The New Canaan Garden Club has launched an exciting new audio guide about the history of Waveny Park on Otocast. The project stems from the Garden Club of America’s initiative to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederic Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture. Waveny Park is an Olmsted firm designed property, and the Club felt it was important to enlighten our community on its historical background and significance in a unique and novel way.
The free audio guide is designed to create an engaging visitor experience with custom audio narratives, text descriptions, and photo galleries. The Otocast platform is user-friendly and can easily be downloaded to mobile phones and e-tablets. We recommend downloading the Otocast app prior to visiting Waveny. Once you have downloaded the Otocast app, open it, type in “New Canaan, CT” then click on Waveny Park to begin your historical journey.
The goal is that visitors will walk away with a new appreciation of the park’s heritage and Olmsted’s contributions to society. Waveny Park exemplifies Olmsted’s vision for landscapes. As the property has transitioned from a private residence to a community park it has become an accessible open space that builds community, creates connections with nature, and provides beautiful vistas. This became even more important to our community during the pandemic.
Going forward, the audio guide will be maintained by the Waveny Park Conservancy, a public-private partnership with the Town of New Canaan to to improve the parklands of Waveny. The guide will be refreshed with details on current and future projects to ensure the park continues to be maintained to the highest standards for the use and enjoyment of area residents.