Auburndale Park improvements made possible by a big ‘ol Bobcat (grant)
The City of Auburn recently received a National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) grant through the Bobcat Company, a global compact equipment, innovation and worksite solutions brand. Bobcat has partnered with NRPA to advance the shared goal of building vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation.
Across 11 million acres of parkland in the United States, park and recreation professionals are hard at work building, preserving and protecting climate-ready parks. Through this park improvement grant program offered by Bobcat, NRPA has distributed $250,000 to communities in Auburn along with Georgia, North Carolina, New York, and Texas in support of park improvements and environmental resilience work.
Auburn received its grant for improvements at Auburndale Park. With this grant award, the City of Auburn is planning to resurface the trail that winds through the forested area of the park — removing clunky asphalt and replacing it with crushed gravel. The gravel will be more responsive to the natural environment, not disrupting and more responsive to tree roots, and it will be accessible for people with physical disabilities. In surveys conducted by the city, 90% of residents identified more pathways/ trails/sidewalks as a priority. The newly resurfaced trail will respond to that need and expand the pool of users who can comfortably enjoy the park. Auburndale Park recently installed a new playground structure, and between that and the new trails, it’s safe to say the new and improved version of the park will be well attended.
“The City is honored to have received one of the only five grants from a nationwide pool and is excited to partner with Auburn-based Peak Machinery to accomplish this project,” said Parks, Arts & Recreation Director Daryl Faber. “By leveraging this $50,000 award with the amazing resources of Peak Machinery we will be able to continue our pursuit of improved walking paths as well as a healthier tree canopy in our Auburn Parks System.”
In addition to the park improvement funding, the City will work with Bobcat to utilize their equipment such as excavators and skid-steer loaders and rely on Auburn’s local Bobcat dealer, Peak Machinery of Auburn, for their expertise and hands-on experience on the project as well as other needed equipment rentals. Brandon Pugh is the Executive Vice PresidentConstruction at Peak Machinery.
Beyond the grant, Bobcat will donate a new Bobcat zero-turn mower to help the Auburn Parks Maintenance team with more resources to maintain community spaces.