It’s been a while coming, but the city of Richmond has been steadily showering TLC on its park system. City workers and contractors are putting the finishing touches on one of the system’s biggest projects this year — a major overhaul of the lake at Forest Hill Park (pictured). Until recently, it was an overgrown bog. Richmond parks director J.R. Pope says he hopes that “doing these things will bring people into the park who had possibly never been there.” In the coming months, benches, cobblestone paths and lampposts will complete the project for a spring rededication, Pope says. Meanwhile, at Bryan Park, the azalea garden’s pond has been restored, and Fountain Lake in Byrd Park is sporting a new building to serve the public.

—Jack Cooksey