George Dusenbury, State Director for The Trust for Public Land in Georgia Rachel Sprecher, Executive Director in the Office of Partnerships and Development, Atlanta Public Schools Parks strengthen communities and improve public health while cleaning the water we need and the air we breathe. But in cities like Atlanta, with a dense urban core and […]
Category: People, Places & Parks
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A Different Perspective on Housing in Georgia
By Georgia Conservancy Vice President of Programs and Sustainable Growth Director Katherine Moore, and Georgia Conservancy Urban Design Lead Johanna McCrehan For 23 years, in more than 52 communities, Blueprints for Successful Communities has addressed the topic of housing options across the state of Georgia. The Sustainable Growth Program of the Georgia Conservancy offers this […]
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From Snow Piles to Worm Rescues: A Child’s Connection to Nature
by Rachel Maher, Park Pride’s Marketing + Communications Manager Recently, Tina Arnold, Park Pride’s Director of Community Building, asked a gathering of board and staff what “made you ‘go green’?” She wanted us to share the moment that we discovered our connection to nature. Growing up in Buffalo, New York, I have an incredibly distinct […]
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Protecting Atlanta’s Tree Canopy is the Root of Creating a Healthier City
Ayanna Williams, Healthy Cities Director, The Nature Conservancy Consider for a moment the vast number of trees in Atlanta. Nearly 48 percent of Atlanta’s urban areas are covered by the tree canopy, according to a 2014 study by the City of Atlanta Department of Planning and Community Development Arborist Division. These urban trees support the […]
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How Would You Make Atlanta a More Inviting Place? Tell Us—And We Just Might Help You Do It!
By George Dusenbury, Georgia State Director for Trust for Public Land, and Timothy J. Keane, Commissioner, Department of City Planning, City of Atlanta Have you taken in the view of Atlanta from the Jackson Street Bridge? It is undeniably one of the most incredible spots in Atlanta to take a photo. The sweeping skyline view […]
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The Underappreciated Economic Benefits of Georgia’s Outdoor Industry
By Georgia Conservancy Advocacy Director Leah Dixon and Coastal Director Charles McMillan “Local and state economies are stimulated by the presence of abundant and well-managed outdoor recreation areas.” – Becky Kelley, former Director, Georgia State Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites Division Living within a 10-minute walk of public greenspace brings tremendous benefits to individuals and […]
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Where Life Swirls…
Rachel Maher, Park Pride’s Communications Manager “A successful park is ‘where life swirls.’” ~Jane Jacobs Is there a better quote that so simply, yet vividly, describes a vibrant, lively, and well-loved park? A park “where life swirls” is a park that is welcoming to all members of the community. It is where you’ll find people […]
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Atlanta 2040: Preparing Now for the Changes Ahead
Envisioning a Healthy Atlanta By Deron Davis, Executive Director, The Nature Conservancy Super Bowl LIII is almost here, and Atlanta is abuzz. An estimated one million football fans, 150,000 out-of-town visitors, and an untold number of Georgians will descend on the downtown area, and our city’s fabled hospitality, attractions and civic pride will be on […]
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Blazing Trails in Columbus: The Trust for Public Land Presents the 2019 Georgia Trail Summit May 5-6
George Dusenbury, Executive Director for The Trust for Public Land in Georgia From the Appalachian Trail and the Silver Comet, to PATH 400 and the Atlanta BeltLine, the Aerotropolis and the Augusta Canal to the Chattahoochee Riverwalk in Columbus, Georgia is traversed by a multitude of trails that define communities, connect neighbors and get people […]
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The Georgia Coast: Conservation is Never Over
Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration Threatens our Atlantic Shore By: Brian Foster, Communications Director, The Georgia Conservancy Georgia’s coast, more than 110 miles in length, offers a stark contrast to that ideal beach resort lifestyle often touted by other states in the advertisements of glossy travel magazines. When describing Georgia’s coast to outsiders, it’s oftentimes easier […]
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Is Better Health Your New Year’s Resolution? Read This.
By Michael Halicki, Executive Director, Park Pride For many people, the new year brings with it the resolve to get fit, get healthy, and adopt a more active lifestyle. Sound familiar? Perhaps you’re planning to hit the gym, buy organic, or dust off your sneakers and pick up jogging. While all of these are great […]
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We’re Resolved to Help Tackle Floods, Fire and Hurricanes with Nature-Based Solutions
By Jared Teutsch, The Nature Conservancy’s Director of Conservation Today, the overarching challenge affecting both human and natural communities all over the world is climate change, which will have huge impacts on how we interact with the places we live, work and thrive. Climate change, caused by a near century of increased greenhouse gases, is […]
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Why Do Small Towns Matter?
By Katherine Moore, Georgia Conservancy Senior Director of Sustainable Growth When we think about “cities,” the largest ones usually come to mind first. For Georgia, that’s Atlanta, Columbus, Macon, Augusta, and Savannah, located in specific areas of the state based on history, natural resources, and county lines, among other factors. As planning practitioners, it’s easy […]
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#YesOnOne: Vote YES for the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Amendment
Michael Halicki, Executive Director of Park Pride Tuesday November 6th is Election Day, and the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Amendment (GOSA) is the first amendment on the ballot. I am writing to encourage you, one final time, to vote YES on Amendment 1. By voting yes, you will be saying yes to protecting Georgia’s waters […]
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On November 6, You Can Bring Georgia Together
Photo above: Vote Yes on 1 to protect Georgia’s lands and waters for future generations. Photo © Georgia Department of Economic Development By Deron Davis, Executive Director, The Nature Conservancy in Georgia In our increasingly complex world, too often divided by partisan politics, it is rare to find an issue that brings people together no […]
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A Celebration of Land, Water – And Early Visionaries and Advocates
By George Dusenbury, Executive Director, The Trust for Public Land in Georgia Not much happens in Atlanta without Marcia Bansley noticing. In the early 1970s, long before becoming the first executive director of Trees Atlanta, she saw bulldozers chewing through green hills on the south side of Interstate 285, making way for a new development. […]
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Who Is Your (Green) Hero?
Cox Conserves Heroes Award Celebrates Ten Years Tyrene Hodge, Senior Manager, CSR Environmental Sustainability with Cox Enterprises and George Dusenbury, Executive Director for The Trust for Public Land in Georgia Heroes don’t always wear capes. Sometimes they wear work gloves and carry shovels. Conservation heroes commit time and energy to advocating for parks and greenspaces […]
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Why Clarkston, Georgia Has Made Parks a Priority, and What Other Communities Can Learn from this Small City
By Ted Terry, Mayor of Clarkston, Georgia and George Dusenbury, The Trust for Public Land’s Executive Director in Georgia Tucked between Stone Mountain and Decatur lies the tiny community of Clarkston. Thirteen thousand people from more than 40 countries live inside this 1.4 square mile city, making it the country’s most ethnically diverse city and […]
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We’ve Come a Long Way — What’s Next?
George Dusenbury, Executive Director, The Trust for Public Land in Georgia Where will you spend the sunny, warm days of spring? I hope you will visit Atlanta’s iconic historic sites, relax in your neighborhood park or bike on the trails that traverse our city. Those amazing public spaces are the backdrop of our lives. Have […]
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Parks + the Resilient City Revisited
By Michael Halicki, Park Pride’s Executive Director Disruptive events – both man-made and natural – have become the norm. We need only look at the last year in Atlanta to know this is true: heat waves, snowstorms, floods, hurricanes, water main breaks, an interstate collapse, traffic gridlock, and most recently, a cyber-security meltdown. It is […]
