As we celebrate a decade of Park and Trail Partnership Grants this year, we’d like to take a moment to spotlight some of the most inspiring and successful projects funded by our recent rounds.

Artpark, located just north of Buffalo in Lewiston, is a cultural site that focuses on education, music, and the arts. The non-profit organization running the day-to-day operations in partnership with the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation was awarded a $44,000 grant for its “Artpark Experience” field trip program. The program serves more than 2,500 students across four partner districts, including Buffalo Public Schools, Lewiston-Porter, Niagara-Wheatfield, and Niagara Falls City School District. It also includes 13 in-school sessions that reached 737 students across seven different schools.

Programming includes meaningful cultural partnerships, featuring Indigenous educators, wildlife expert Jonathan Clarkson of American Hawkeye, and artists Edreys and Alexa Wajed of Eat Off Art, whose work connects to Artpark’s new “Guiding Light” mural and its themes of environmental justice and land stewardship. The award proved vital for the programming. Upon the depletion of PTPG’s funding, Artpark’s Board of Directors made the decision to pause the field trip program for 2026, while still planning to continue in-school work in the 2026-2027 school year ahead. Hopefully a relaunch of the field trips for Summer 2027 can be possible with a new set of partnerships to help offset costs.

The Catskill 3500 Club was awarded $4,798 to implement their Trailhead Stewards Program to improve volunteer engagement and visitor education. In the summer of 2025, 47 stewards documented hiker counts and enabled real-time education to hikers in areas such as Leave No Trace practices and campsite impact reduction, leash compliance for those hiking with dogs, staying on designated routes, as well as guidance on map use, turnaround planning, and hydration. The project demonstrated steady, sustained trailhead presence throughout the season, and stewards served as a valuable communication link relaying field observations to NYSDEC personnel.

Maple sugaring is an engaging, educational, (and tasty), learning experience for students. The program staff at Five Rivers just outside of Albany is well-aware of the draw and thus were awarded $22,975 to improve their infrastructure and equipment to provide a more enhanced and comfortable learning environment for the thousands of students and families who visit the DEC site each spring. A new evaporator and accessories were purchased and installed in Goose Lodge along with additional shelving and supplies. The structure was also equipped with radiant heating to provide a dose of comfort on, what can be, some frigid early spring days in Upstate New York. The Friends group is putting the finishing touches on the project this summer, so it will be fully operational when the sap begins to flow next spring.

At the time of the writing of this article, the Friends of the Ulysses S. Grant Cottage, who manage the day-to-day operations of the remarkable historic site just north of Saratoga Springs, are putting the finishing touches on an impactful, multi-phase project that will provide access to the stunning Eastern Overlook view to more visitors. Initially a steep, narrow paved pathway, the new ADA-compliant trail of hard-packed material winds its way through the woods at a more forgivable grade, providing a safe and manageable route for wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers.

The hearty $300,000 award for construction was preceded two rounds prior by a $36,000 grant to fund the design and engineering of the project. 

Graffiti Removal from the Old Croton Aqueduct

The ventilators and weirs dotting the Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park are some of the more prominent (and visually marred) landmarks along its 26-miles. The Friends of Old Croton Aqueduct were awarded a $42,498 Park and Trail Partnership Grant to clean five of the ventilators and launch a fundraising campaign to engage the community to raise funds to remove years of tagging from the additional structures along the linear park. Not only will the  effort encourage park users to report new graffiti, it will also engage park users, park neighbors and potential donors (individuals and businesses) to continue to help the Friends group with its successful work and to fund programming and future structural improvements.