5Q: Wendy Nilsson

 / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
/ PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

1 You were appointed superintendent in April, after a long career in nonprofit parks organizations. What has been your initial focus?

It really was to share what I had learned coming up through the ranks about parks and how we use public spaces, and how we engage people in that process to make our park system places that can inspire. It’s not just about a physical transformation. It’s about how we program them, how we promote stewardship, how we create community partners, how we capitalize on this idea that we are the creative capital.

2 Some people feel downtown needs more parks. Does it have enough open space?

No, we need more. We have these small swatches of land that aren’t connected. We need to advocate for more park space … that is responsive to what people need. … We have to be able to able to maintain it, and adapt to the changing needs of the community.

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3 Providence has 105 parks. How do you balance maintenance and improvements? Is it based on use or size?

We do a lot of grant writing. We work with the City Council. We look creatively at partnerships, and with in-kind donated services. We are getting people to think more creatively, and become more resourceful … and that we don’t necessarily need a $50,000 piece of equipment to make this park come to life.

4 Roger Williams Park is the largest in the city. How did it fare in the recent microburst?

It was Aug. 4. The storm lasted a little more than 20 minutes. Throughout the city 300 trees were total losses, and 100 of those were at Roger Williams Park. [For perspective], back in 1938, with the major hurricane that we had in Providence, we lost over 3,000 trees in Roger Williams Park. A lot of it has grown back. But many of the trees were originally planted, when the park was created in 1872.

5 A new dog park is under development on Waterman Avenue on the East Side. Why add a dog park?

People love their dogs in Providence. The land on Waterman Street was not a public park. It was a triangle previously owned by the Department of Environmental Management. It was actually motivated by neighbors in that area, who had been using a conservation area to walk their dogs, and understanding that’s not necessarily the best thing for a conservation area. •

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