In 2009, a group of community volunteers with a vision to improve the look of Downtown stepped forward to make it a reality. This was a response to the town’s Downtown Vision Plan, which had identified nine catalysts for improving the vacant look of Avenue of the Fountains and areas around Fountain Park.
The purpose of the Greening of Downtown committee was to make the Downtown more attractive to residents, visitors, and investors by adding attractive and educational landscaping and shade. Public funds were not available, so this group of enthusiastic volunteers raised funds through private donations.
Since the beginning of this program, over $300,000 in improvements to the Downtown area has been provided through donations and grants. This allowed the committee to accomplish the following:
- 165 trees planted in Fountain Park
- Joe & Marge Brown Legacy Plaza & commemorative columns
- Low-water demonstration garden
- Butterfly & hummingbird garden
- Sonoran cactus garden
- Performance pad landscaping & planters
- Island green area maintenance
- Disc Golf sidewalk buffer landscape zones
- 7 downtown vacant lot landscape enhancements
- Centennial Circle landscaping
Greening of Downtown participated in the Virtual Earth Day 2020 event with a video about the Low-Water Demonstration Garden in Fountain Park.
The Greening of Downtown program has completed all its goals and is no longer accepting donations. There may be projects in the future, but for now it has gone quiet.
We thank all the volunteers who got their hands dirty to beautify our Downtown and those who made it financially possible.
To learn more, visit iLoveFountainHills.org/greening-of-downtown.