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Go Green
Sustainability • Recycling • Lifestyle
Green Grants
Park Pride awards money for greenspace
improvements
P ark Pride has announced that $820,000 has been granted to 17 community groups
in Atlanta and DeKalb to fund capital park improvements. To date, Park Pride has
awarded over $4.8 million to projects that include new playgrounds, boardwalks
and bridges, improved signage, new trails and exercise equipment, and more.
Park Pride introduced its matching grant programs in 2004, offering awards of varying
amounts to groups seeking to revitalize their community greenspaces. Award recipients
receive matching funds through three distinct grants: Legacy Grants (large grants of
$50,000 and up), funded by the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation; Community Building
Grants ($2,500-$50,000), funded by The FFome Depot Foundation; and Small Change
Grants (up to $2,500), funded by the Cecil B. Day Foundation.
“Due to the support of our funders, Park Pride and the Friends of the Park groups we
serve are able to complete valuable and much needed park improvements for the greener
good of our city,” Park Pride’s Associate Director Allison Barnett said. “They truly make a
positive difference for the families and communities that enjoy greenspaces.”
“Friends of the Park groups recognize that great parks increase the quality of life
in their neighborhoods,” said Ayanna Williams, Park Pride’s Director of Community
Building and responsible for the Friends of the Park Program. “I’m proud of the amazing
park improvements the Friends groups have accomplished with the support of Park Pride’s
grants, improvements that may not have been possible otherwise.”
Legacy Grants
Park Pride awarded Legacy Grants to six community groups. These grants are only
available to groups within the City of Atlanta.
■ Atlanta Memorial Park Conservancy to
replace the playground, which has been plagued by
flooding and sewage spills, with a new community
designed playground located in a more accessible
location on higher ground.
■ Blue Heron Nature Preserve for the expansion
of its permeable trail system, the “Blueway,” that will
highlight the rich habitats along Mill and Nancy
Creeks and eventually connect with planned multi
use trails to Chastain Park and PATH400.
■ The Friends of Lake Claire Park will oversee
a playground renovation and build an ADA accessible
overlook with shade structures to enjoy the view of
the park.
■ The Friends of Little Nancy Creek Park will
move forward with the implementation of phase IV
of their master plan, which includes a pavilion and
seating for family and community gatherings, trash/
recycling receptacles, beautification plantings and signage.
■ South Fork Conservancy will construct a pedestrian bridge across the North Fork
of Peachtree Creek, providing access to the South Fork Trail from PATLI400, the Atlanta
BeltLine as well as the sidewalks of Buckhead.
■ The Friends of Southside Park will expand their natural surface multi-use trails
including a bridge and boardwalk spanning an environmentally sensitive creek and
floodplain — enhancing visitor access to the forested areas of the park and encouraging
bicycling, walking or running.
Small Change Grants
With the support of the Cecil B. Day Foundation, Park Pride’s Small Change Grants
fund small improvements that have big impacts on park beautification.
■ The Friends of Mattie Freeland Park will replace existing wooden park benches with
new tables for neighbors to enjoy at cookouts and community events.
■ Chattahoochee Now will install two benches at Standing Peachtree Park so that
visitors can sit and enjoy the view of the Chattahoochee River. A new interpretive sign
honoring the historic significance of the site and importance of the river will also be
installed.
Adams Park's boardwalk was funded in part through Park Pride’s grant program. At
tending the ribbon cutting were, from left, Michael Halicki, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Alvin
Dodson, Amy Phuong, Corliss Claire and Steven Montgomery.
■ Underwood Hills Park Teen Committee will install exercise equipment to attract
adults and teens into the park as an additional health-focused amenity.
■ The Friends of DeKalb-Memorial Park will purchase fruit trees to be planted and
maintained by community volunteers in an effort to expand the existing fruit orchard in
the park.
To learn more about Park Pride grants, visit parkpride.org.
Community Building Grants
The FFome Depot Foundation provides $200,000 in support to Park Pride’s
Community Building Grants, which are available to community groups located in both the
City of Atlanta and DeKalb County.
■ The Friends of Bitsy Grant Tennis will construct a courtside deck at the tennis
center for viewers to comfortably enjoy watching matches.
■ The Friends of Briarlake Forest Park will add amenities including picnic tables,
benches, and trail signs, and will plant more native species throughout the greenspace.
■ The Friends of Henderson Park will re-design the park’s trail system, implement
erosion control measures, and add new signage and provide stepping-stones at creek
crossings.
■ Historic 4th Ward Park Conservancy will conduct a comprehensive planting and
rejuvenation of several landscape beds in alignment with the park’s original master plan.
■ The Friends of Jennie Drake Park will continue to work towards the fulfillment of
their master plan, installing a soft-surface path, distance markers, and dog-waste stations,
and creating designated bird-watching areas.
■ The Friends of Johns Homestead will construct a boardwalk over a creek that had
previously rendered a large portion of the park inaccessible.
■ The Friends of Peachtree Park will benefit from a new access point to the
nature trail, addition of benches and exercise stations encouraging greater use from the
surrounding communities.
Pollinators in Parks program gets grant
While Park Pride regularly awards grants to community park projects, the
nonprofit is also the recipient of a $60,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation
for the “Pollinators in Parks”
pilot initiative to increase
the presence and impact of
pollinator gardens in five
Atlanta parks.
Through this grant, Park
Pride and the Atlanta Botanical
Garden hope to improve the
city’s long-term biodiversity,
ecological health and
sustainability.
“In urban environments,
community gardens represent
little green islands for insect
pollinators, like bees and butterflies, which are keystone species in food webs,”
explained Melina Lozano Duran, Pollinator Garden Coordinator with the Atlanta
Botanical Garden. “Pollinator gardens are not only necessary to help natural
ecosystems and their plant and animal communities to thrive within cities, but they
also nurture our connection to nature.”
The five parks selected to be part of the “Pollinators in Parks” pilot project
include: Blue Heron Nature Preserve (Buckhead), Four Corners Park (South Atlanta),
Gilliam Park (East Atlanta), Grove Park (West Atlanta) and Welch Street Park
(Southwest Atlanta) .[0
1 8 MARCH 2017 | HU
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