For 16 years, Bill Payne has volunteered at Thomas Lowry Park, overseeing two large construction projects. (Image: Haifu Owen)
Meet Bill Payne, a long-time resident of Lowry Hill and an avid volunteer at Thomas Lowry Park, also known as The Seven Pools. Bill first moved to Lowry Hill in 1968 after finishing law school. For the last 16 years Bill has played a significant role in the maintenance, upkeep, and beautification of the park. In fact, Bill has given more volunteer hours to the park than anyone else. We’re grateful to Bill!
Bill mainly attributes his interest in maintaining Thomas Lowry Park to his wife Suzanne, who is a long-time volunteer at Thomas Lowry Park and is a board member with the Friends of Thomas Lowry Park. After retiring from his work as a lawyer, Bill noticed that the park needed more volunteers to help preserve the space. Having already done his own house improvements, Bill felt the park was the next space where he could apply his talents. Since that time, he has supported the development of the park and overseen two major construction projects.
Some of the main segments that Bill oversees include the flowerbeds that surround the pergola, the triangle hedges around one of the park’s main entrances, and the plants surrounding the pools. While the upkeep of the flower beds is relatively simple, it does require some sophistication and planning to truly keep it looking magnificent. Bill works with the park board and local community members to decide which flowers, plants, and trees will be planted and which ones will not.
This collaboration was especially true during the time when the park underwent major construction during the Seven Pools restoration project during the 2021-2022 year.
Maintaining the park has not always been easy and requires yearly dedication to preserve it. Bill talked at length about the different obstacles that the park has faced, for example the drought of 2010 meant city irrigation for parks were shut off. To keep the park green and alive, Bill regularly brought his personal hoses throughout the summer to manually water the entire park.
Other challenges more recently include the devastating powdery mildew, a type of fungus, that has decimated the roses and peonies. Bill researched how to combat the fungus and how to protect all neighboring plants and has applied this knowledge to keep valued perennials looking good. Additionally, Bill intensely monitors the health of trees and plants, ensuring the local greenery remains pristine.
For Bill, his motivation to support the improvements of the Thomas Lowry Park is driven by the impact it made upon the community.
He believes that people have been increasingly more enthusiastic about the park and has seen visible activities in the park such as dog walking, biking, readings, and larger gatherings. Bill wants to keep working on the park to maintain the space in hopes that future generations can continue to enjoy the space.
