“This is a destination point,” Castillo said. “We really just wanted to get it open to the community starting it the spring so everyone could use it this summer.”
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The preserve was named after the former Kirby Farm, that was acquired using two Clean Ohio Greenspace grants that totaled close to $1 million. The Springfield Conservancy District secured the grant money to make the project possible.
Beaver Lake was closed temporarily while the site work took place.
Castillo said it took about 18 months for crews and volunteers to rid the site of honeysuckle and remove old buildings — but a big part of the project was also the addition of several features like prairie, meadow and wildflower areas to bring wildlife back.
Over 650 trees were planted as part of the project and several hiking trails were created.
The Preserve also includes the old Beaver Lake. In its former life, it was a pay lake but that’s changed.
Castillo said now the lake can be used for free catch-and-release fishing during daylight hours, and fishing doesn’t require a license.
Even when the rain started to fall down on Thursday afternoon, there were still people out on the lake trying to reel in the perfect catch.
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“The first day that it was open for fishing, there were over 100 people here,” Castillo said. “We see young parents with their small children here and older adults with their grandchildren.”
The new space includes acreage on either side of Beaver Creek, that runs alongside the lake.
Diamond Price, a kid at heart, stopped down by the creek on Thursday. She said she spent a lot of time at Old Reid Park when she was growing up, like playing in the creek’s waters — even if she wasn’t supposed to.
“It was fun. We used to always come out here. Every barbecue we’d have as a family, we used to come out here — we still do,” Price said.
She said she was glad to see all the improvements to the park. She said it means more kids can make memories in the park for years to come.
“They need a place to play at and feel safe as well — and just have fun,” she said. “Even if they want to get in the creek again, let them get in the creek, just whatever brings that enjoyment to them.”
The addition of the Kirby Preserve brings the total acreage that NTPRD manages to over 1,200 between 24 parks and facilities.
120 — number of acres added to Old Reid Park through the Kirby Preserve
$1M — dollars to secure the additional acreage through two Clean Ohio grants
18 — months to complete the Kirby Preserve project
The Springfield News-Sun is your go-to source for covering changes and additions to the community’s parks and recreation facilitites.
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