Category: People, Places & Parks

By Rachel Maher, Park Pride’s Marketing & Communications Manager  As Atlanta’s population grows and the urban environment is developed, our access to nature and greenspace is at risk. What would we lose if we lost our connection to nature? What would that mean for our health and quality of life? And what role do urban […]

As avid readers of People, Places, Parks know, conservation is a long game with many players. Protecting the earth’s land and water, fighting climate change, and safeguarding biodiversity require people from a variety of backgrounds, with diverse expertise and perspectives to achieve shared goals. Some of the most successful partnerships bring together seemingly disparate groups. […]

By Walt Ray, Director, The Trust for Public Land Chattahoochee River Program “What will the BeltLine look like in 20 years?” Before The Trust for Public Land commissioned Alexander Garvin’s “Emerald Necklace Corridor Study” in 2004, the BeltLine was a great idea that was gaining momentum, but it needed a concrete plan to pivot from […]

By: Johanna McCrehan, Georgia Conservancy Urban Design Lead & Nick Johnson, Georgia Conservancy Senior Planner If you have recently found yourself thinking that it couldn’t have been this hot this early last year, there’s a reason for that: a heat wave is currently sweeping across the Southeast. Sustained temperatures over 90oF (and sometimes over 100o) […]

Michael Halicki, Executive Director of Park Pride Last week, I joined Atlanta Regional Commission’s LINK (Leaders Involvement Networking Knowledge) trip to Pittsburgh with other metro-Atlanta leaders. The goal was to connect with and learn tactics for addressing regional issues from Pittsburgh leaders that could be adapted and applied in the Atlanta area. As “the parks […]

Deron Davis, executive director, The Nature Conservancy Diversity, equity and inclusion are critical measures of organizational health. According to Forbes, “study after study has shown that diversity leads to more creative teams and increases a company’s bottom line. Companies ranking in the top quartile of executive-board diversity were 35% likelier to financially outperform the industry […]

George Dusenbury, state director for The Trust for Public Land in Georgia Almost 83 percent of voters checked YES for the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Amendment (GOSA) in the November 2018 election, earmarking up to 80 percent of the existing sales tax collected on outdoor recreation products to create parks, maintain trials and protect land and […]

by Charles McMillan, Georgia Conservancy Natural Resources Director, with Brian Adams, president of the Ocmulgee National Park & Preserve Initiative, and Chris Watson, senior program manager for the southeast region of the National Parks Conservation Association Earlier this year, Congress passed legislation to expand the boundary of the Ocmulgee National Monument, as part of a […]

By Michael Halicki, Executive Director, Park Pride I had the good fortune to be in the room at an Atlanta City Council committee meeting last week when Atlanta Parks Commissioner John Dargle recounted his observations since taking on his role 5+ months ago. This column is an attempt to share his observations and layer on […]

By Ryan Gravel, founder and president, Sixpitch We slipped through the fence at the street’s edge and within seconds, a shroud of oaks absorbed the city sounds and cast a cool shade on our adventure. I was working on the Atlanta City Design and got to tour the near-mythical Honor Farm. It’s a 300-acre reforested […]

George Dusenbury, state director for The Trust for Public Land in Georgia Every profession has its busy season. Accountant friends work overtime as Tax Day looms. Educators in my family scramble when a new term begins. For the environmental community, that season is now–around Earth Day. My calendar is full of conferences, luncheons and parties […]

By Leah Dixon, Georgia Conservancy Advocacy Director Photo above: Cumberland Island by Georgia Conservancy member James Powers The lawmaking process at the state level during the final days of the legislative session can be described as one-part country auction and one-part emergency reconstructive surgery. The energy at the State Capitol is fast-paced, the Chambers and […]