
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 19, 1995                   TAG: 9504190027
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                LENGTH: Medium

PARK DAY, EARTH DAY - WHY QUIBBLE?

Earth Day seems to be an appropriate occasion for a park to have its open house.

And that's what organizers of Saturday's event at the city's Wildwood Park have decided.

"It's a great time to get an overall picture of what has been done" to renovate and spruce up the park, said Ken Goodyear, Radford's recreation director.

Between 1 and 2:30 p.m., officials have planned a brief ceremony, tours and refreshments at Wildwood Park, a 35-acre natural preserve.

It's not appropriate to call the festivities a dedication, Goodyear said, because volunteer work on the park by Radford University students, the city and other groups is continuing.

"It's a project that has so much potential," he said.

The park, a narrow, deep stream valley close to Radford's business district, was generally neglected until two years ago. That's when the city and the university students - aided by a federal grant - began to get their hands dirty.

Since then, new trails have been dug, bridges over Connelly's Run repaired and debris cleared away. A bird-watching platform has been built, along with a gate to restrict access to a large cave on the site. The park also contains the remains of earthen fortification that once shielded Civil War cannons.

Despite delays and downed timber created by winter ice storms and summer thunderstorms, the park volunteers have built 4.5 miles of new trails, Goodyear said. One of those pathways and the bird-watching platform are handicapped-accessible, he said.

Plans are to develop the park as a natural area for bird-watchers, hikers and other pilgrims seeking quiet reflection. The city's riverside Bisset Park, located across Norwood Street from Wildwood Park, will still be the place for larger or more boisterous groups.

There's still plenty of work to be done by the students from the university's leisure and recreation studies department and other groups, Goodyear said. But enough progress has been made to show off the improvements to the public, and to entice other community groups and citizens to get involved.

by CNB