Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council Hosts Cricket Field Celebration and Clean Day
Roll up your sleeves and celebrate community at Cricket Field in Johnston on Saturday, October 18, 2025, from 3 PM to 6 PM! The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council (WRWC) is inviting volunteers and neighbors to come together for a Cricket Field Celebration and Clean Day—a mix of hands-on care, local history, and good old-fashioned fun.
The afternoon will kick off with a Work Party in the Park, where volunteers will help transplant, prune, and weed to keep Cricket Field healthy and thriving. Together, we’ll also plant more than 1,000 daffodil bulbs that will brighten the park come spring. To show appreciation, volunteers can take home free plant-starts as a thank-you for lending a hand.
Once the work is done, it’s time to unwind and enjoy the space you helped care for. The WRWC team will have lawn games like bocce and cornhole, light refreshments, and a relaxed community atmosphere. It’s a chance to experience this beautiful park-in-progress, which will soon connect to the Woonasquatucket River Greenway, creating even more opportunities for outdoor recreation and connection along the river.
Cricket Field is a true neighborhood gem—a 2.6-acre park that links Johnston and North Providence and inspires a love of nature and outdoor living along the Woony. Once an abandoned lot, the area has been transformed into a thriving green space with walking trails, wetlands boardwalks, native plantings, historic markers, and a scenic overlook at the dam.
But Cricket Field’s story goes back much further. In the early 1900s, mill workers from the nearby Greystone Mills, many employed by the Joseph Benn & Sons textile company, played cricket matches and held community events on this very site. More than a century later, WRWC’s restoration efforts continue to honor that legacy—bringing people together, celebrating local history, and reconnecting the community to the river that shaped it.
Since the early 2000s, WRWC has worked with local residents, the Johnston Parks and Recreation Department, and partners across the state to restore and reimagine Cricket Field. Thanks to community input and support from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, a $1.2 million renovation completed in 2014 added trails, a gazebo, a wetlands boardwalk, and historic markers that highlight the park’s rich past.
Today, Cricket Field stands as a reminder of what collaboration and care can achieve. The upcoming celebration is both a call to action and a chance to reflect on how far the community has come.