion, parking spaces and more, said Johnson.

He and Morton said there were more plans for Richland Restoration.

“The phase that they’re kind of in right now is actually building trails (by putting in markers and maps),” said Johnson. “There’s discussion about some potential extra accessibility areas throughout the park as well.”

He noted it was awesome that a former landfill has been transformed into a county park.

Johnson noted the event was also “to brag a little bit about people (who’ve) helped make this space happen.”

Those include Emerald Blankenship, one of several Fulton County Leadership Academy members from a prior class, who came up with the Bark Park. It opened two years ago.

Blankenship said county parks “really strengthen the community.”

“When people don’t know that those things exist, it makes it harder for someone like the community foundation or a smaller group like us to fundraise for those types of things and bring amenities to the community, so when people know about them and use them, then they continue to be supported,” she said.

Jay Albright, who serves as the executive director of the Northern Indiana Community Foundation, under whose umbrella the FCCF exists, noted parks are “a quality of life issue.”

“If we’re going to keep the young kids in town or around town, dog parks are a big thing and parks are a big thing,” he said.

People are welcome to donate for county parks through the FCCF with current matching grant funds available.