Stevens Point, Wisconsin (April 17, 2019) – As part of UWSP’s Earth Week celebration, Friends of Emerson Park (are a grassroots group of citizens working to revitalize and maintain a neighborhood park in the heart of Stevens Point's Historic District), in partnership with students in the UWSP Chapter of the Waste Management Society, are creating a temporary pop-up art installation on the Emerson Park chain link fence with installation to take place on Earth Day, April 22, 2019.

The installation will be made with recyclable materials, consisting of plastics and cloth fiber, and stretch along the Clark Street fence line.  UWSP student members of the Waste Management Society are currently collecting and gathering recyclable materials for the project from the campus stream.  

Amanda Bittorf, project designer, found inspiration in other street art installations on chain link. In her words, these temporary installations “can often bring awareness to an issue or topic and activate an unattractive space so that the community can envision a brighter solution.”

Our objectives with this project are: 1) Inform the general public about Friends of Emerson Park’s vision and goals. 2) Engage the community in not only the art installation, but also conversations about what the park can be. 3) Attract area families and the broader community to support funding efforts to Emerson Park.

The installation will begin the week of April 22, 2019, as part of the UWSP Earth Week celebration and incorporate this year's “Pollination” theme. The community is welcome to view the progress of the installation and check for updates at our Facebook page @FriendsofEmersonPark, and tag any photos posted on FB or Instagram using or #EmersonParkSP. As weather permits, the installation will remain up until late July or early August. If successful, we hope to expand or renew the installations seasonally, as weather allows.

More About the Friends of Emerson Park

The Friends of Emerson Park, a fund at the Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin, are a grassroots group of citizens working to revitalize and maintain a neighborhood park in the heart of Stevens Point's Historic District, located on Clark, East Ave, Ellis, and Reserve Streets. The current park is one city block, contains a large green space, a crumbling basketball court, and old playground equipment from the former Emerson School. Our Vision for Emerson Park is three-fold: 1) A modern playground for children of all ages. 2) Preserving an inviting open space for spontaneous play and planned events. 3) A new and improved basketball court.

Donations to Friends of Emerson Park can be made to the Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin at http://bit.ly/EmersonParkSP or through a “Learn More” button on our Facebook page @FriendsofEmersonPark, that links directly to the online donation portal.

The Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin is a non-profit organization that provides scholarships, grants and opportunities to make Central Wisconsin a better place to grow, work, play and retire. For more information on how you can give back to your community and accomplish your philanthropic goals, please visit www.cfcwi.org.