Park Improvements

Overall Improvements

Friends of Forwood Preserve Park (FOFPP) is working to remove destructive invasive plants and trail obstructions, in order to restore the natural
woodlands and open trails for the local enjoyment of neighboring communities.

Funded by a Delaware State Community Reinvestment Fund Grant, FOFPP is partnering with Red Tail Restoration & Land Management and Ron's Tree Service to improve the land.

Invasive plants such as a large stand of bamboo are being removed, downed trees obstructing the trails are being cleared, and native trees are being planted.

Park Restoration Planning Study

In 2023, the New Castle Conservation District (DNREC) and FOFPP jointly funded a planning study to document the existing condition of the Park on how best to restore it. ForeSite Associates, an engineering and environmental consulting firm, conducted the study. The final 72-page in-depth assessment and planning study was published July 2024.

(When we get an actual website, or perhaps pay Wix for a site, we will have a link to the 34MB file of the study's PDF... as far as we know, it's not publicly posted anywhere yet.)

Native plants, such as jack-in-the-pulpit, hay-scented fern, and mayapple, are growing where the bamboo has been cleared.

These trails have been identified, flagged, and are in the process of having the obstructive fallen trees removed so that they're able to be used.

We have just reached a partial milestone in the trail clearing. The rock-lined path is now cleared and passable (see the "Stone Driveway" in the map above).

Here is the before and after removing fallen trees, looking from the Clearing south down the stone driveway.

There is still far to go in clearing the trails. Here is a photo of the major treefall blocking the southern trail from Marsh Road to Stony Run Drive (just before the Pond Trail Junction). Note the pink flags marking the to-be-recreated trail (we put down 150 flags in November to chart the paths).