Merryspring Nature Park in Camden is a 66-acre nature preserve tucked behind a s

Source

Down East

Date

9-1-2005

Pages

70-73

Abstract

Merryspring Nature Park in Camden is a 66-acre nature preserve tucked behind a shopping plaza and maintained by volunteers. It has annual beds, roses, a gift shop run on the honor system, herb and children's gardens, the 10-acre Kitty Todd Arboretum and an experimental chestnut-breeding orchard, and is visited by wildlife from the surrounding two hundred-plus acres of open space. It was started by Mary Ellen Ross and a group of plant enthusiasts in 1975, and in the 1990s took a quantum leap forward with backing from Charles Cawley, then-CEO of MBNA and a Camden resident. There is now a paid full-time director, Kerry Hardy, and a head gardener, and educational programs have been expanded. The MBNA grant runs out at the end of this year, but trustees believe that their "labor of love" will continue giving back to the community with its support.

Subjects

Merryspring Park Camden, Camden, Ross, Mary Ellen

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