By Hannah E. Jones, Park Pride’s Marketing & Communications Manager Picture the entrance to your neighborhood park. What does it look like? How accessible is it? What message does it send? Park entrances are often overlooked when considering how to improve a park, yet entrances inform how visitors arrive, what they experience and how they […]
Author Archives: Park Pride
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Transit and parks go hand-in-hand — See your city in new ways
By Eli Dickerson, Director of Education I have a secret to tell. I’ve lived in Atlanta since 2005 and, this year, I rode a MARTA bus for the very first time. I know, I know… shame on me. I’ve been riding the MARTA train since first moving here in 2005 so why did it take […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
The Power of Parks: Park Pride announces next class of park-leaders-in-training for its Park Stewardship Academy
By Hannah E. Jones, Park Pride’s Marketing & Communications Manager “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 (PSA). This summer, our Education Team is excitedly preparing for the […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Park Pride welcomes wave of summer interns!
By Hannah E. Jones, Park Pride’s Marketing & Communications Manager 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. […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
May Mobility Awareness Month: On the path to making Atlanta’s parks accessible to all
By Michael Halicki, Park Pride’s Executive Director and Isabel González Whitaker, Founder of Sara J. González Memorial Park Great parks aren’t “great” if they aren’t welcoming and accessible. Parks shouldn’t discriminate on any count and certainly not by design. As a park founder and at Park Pride, where we work to make sure parks reach […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Visit a local park to celebrate Earth Month in the “City in a Forest”
By Hannah E. Jones, Park Pride’s Marketing & Communications Manager Happy Earth Month, Atlanta! (Although in our eyes, every month is Earth Month!) April is a great time to get outside — with the trees beginning to leaf out, flowers blooming in abundance and birds singing their songs. Not only is this an ideal time […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Local and national park experts, advocates gather for Park Pride’s largest-ever Annual Parks & Greenspace Conference
By Hannah E. Jones, Park Pride’s Marketing & Communications Manager Dazzling sunshine, a vibrant sea of blooming tulips, and park experts and advocates gathering for the greener good — welcome to Park Pride’s Annual Parks & Greenspace Conference. On Monday, March 25, over 500 people visited the Atlanta Botanical Garden for the 23rd annual conference. […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Atlantans show love to their parks through new city-wide volunteer initiative
By Hannah E. Jones, Park Pride’s Marketing & Communications Manager Love is definitely in the air this month – especially around our parks! This February, Atlantans have been coming together to give 12 Atlanta parks some TLC through Love Your Park. Love Your Park is a city-wide volunteer initiative held in partnership with the City […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Registration opens for Park Pride’s Annual Parks & Greenspace Conference
By Hannah E. Jones, Park Pride Marketing & Communications Manager It’s that time of the year again! Over at Park Pride, we’re gearing up for our annual Parks & Greenspace Conference — and registration is now live! Hosted at the Atlanta Botanical Garden on Monday, March 25, the Parks & Greenspace Conference is an educational […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Park Pride celebrates graduation of first-ever Park Stewardship Academy cohort
By Hannah E. Jones, Park Pride Marketing & Communications Manager Earlier this month, we celebrated something big — the graduation of our inaugural Park Stewardship Academy (PSA) cohort! It was a lively event, with Park Pride and the graduates gathering to commemorate their hard work and dedication over the last few months. The class even […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Raise your Park IQ and experience the brilliance of fall with Park Pride!
By Hannah E. Jones, Park Pride’s Marketing & Communications Manager Fall is in full effect in Atlanta — with the leaves changing and boasting their multi-colored glory! Not only is this a great time to get outside, but also a prime opportunity to show up for your local parks. Over at Park Pride, we’ve been […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Get your hands dirty for Atlanta’s parks
The power of parks can only be activated with the help of our community!
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Play is a human right: Park Pride’s roundtable highlights importance of inclusive play spaces
Play spaces with innovative designs have triple the physical activity compared to non-inclusive spaces.
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Seeing the forest through the trees: Urban forests as repositories of Biodiversity, but only if we manage them as such
By Andrew White, Director of Park Visioning – Park Pride It has been well established that the tree canopy in Atlanta needs to be protected, and there is a lot of public dialogue and discourse in protecting our City in the Forest. That being said, my recent travels to other parts of the state make […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Meet Me at The Park: Reflecting on 10 Years at Park Pride
By Michael Halicki, Executive Director This month marks my 10-year anniversary as Park Pride’s executive director. Prior to Park Pride, I was somewhat of a rolling stone gathering no moss, moving from one environmental nonprofit to the next, learning from each but never staying put for too long. I attribute my staying power in large […]
Posted inThought Leadership
A Turning Point: New Beginnings, Inspiration, and Hope
Eli Dickerson, Park Pride’s new Director of Education, has been at the organization for six months. In this contribution to People, Places, and Parks, he reflects on why he’s excited to have joined this team that has been low-key making a huge impact in Atlanta for decades.
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Doing Things Differently for Parks
By Park Pride’s Executive Director, Michael Halicki, and Director of Communications & Policy, Rachel Maher Einstein defined “insanity” as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. For far too long, this has been the story of the chronic, longstanding underfunding of Atlanta’s park system and those who sought a higher standard […]
Posted inThought Leadership
A Golden Age of Parks in Atlanta? Maybe.
There is a lot of momentum within the parks movement in Atlanta right now, so much so that it’s had me wondering whether we’re on the brink of a “golden age of parks.” For me, that manifests as having city parks that are maintained equitably and to a higher standard, well connected to communities, and […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks, Thought Leadership
In Case You Missed It: The Healing Power of Parks
By Rachel Maher, Park Pride’s Director of Communications + Policy Two weeks ago, Park Pride hosted our 22nd Annual Parks & Greenspace Conference at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Together with over 400 park people from around Atlanta, Georgia, and the nation, we dug into the conference theme, The Healing Power of Parks. We concluded the […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks, Thought Leadership
Atlantans Are Speaking Up for Improved Park Maintenance
By Michael Halicki, Park Pride’s Executive Director, and Rachel Maher, Director of Communications & Policy Parks are the heart of our communities. The physical and mental relief that parks provided through the pandemic was invaluable, and studies have shown that proximity to parks and greenspace promotes a healthy lifestyle that reduces stress and the risk […]
