PHOTOS: Wyckoff Officially Welcomes Russell Farms Park to Community

A group of residents gathered alongside Wyckoff and county officials this weekend to officially welcome a new landmark to the community.

Russell Farms Community Park held its official ribbon cutting and sign unveiling Saturday.

At the ceremony, officials thanked a long list of people and groups that they say helped turn Russell Farms into a passive open space area over the past few years.

The township purchased the land in 2011 using a Bergen County Open Space grant, money from the Wyckoff open space trust fund, and funding from the town’s capital improvement fund.

Using a $20,000 grant from the county, the town renovated the space, adding a walking trail, fence, Dutch-style pump house shed, trees, and dog waste stations.

Officials also thanked the donations and volunteers that have contributed to the park’s renovation thus far:

“Michael Almstead of Almstead Tree & Shrub Care donated 65 non-flowering trees appropriate for future planting in the municipal right-of-way and 65 flowering ornamental trees to enhance the many parks throughout Wyckoff. Almstead will use the nursery as an Educational Arboretum to conduct seminars for the public, scouts, garden clubs, schools as well as non-profits interested in general and enhanced horticultural techniques. Almstead will also conduct seminars on pruning, propagation, planting, mulching and organic control of pests and diseases. Glenn Sietsma of Greenway Irrigation has agreed to donate irrigation services for the Educational Arboretum, the shade trees located along the driveway, roadway and planted berm. Nelson Lee of Landscapeworks, Inc. has agreed to donate and install plant material to create a Sensory Garden. As a way of background, a sensory garden is a plot specifically created to be accessible and enjoyable to visitors, both disabled and non-disabled. The purpose of such a provision is to provide individual and combined sensory opportunities for the user which they might not normally experience.”

The town will also rely on volunteers and donors to continue to add to the park. The town is hoping to add 12 benches, two permanent chess sets, and a gazebo to the park, officials said at the ceremony.