Park Pride

"Community. It's a fuzzy term, but it represents an important ideal that has been severely tested in recent years in the U.S. Though there is no easy antidote to the polarization that divides many Americans, there is a place where we can at least begin to repair our fraying social fabric: the local park." Park Pride's Michael Halicki and the Trust for Public Land's George Dusenbury recently co-authored an opinion piece in the AJC about the social value that our parks offer and the importance of investing in these spaces. Click here to read the article: https://ow.ly/UgTv50Su9fA

At Park Pride, we want great parks now ... and in five years ... and in five decades! We’re not only looking at the “right now,” but also considering the future of the green industry and actively helping bolster the next generation of environmental leaders. Click here to get to know our awesome summer interns and fellows in our latest on SaportaReport: https://ow.ly/fuO350SkVEe

Friday mornings are a great time to visit a park! Last week, we went to the Cascade Springs Nature Preserve for our monthly Second Friday Walk in the Park. We were joined by over 55 folks, including the Cascade Springs Nature Conservancy, Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet and EcoAddendum. The Nature Gurlz (a group that walks the preserve daily) came out in full force and even sang us a song! During our one-hour stroll, we explored the 125-acre preserve, including its old-growth forest, waterfall and artesian springs. With pockets of old-growth forest and the Utoy Creek watershed to protect, the Conservancy has been working to remove invasive plants from the preserve and installed trash traps to improve river health. The Conservancy has also received several grants from Park Pride for projects like its plaza, boardwalk and, coming soon, new waterfall overlooks. What a wonderful way to start the weekend. Join us next time on Friday, July 12 at 9am at Deepdene Park in DeKalb County. We hope to see you there!

Talk about elbow grease! Last month, the Cox Enterprises team joined us at Ashford Forest Preserve to help maintain this beautiful Brookhaven greenspace. Volunteers picked up litter, cleared invasive plants and removed tree tubes that protect the saplings from damage as they grow. The tubes will now be reused at the City of Brookhaven's new tree nursery. Thank you to our fantastic volunteers for helping our local parks thrive! Corporate volunteer days are a great way to support better parks and stronger communities. Reach out to shannon@parkpride.org today to begin planning your team's volunteer day!

Spring is a great time to give a local park some TLC! Last month, we teamed up with DS Smith for a volunteer day at Old Fourth Ward Park. Our group of up to 50 volunteers worked together to collect litter, scrub the playground, maintain the trails and remove invasive plants. Thank you to our fantastic volunteers! Corporate volunteer days are a great way to support better parks and stronger communities. Reach out to shannon@parkpride.org today to begin planning your team's volunteer day!

What a fabulous day of service! Earlier this month, over 400 volunteers with the Blank Family of Businesses joined us at Adams Park and Alfred Tup Holmes Golf Course. Together, our volunteers refurbished the golf course, collected litter, removed invasive plants, planted natives and much more! The golf course has a rich history, named after Alfred Tup Holmes who boldly advocated to desegregate Atlanta's golf courses. We were joined by his grandson, Hamilton E. Holmes, Jr., who spoke about his grandfather's legacy and recent efforts at the course. A big thank-you to everyone who came out! Your work to uplift these greenspaces has helped create a healthier environment for native wildlife and a more vibrant park for nearby communities. Corporate volunteer days are a great way to support better parks and stronger communities. Reach out to shannon@parkpride.org today to begin planning your team's volunteer day! #ParkPride #Atlanta #BlankFamilyofBusinesses #ParksforAll #volunteer

“We must continue to rise and to push ourselves for the best we can be in delivering a world-class park system,” Park Pride's Michael Halicki said in a recent interview about Atlanta's 2024 ParkScore ranking. “We should do this for our region’s economic competitiveness, attracting top talent and capital to our city; we should do this for our residents; we should do this for the generation to come.” Click here to read the full interview on SaportaReport: https://ow.ly/W27X50RT2NF

Great parks aren’t “great” if they aren’t welcoming and accessible. May is National Mobility Awareness Month, and this gives us a chance to reflect on opportunities to make Atlanta’s parks accessible for all. Click here to read our latest in SaportaReport, where we dive into the importance of park accessibility and recent efforts at Sara J. González Memorial Park: https://ow.ly/Ysor50RRACV

Atlanta - the 2024 ParkScore is live! Each year, Trust for Public Land analyzes cities across the U.S. to see how they rank on metrics like park access, size, investment and equity. This year, Atlanta ranks #25 out of the 100 biggest cities across the country! This is our highest ranking yet and is a massive improvement compared to our #51 ranking in 2016 and even a 3-spot increase compared to last year. At Park Pride, we're thrilled with the strides being made within parks and greenspaces across our city. But we can all agree that we need to continue to move the needle for the betterment of all Atlantans. That's why we strongly support the City of Atlanta's 2025 proposed budget which includes a $4.1M budget increase for the Department of Parks and Recreation, along with funding to hire a Director of Natural Resources to enhance the department's ability to strategically and scientifically manage these natural spaces. Atlanta is a group project, and Park Pride is proud to work with our elected officials and partners as we strive for a world-class park system!

A big happy birthday to Michael Halicki, Park Pride's Executive Director! We spent the day with Delta Air Lines for a volunteer project at Constitution Lakes. We also celebrated another birthday, Delta's Tad Hutcheson! With about 100 volunteers, our teams focused on removing invasive plants and picking up litter. Delta's mascot Widgey even made a guest appearance! Thank you to our wonderful volunteers for helping steward this beautiful DeKalb County park!