Thanks to the dedication of the Essex Foundation and a bequest donation from the late Elizabeth Callender, the entrance way to the town is looking greener and more vibrant than ever before.

Working in phases over the past several years, the foundation started its gateway beautification project in the area near the Route 9 overpass in town after several complaints were made about the peeling paint in the area.

“That was what started it all, so the first thing we did with some of the funds from Elizabeth Callender’s generous bequest to us, was to repaint the peeling areas of under the overpass,” said Essex Foundation Vice President Jay Tonks.

Painting was just the beginning. Since then the foundation has planted 12 chanticleer pear trees and more than 300 evergreen and perennial ornamental plants on the eastern side of the highway bridge in previous project phases.

Now in its third year and third phase, the project is 36 trees greener with a recent installation along the western slope of the Route 9 overpass between Route 154 and Route 153. Matthew Verry Landscape Design provided the design and project supervision for the project, while Sullivan Landscaping was hired to install the evergreens, which included 10 juniper, 10 Canadian hemlock, 6 Norway spruce, and 10 chanticleer pear trees.

“All of this has been a trickle down effect from Elizabeth Callender’s donation,” said Tonks. “The foundation is granting her wishes. She loved the town of Essex and it was important to her to keep it looking beautiful.”

Tonks added that the Essex Weeders group and Sullivan Landscapers have been instrumental in keeping the flower beds as beautiful as there are.

“It’s up to the town and the residents to keep this up, otherwise it wouldn’t look as good has it does. It’s come a long way and we are very proud of how beautiful that area is now and that the foundation was able to be a part of that,” said Tonks. “We get compliments all the time from people who comment on how pretty that area is now.”

Special consideration was taken in the planning of gateway beautification project to ensure that the plantings chosen for the project were ones that would flower and add color and beauty during all the New England seasons.

Next up, this fall the foundation has plans of planting additional daffodil bulbs in the gateway area, as well as the area of Sunset Pond along West Avenue.

“We are a small board but we do what we can and we are always looking for new projects to help maintain Essex as the beautiful, community-minded town that it is,” said Tonks.

Supported solely by donations, The Essex Foundation, Inc., is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of Essex by filling needs not met by other organizations or sources. For more information, visit www.theessexfoundation.org or email contact@theessexfoundation.org.