The Town Park’s Conway Study

A Resilient Future for Thompson-Mazzarella Park

In Spring/Summer 2020, a team of graduate students from the Conway School of Landscape Design prepared an environmental study, proposing a strategic range of eco-sensitive innovations to improve climate resilience and visitor experience at Rhinebeck’s Thompson-Mazzarella park. The 32-page report is titled “A Resilient Future for Thompson-Mazzarella Park: Strategies for Humans, Pollinators, and Educating Rhinebeck’s Next Generation of Climate Stewards”. The team held two public Zoom meetings to gather input on how the community would like to see the park evolve. The detailed and illustrated plan includes pollinator-friendly meadows, fruit and shade trees, solar panels for regenerative energy, rain gardens to prevent overheated runoff from affecting waterways, storm water management, sustainable farming techniques, and the re-grading of stretches of the 2.2 miles of walking trails to make them ADA-compliant.

Rhinecliff resident and environmental advocate Susan Sie, founder of Dirty Gaia and member of the Town’s Park Committee, initiated the Conway School study. The park is jointly owned by Town and Village of Rhinebeck, with the Town being the lead agency, and is under open space easement with the Winnakee Land Trust.