We know this continues to be such a difficult year for so many. Here at Forest Park Forever, we are sending best wishes to all of you for good health and well-being. We could not be prouder to have spent the year working alongside our City of St. Louis partners to sustain a Park that has helped sustain our community during the pandemic. With this in mind, here are six specific highlights that keep us smiling even at a challenging time. Be safe, and be well. We look forward to seeing you here in Forest Park in 2021!

— Lesley S. Hoffarth, President and Executive Director, Forest Park Forever

1. Hearing Your Voices

Since March, hundreds of you have told us just what Forest Park has meant to you during this challenging year — "a refuge," "a place of solace," "a lifesaver..." We even named our year-end fundraising drive "Hope & Happiness" after one visitor told us that's what the Park means to her in 2020. For anyone who would still like to take part, you can tell us what the Park means to you or participate in this special campaign before it ends tomorrow. The Forest Park community inspires us so much — thank you!

2. Green Care, Everywhere

Adapting quickly with all new protocols and a reduced budget, our 25-person Land Management team was able to keep designing beautiful landscape beds (those above Art Hill were especially loved by visitors this year); planting trees (1,300); pruning trees (300, focusing on those along the path system closest to visitors); planting wildflowers, sedges and grasses in the Nature Reserve (16,000 'plugs'); and planting bulbs that will pop this coming spring (70,000!).

3. Upgrades & Anticipation

In the fall, the City and FPF opened the all new World's Fair Pavilion Comfort Station & Gathering Plaza, a dramatically improved year-round amenity that visitors have greatly enjoyed. Our team also made incredible progress on building and growing out the Anne O'C. Albrecht Nature Playscape — we anticipate a late spring 2021 opening — and conducted meaningful community engagement around a new and improved playground to be built next year on the southern edge of the Park along Oakland Ave. We are so grateful to the generous Forest Park Forever donors who have made these projects possible!

4. Hi, Maintenance

While we needed to reduce our 2020 maintenance budget due to decreases in revenue, our team was able to complete more than 50 donor-funded fixes and restorations. From improving roads, paths, trails and crossings to restoring icons like the Jewel Box and the Emerson Grand Basin, we continued working behind-the-scenes so that every one of your visits had that special Forest Park magic.

5. Our City Partnership

Particularly this year, we are proud of our strong partnership with the City of St. Louis and its Department of Parks, Recreation & Forestry. We are grateful that the City was able to keep the Park open, and that we could partner on welcoming a public especially eager for fresh air and expansive green space, where they could stretch their legs, take in nature, look up at the sky and consider the better days ahead.

6. New Ways to Connect

While we've so missed our annual traditions — from our beloved Hat Luncheon to our 1,000-person 5K fundraiser — we were pleased to never truly lose touch with the Forest Park community. From a virtual 5K and member celebration to reinventing how we connect with students and teachers (have you seen our new Online Nature Classroom?), we've worked hard to remain connected to all those who keep the Park's heartbeat pumping.

All of us at Forest Park Forever would like to thank our City of St. Louis partners, our generous donors, volunteers and partners, and the entire Forest Park community for coming together during this difficult year. We are grateful to help sustain these 1,300 beautiful acres that bring solace, hope and happiness to the community we love.

Photo of the Year
Let's not forget this message that was projected on the St. Louis Science Center's McDonnell Planetarium in April of 2020. We can do this, St. Louis. Happy New Year!