The city of Portland, Trust for Public Land and the Portland Parks Conservancy will celebrate Portland's newest park on Thursday, Sept. 21 at 4:30 p.m.

In June, the city of Portland, in partnership with Trust for Public Land, announced the acquisition of 24 acres, creating a new city-owned park.

The park has an existing sports field, pond, forested areas and trails.  

North Deering Park is near Lyseth Elementary School and Lyman Moore Middle School, and will allow for outdoor learning, according to a news release. 

According to the release, while 93% of Portland residents live within a 10-minute walk to a green space, nearly 1,000 residents in the North Deering neighborhood didn’t have that option.

“With the creation of North Deering Park, Portland is one step closer to joining the few cities in America where 100% of residents have a park within a 10-minute walk of home,” Betsy Cook, Maine State director for Trust for Public Land, said in the release. “Protecting this land will ensure the community will have access to bike, walk, hike, play and explore the outdoors in their own backyard.”

The trust has been working with the city for the three years to develop and implement the project and to secure the funds to transfer the land to the city.

“This acquisition is a big deal for the city of Portland,” Portland Parks Director Ethan Hipple said. “Our current park system was created well over 120 years ago, and we can thank our predecessors for setting aside public land to be used for recreation, exercise, sports, habitat preservation, and to connect us to nature. With the addition of this new park in an underserved area, Portlanders of all backgrounds now have a new space to come together to create community and lasting memories for generations to come.” 

The North Deering Park project received $400,000 in federal funding, and $160,000 through the Land for Maine’s Future Program as well as an $80,000 commitment from the Portland Land Bank.