Park Pride

How can we make the playground at Thomasville Heights Park more accessible and welcoming for everyone? 🛝 That’s the question that the Park Pride team brought to campers who have spent the summer at the park and its recreation center through Camp Best Friends. Earlier this year, the Friends of Thomasville Park received a grant from Park Pride to upgrade the playground with accessible play equipment. The Friends group is considering five conceptual plans and our team presented the designs to the teen campers, asking them to vote on their favorite plan and piece of play equipment. We hope this will inspire the students to think about playgrounds and accessibility in new ways! Click here to read more: https://ow.ly/TR2G50SMC2s

Recently, Park Pride joined the Trees Atlanta Youth Tree Team’s Career Discovery Day.🌳📝 Vanessa, Park Pride's Advocacy & Education Specialist, talked to over 50 students about ways to get involved with their local park and how their interests could tie into careers in parks and recreation. We hope they walked away feeling inspired!

“Being part of PSA gave me the strength to not be afraid to do the big things for my park.” That’s how a 2023 grad described her experience with Park Pride’s Park Stewardship Academy. This summer, our Education Team is excitedly preparing for the incoming 2024 class. Starting in September, these 12 community members will learn crucial skills to make their park the best it can be. Click here to read more in our latest on SaportaReport: https://ow.ly/kv8w50SEw68

What's better than a walk in a park? 💚 On Friday, we visited DeKalb County's Deepdene Park for our monthly Second Friday Walk in the Park! Deepdene is an amazing hidden gem that's a stone’s throw from Ponce de Leon Avenue and Fernbank Museum. Hosted by the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance, we learned about the history of this old-growth forest and park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. We even got to see a white oak that predates the Revolutionary War! Join us next month on Friday, August 9 when we visit Lionel Hampton-Beecher Hills Nature Preserve. Our Second Friday Walks are held each month at 9 a.m. at a different park in the City of Atlanta or DeKalb County. No registration. No fee. Just show up. You'll be glad you did!

Today, park investments are more important than ever. Parks and green spaces play a special role in addressing the historic levels of loneliness, polarization, and distrust in institutions that pervade American life.   While Atlanta has been making consistent and significant strides in improving its park system over the past twenty years, more can be done to strengthen local parks and, in turn, our sense of community. Read more about how TPL and Park Pride are pushing for critical funding for creative solutions like Community Schoolyards to create green space where it’s needed most.  https://lnkd.in/eQmD4GCc

If you live in Atlanta, you’ve likely spent a lot of time on Ponce De Leon Ave. But have you ever walked through the parks that weave alongside the bustling road? Join us THIS FRIDAY at 9 a.m. to do just that! We'll take a one-hour walk at DeKalb County’s Deepdene Park, the easternmost segment of the six-part Olmsted Linear Park. Come explore with us! Bring your coffee and your walking shoes. Click here for more info: https://ow.ly/aBnb50Sy1nV

"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!