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"My interest in urban
parks goes back to time I spent in Hoboken, New
Jersey. Other than a small private campus, there
was not a single green space in Hoboken. I did not
realize how important green spaces were until I
lived in a place without any."
In spring, 1999, Margaret
Bergamini was among two hundred Madison residents
who planted 180 trees and shrubs in Tenney Park
and along the Yahara River Parkway. The project,
sponsored by the Urban Open Space Foundation
and funded by the Madison Community Foundation,
launched the restoration of two of Madison's
historic parks. Margaret Bergamini has been a landscape
steward of Tenney Park and the Yahara River Parkway
ever since.
Margaret gives the definition
of stewardship breadth and meaning. She does workshops
for citizen stewards, and develops work sessions
where they put their acquired skills to work. She
donates time to school groups, volunteers from private
business, youth organizations and citizen interest
groups, ensuring their work experience in the parks
is productive and fulfilling. Margaret is a catalyst,
bringing citizens of varied interests together to
build community by working together in parks. As
a result of her energy and effort, Friends of
the Yahara River Parkway have developed a long-term
Stewardship Plan.
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