Kids & Family

Tranquility Garden Blossoms With Scout's Effort

Mendham Borough unveils new park on Main Street thanks to community members.

A parcel of land preserved by Mendham Borough in 2010 has finally found good use thanks to a Boy Scout’s venture and some aid from the community.

On Sunday, Oct. 20, officials, residents, and Boy Scouts alike gathered to dedicate “Tranquility Garden” on Main Street in Mendham. The borough purchased the land in 2010 to preserve the traditional English Garden on the site and maintain the street scape there.

Troop 1 Boy Scout Matt Marino, pursuing his Eagle award, looked at the parcel of land and decided to take on the large project of turning the space into a useable area for residents.

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“I wanted to do my Eagle project in Mendham Borough and I saw that the site had great potential to become a unique spot in Mendham,” Marino said. The teen met with borough administrator Ellen Sandman to discuss renovating the site and quickly learned the two had a very similar vision for the project.

“Mrs. Sandman was very enthusiastic about my taking on the project,” Marino said. “I was excited to learn that we shared almost exactly the same vision of what the site could become.”

Find out what's happening in Mendham-Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

After multiple meetings with the borough’s Historical Society, Open Space Committee, and Mayor and Council, “it was obvious that the site was important to people and I really appreciated the support and suggestions I received,” Marino said.

The Open Space Committee helped with the project by allocating more than $5,000 for materials.

The project included excavation, restoration, and expansion of buried gravel pathways and planting beds; the repair and painting of the existing arbor; the addition of a new brick pathway; and the addition of five new benches. Some 20 cubic yards of dirt and gravel was removed from the site.

Sunday’s dedication marked the formal opening of the site and the unveiling of a new sign identifying the borough’s newest park. Open Space Committee Chairman George Connolly presented Marino with a letter of thanks for his work as well as mounted photographs of the park.

Information and photos provided by Bob Marino. 


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