Wentworth Park: Friends of Wentworth Park

Mission

To develop, promote and sustain Wentworth Park as "the People's Park"

Vision

Revival and restoration of Wentworth Park - prime greenspace located in the heart of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Background

In the summer of 2003, Ekistics Planning & Design (Ekistics), in association with ADI Ltd., were selected by the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) as the design consultants to prepare a revitalization plan for Wentworth Park in downtown Sydney. Several public interviews and workshops were conducted to gauge community interest and support and these findings formed the basis for revitalization recommendations for Wentworth Park.

In the spring of 2005, another series of public meetings were held to discuss the future of Wentworth Park and unveil the revitalization plan developed by Ekistics. The consensus at this public meeting was that there should be a local volunteer group formed to oversee the use and maintenance of the Park along with ensuring recommendations from the Ekistics Plan were considered. At that public meeting, where nearly sixty people were in attendance, a steering committee consisting of fifteen volunteers was formed. The steering committee met weekly for more than two months to come up with the parameters for the "Friends of Wentworth Park Society". The steering committee developed a mission statement, a set of objectives and committees to take back to the public for comment and approval.

The steering committee held a public meeting at the end of May to present its vision for the future of Wentworth Park. At that meeting there was an election of a Board of Directors and the Friends of Wentworth Park Society (FWPS) was formed. Seven members were elected at large and four seats were designated, one for the Kiwanis Club, one for CBRM Council, one for the business community and one for youth. This ensured a wide and diverse representation on the board.

The Board held it's first meeting in June 2005 and elected an executive. They were as follows:

Wayne Weatherbee - Chair
Alan Peddle - Vice Chair
Doug Arsenault - Treasurer
Nicole MacLennan - Secretary

New Executive 2008

Alan Peddle - Chair
Marlene Lovett - Vice Chair
Doug Arsenault - Treasurer
Mary Ann MacCormack - Secretary