Dear Rye City Council, City Staff, and The Rye Record,

We would like to thank the Rye City Council and city staff for the tremendous amount of work that has gone into the Nursery Field Improvement Project, both since Jan. 1 and in the preceding years. The recent meetings were invaluable in better understanding this project and placing it in context of all recreation spaces and city priorities. Thanks to Ryan Coyne, Erin Mantz, Christian Miller, Greg Usry and others, we learned the history of Rye fields and heard about the goals, challenges, and alternatives. The City Council has done a deep dive exploring these alternatives and reaching out to community partners, and we appreciate that time and dedication. It is time for Rye fields, some of which have not been updated in decades, to get some attention. Now it is time to end the pause and take action.

Friends of Nursery Field supports collaboration, community-wide planning, and progress. It is in this spirit that we are advocating for a renovated grass field at Nursery and for strategic improvements to fields throughout Rye. This group represents hundreds of residents who are involved citizens, parents, coaches, volunteers, students, taxpayers, and caring neighbors. We appreciate the City Council and staff listening to our concerns and valuing our perspectives as we discuss the shared goal of significantly improved recreation spaces throughout Rye. We want better fields and more playing time for our kids.

Nursery Field has a complicated history, both in recent years and in the land acquisition from decades ago, which was intended for wetland restoration and preservation of green space in addition to recreation. Its position within a densely populated residential neighborhood and an ecologically sensitive location make it a controversial choice for artificial turf. Rye is a place with many assets and inherent challenges. The action taken with regard to this one piece of property is a policy decision that could shape the future of our community.

As 2024 unfolds, many communities are moving away from installing synthetic turf and thinking more critically about its use out of concerns for health/human safety and the environment, especially in environmentally sensitive areas.

Artificial turf at Nursery gave many people pause from day one. This is an opportunity for Rye to be creative, proactive, and strategic in its thinking and in practice. The best and safest solution for improving Nursery Field is a drainage system and a natural grass surface. We hope the City Council will take this step in the right direction.

By broadening the scope beyond one solution (artificial turf) at one location (Nursery Field), our community can identify multiple projects that increase access to fields and quality of playing surfaces. Rebekah Thomson’s March 20 presentation on community investment in grass fields demonstrated the potential of a new approach. We are committed to fundraising as well as identifying grant opportunities and partnerships that support healthy, sustainable grass fields. To that end, we can help to foster relationships with communities, scientists, nonprofits, and organizations that are making the conscious decision to move away from plastic fields and embrace the possibilities of well-maintained grass fields, particularly in locations that impact water, wetlands, wildlife, and people.

Reach out to us to share your thoughts and have these conversations. We continue to be hopeful that action on April 17 — in the middle of Earth Month — means unifying solutions, at Nursery Field and elsewhere in Rye, that meet the needs of our youth athletes and protect their future.

Friends of Nursery Field