Guardian Awards

Members of the Syracuse Rose Society and Thornden Park Association member Miranda Hine received the Syracuse Parks Conservancy’s Guardian Award, which is given annual to an individual or organization that has shown exception commitment, vision, leadership and dedication to promoting and preserving the beauty of the parks and green spaces in Syracuse. Award ceremonies were on February 14, 2017 at City Hall.

Miranda Hine is cited for her efforts at maintaining some of the garden areas in the park, specifically the Lily Pond and the Madison Street entrance. Ms. Hine has also been instrumental in rallying volunteers together from the community and Syracuse University for various clean-ups over the years.

Every Wednesday morning, from April to early November, members of the Syracuse Rose Society tend to the E.M. Mills Memorial Rose Garden at Thornden Park – weeding, pruning, mulching. Their commitment is generations old, and their work has allowed the Garden to be nationally recognized and the backdrop to thousands of weddings over the years. Founded in 1911, the Syracuse Rose Society is the oldest rose society in continuous existence in the U.S. affiliated with the American Rose Society and the Canadian Rose Society.

Chad Norton

The presentation of the Guardian awards for 2013-14 took place in the Syracuse Mayor’s Conference room on Friday Aug 15, 2014 at 11 am. The awardees nominated in 2013 are Barbara and Ron Hoffman, and Leslie Molldrem.

Ron and Barbara Hoffman

Barbara and Ron Hoffman helped with the plantings in the Outer Comstock Neighborhood for many years, and really stepped up to the plate after the untimely passing of SPC Board member Martin Sage.

They helped by digging up the planter, planting flowers and perennials in the traffic triangle at Comstock at East Colvin St, planting in the planter at Comfort Tyler Park, and mulching and weeding these areas and underneath our four welcoming signs.

The work could not have been done without them.

Leslie Molldrem

Leslie Molldrem has served as the Secretary of the Friends of Schiller Park for several years and has been on the Schiller Park Board from its inception. She is a dedicated, loyal and hardworking volunteer who works on every project without taking any accolades, including the annual dinner, the Turkey Trot, and the volunteer park cleanups with students and other community groups.

As secretary, Leslie is the officer who keeps the group focused and arranges the time and place for meetings. Her meeting minutes are meticulous and most valuable, as the Friends group strives to build a foundation from which the Park can begin to become a place where neighbors and visitors will want to spend more time.

The Expeditionary Learning Middle School in the Valley neighborhood of Syracuse was selected to receive the fourth annual Guardian Award in the Parks category by a January ballot of the Syracuse Parks Conservancy (SPC) Trustees. Also city residents Christopher Ennis & Louis DiBerardino of Shotwell Park have been selected for the Guardian Award for 2012 in the Green Spaces category.

Ten-year-old Gia Oppedisano at Syracuse City Hall, with the Guardian Award given to her by the Syracuse Parks Conservancy.

Guardian Awards for 2011 were presented to Gia Oppedisano in the Parks category and to Dave Kirby in the Greenspaces category.

Gia, a 10 year old middle school student undergoing chemotherapy, has planted a number of white pine saplings in Sunnycrest Park.

Dave, a retired high school teacher, was instrumental in planting and maintaining flower beds on the endcaps along Meadowbrook Drive.

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The Syracuse Parks Conservancy (SPC) presented Honorable Mayor Matthew J. Driscoll with the Guardian Award at a ceremony held in the Mayor’s office on December 16, 2009. This award is given to an individual or organization that has shown exceptional commitment, vision, leadership and dedication to promoting and preserving the beauty of parks and green spaces.

Syracuse Parks Conservancy
Presents Mayor Matthew J. Driscoll with Guardian Award

The Board of Trustees gave a well deserved thank you to Mayor Driscoll for all of his hard work and for helping to make Syracuse one of the ”greenest” cities in the United States. They also thanked the Mayor for the instrumental role he and members of his administration played in helping to establish a parks conservancy in Syracuse. The SPC is modeled after the Central Park Conservancy, one of the oldest and largest in our country.

The Board of Trustees wishes the Mayor well in all his future endeavors.

The Syracuse Parks Conservancy looks forward to working with the new Mayor and her administration to help maintain, preserve, beautify and enhance all of the parks throughout the City of Syracuse.