Walpole, Mass. – April 14, 2005 – Two years after acquiring Francis William Bird Park from the Francis William Park Trust, The Trustees of Reservations has released a plan to guide its management. The plan was completed by a team of staff and volunteers, including ecologists, historians, planners and a committee of nine local residents familiar with the Park. The plan provides a comprehensive overview of the Park's cultural, historic and natural features of Bird Park and outlines key recommendations that will guide the future management of the Park and its sister property, Ellis Field (Bird Athletic Field).

In gathering information for the management plan, The Trustees of Reservations conducted a survey of over 200 visitors to understand how they use Bird Park and determine their suggestions for its management. Conducted in conjunction with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the two-month study found that Bird Park is a true community resource, used for social recreation year-round by surrounding residents. This is in keeping with the will of Charles Sumner Bird, the Park's co-creator and donor, who put Bird Park and Ellis Field “in trust forever for park and recreation purposes for the benefit of the public, and particularly for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Town of Walpole.”

“In establishing Bird Park, the Bird family has left a tremendous gift to the residents of Walpole.  Few towns have access to such a valuable natural and recreational resource—and one with such an interesting history. The plan will guide our management of this resource for the public for years to come,” said Trustees Assistant Superintendent Mike Francis, who manages Bird Park. “The Park clearly enjoys great support from the surrounding community, as shown by the active involvement of members of the Friends of Bird Park and other volunteers and Park users, many of whom have stepped forward with energy and ideas since The Trustees accepted the Park.”

The management plan sets out more than 80 recommended actions to be implemented in three phases over a nine-year timeframe. Some of the projects are already complete or well underway, including the creation and implementation of a goose management plan to reduce these birds' impact on the Park, the addition of safety hand railings to one of the Park's 11 bridges, upgrading Park access by plowing many of the paved paths during this snowy winter, and offering more seasonal events like the Ice Cream Social, Pumpkins in the Park, and guided walks. In order to make these and future projects and events as successful as possible, The Trustees of Reservations will be drawing on help from volunteers from the surrounding community.   

“Some upcoming projects include constructing several picnic tables for placement in the Park, repairing the slate roof at the ‘Shelter Gate' entrance on Wolcott Avenue, and restoring the wrought iron gate and stone columns at Washington Street with assistance from Miracles from Moody, Inc. and The Friends of Francis William Bird Park,” said Mike Francis. “We will also be collecting information through oral history interviews which will allow us to continue expanding our understanding of the Park and its rich history, and we encourage anyone who has old photos or postcards of the Park to share them with us.”

Copies of the management plan are available at the Walpole Public Library and town hall. The document can also be downloaded from The Trustees of Reservations website at http://www.thetrustees.org/birdpark.cfm

About Bird Park

Francis William Bird Park is an 89-acre landscaped park in Walpole created in 1925 by Charles Sumner Bird, Sr., a local industrial magnate, and his wife Anna. The Birds dedicated the Park in memory of their eldest son, Francis William Bird III, who died unexpectedly at the age of 37. Noted landscape architect and town planner John Nolen designed the Park, in his own words, as “a sequestering place in the heart of East Walpole…a combination of broad, sun-swept meadow lands, speckled shadowed glades, higher tree-screened knolls for the lover of shade, the whole set to the music of a babbling stream.”  Charles Sumner Bird's will provided that the Park be held “in trust forever for park and recreational purposes for the benefit of the public, particularly for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Town of Walpole.”