Grants to blaze a new trail
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
Cherry Hill Sun
11/8/2007

Nature lovers can rejoice, as Cherry Hill recently received more than $60,000 in grants for open space purposes in the municipality.

Cherry Hill Recreation Department Manager Jim Wioland and Communication Director Dan Keashen crafted and submitted two grant proposals to Camden County before the end of the fiscal year. The county awarded Cherry Hill with two separate grants for open space purposes.

Barclay Farmstead will utilize the first grant of $43,000 for roof repairs to its aging farmhouse.

The farmstead, located on a 36-acre parcel of land in the township, is in need of repairs for a leaky roof and structure rehabilitation.

Barclay Farmstead is owned and operated by the township and is listed on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places.

Built in 1816 by Quaker farmers, the farmstead now offers tours of an old-fashioned agrarian lifestyle for interested tourists.

The second grant of $25,000, a recreation facility enhancement grant, will be used for the enhancement and creation of several hiking trails in Cherry Hill’s Colwick section along the Pennsauken Creek.

“We applied for these grants based on our acquisition of several open space parcels in the past few years,” Wioland said. “We’d like to utilize these grants to bring some more passive recreation into the township.”

Initial design projects have already been established for the 38-acre Colwick section along the Pennsauken Creek to determine the best locations for new walking trails. Wioland said the recreation department is working closely with Lewis Gorman, president of the Cherry Hill Environmental Advisory Committee, to determine the best use of the grant funds.

It’s unknown how many trails will be developed or repaired with the grant funds, Wioland said, but with Lewis’ involvement and the professionalism of the Cherry Hill Environmental Advisory Committee, the funds will be utilized to their full potential.

“There’s a lot to consider when we’re designing what we want to accomplish with these grants,” he said. “Ultimately, we’re hoping to have a nice network of trails for people to enjoy. It’s important to remember this has been open space for a long time now, there are already some natural trails in the area that we can also enhance.”

The trails, Keashen said, will open Cherry Hill to nature lovers and casual hikers who could not access the forested areas due to inaccessibility.

The uniqueness of the area led Township Council to focus its attention and efforts to develop the wetlands, Keashen said.

“This is a good way to utilize these parcels of open space; it will really enhance the fabric of the Cherry Hill community,” he said. “With these new trails, people can experience the wetlands of the Pennsauken Creek area. There aren’t too many areas like that in New Jersey.”

Jack Sworaski, director of Camden County’s division of environmental affairs, congratulated the township for receiving the grants and praised them for focusing their efforts on increasing interest in the township’s open space.

“Right now, it’s basically an unused resource at this point, and these grants and projects will allow residents to enjoy these areas,” he said. “There’s a lot of publicly owned space in the Colwick area and it will be opened up for the benefit of Cherry Hill residents.”