For Park Pride, equity is not a dirty word. Quite the opposite. With backing from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and several other major foundations, Park Pride has been doubling down on making grants in Atlanta’s historically disinvested communities. Park Pride, founded the same year as the Piedmont Park Conservancy, celebrated its 35th anniversary last […]
Tag: Michael Halicki
Posted inMaria's Metro
Shaky Knees at Piedmont Park: creating a city within the city
Moving the Shaky Knees Music Festival from Central Park in the spring to Piedmont Park in the fall went as smoothly as could be expected. Shaky Knees held its annual festival from Sept. 19 to 21 at Piedmont Park. Reading messages on Next Door and other social media apps, the level of outrage was minimal. […]
Posted inColumns
Seeing New York City through an Atlanta lens
Metro Atlanta leaders returned from a three-day trip to NYC full of ideas and observations of how our region can evolve into a vibrant metropolis.
Posted inColumns
Piedmont Park Conservancy’s Doug Widener: ‘It was meant to be’
Doug Widener, the new president and CEO of the Piedmont Park Conservancy, believes he was destined to move to Atlanta.
Posted inColumns
Montreal impresses metro Atlanta’s LINK delegation with focus on public amenities
Transit. Bicycles. Pedestrian streets. Public art displays. A festive spirit. Awareness of climate change. Those were just some of the themes metro Atlanta leaders expressed upon their return from Montreal during the 26th LINK trip that took place from Aug. 15 to Aug. 19.
Posted inHannah Jones
Park experts and local leaders say the time is now to invest and activate Atlanta’s parks
Atlanta wants to live up to its nickname — the city in the forest — and local park organizations, city officials and residents are ready to help. On Monday, March 28, Atlanta-based nonprofit Park Pride hosted its 21st annual parks and greenspace conference at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. This year’s theme was “The parks we […]
Posted inLatest News
‘Green Cabinet’ to advise Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens on parks and greenspace
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced Wednesday that he will have a Greenspace Advisory Council to help guide city policy when it comes to its parks and natural areas.
Posted inColumns
Seeking greater green equity – Woodruff Foundation and Park Pride
Thanks to a longstanding partnership between Park Pride and the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Atlanta is creating a more equitable park system that will better serve the city’s lower-income communities.
Posted inColumns
A ‘Green Cabinet’ for Atlanta: keeping our parks, greenspace healthy and safe
What a confluence. The issue of public safety in Atlanta’s parks rose to the surface this past 10 days with two horrific events.
Posted inLatest News
Atlanta’s ParkScore ranking drops to 49th from 40th
Atlanta did not fare too well in the Trust for Public Land’s 2021 ParkScore ranking. Of the 100 major U.S. cities, Atlanta ranked 49th compared to 40th last year.
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks
Everyone Deserves Access to a Quality Park!
A Short Recap from the 18th Annual Parks & Greenspace Conference By Michael Halicki, Executive Director, Park Pride Park Pride’s annual Parks and Greenspace Conference has become a rite of spring for all who care about parks, greenspace, and trails. Park enthusiasts gathered in great numbers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden to hear inspiring speakers […]
Posted inUncategorized
When the Kids Are Away, Let the Public Play
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 […]
Posted inPeople, Places & Parks, Thought Leader, Uncategorized
#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 […]
Posted inSubmitted Photos
Photo Pick: Old Man by the Fountain at Woodruff Park by Michael Halicki
Last Wednesday, October 10th, was National Walk to a Park day! Michael Halicki, Executive Director of Park Pride, shares this photo from Woodruff Park where staff from Park Pride and Trust for Public Land met up to mark the occasion.
Posted inHistoric Westside
It Takes a Village to Make a Park
By John Ahmann, Westside Future Fund’s president and CEO Under the leadership of Executive Director Michael Halicki, Park Pride has demonstrated the power of “we” in first leading to develop the Proctor Creek North Avenue Watershed Basin: A Green Infrastructure Vision and then helping to bring that vision to life with the recent ground breaking […]
Posted inSubmitted Photos
Photo Pick: Railway tunnel in nature by Michael Halicki
Michael Halicki shares this beautiful photo of a railway tunnel that “bridges history and nature,” in South Atlanta.
Posted inUncategorized
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 […]
Posted inUncategorized
The Importance of Vision
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18 By Michael Halicki, Park Pride’s Executive Director People often think of nonprofits as mission driven organizations. While mission is vital to defining what an organization does, it is the vision that defines what you aim to achieve. In these uncertain times, it is vision, not mission, […]
