To meet Joel Slaton, the creative mind behind Constitution Lakes Park's one-of-a-kind Doll's Head Trail, go to myajc.com/personaljourneys.
As so often happens when a great idea is hatched, beer was involved.
When Park Pride staged its annual "Pints for Parks" fundraiser in June, the goal was to bring in $15,000 for its volunteer program that encourages hands-on love of green spaces all over Atlanta and DeKalb. But the response was so unexpectedly overwhelming — more than 300 attendees opened their proverbial pocketbooks to the tune of $25,000 that night at Orpheus Brewery, nestled beside Piedmont Park — it, uh, planted a seed for a follow-up event.
“We saw that people are interested in the program and want to be engaged,” said Park Pride communications manager Rachel Maher, pointing out that this year’s “Pints” was specifically focused on the nonprofit organization’s volunteer efforts. “We said, ‘Let’s give these individuals a time and place to get out in parks and get their hands dirty.’”
Make that three times and places. Beginning Aug. 8 in Buckhead’s newest and arguably welcomest stretch of green space (Mountain Way Common features a bucolic loop trail that passes right underneath traffic-choked Ga. 400), Park Pride is staging successive “workdays” in a trio of less well-known but unique parks. Any and all volunteers are welcome to take part; but — any delicate flower types out there, take note — the workdays will take place rain or shine and the planned projects are ambitious:
- Mountain Way Common. 9 a.m.-noon Aug. 8. Volunteers and members of the Friends of Mountain Way Common will build a rock staircase, clear invasive plants and perform maintenance on the park's existing trails. Along Little Nancy Creek on Mountain Way between Wieuca and North Ivy roads.
- Constitution Lakes Park. 9 a.m.-noon Aug. 22. Volunteers, Generation Green of the Georgia Conservancy and the Friends of Constitution Lakes will construct a new trail connecting the DeKalb County park's existing trail systems. 1305 S. River Industrial Blvd. S.E., Atlanta.
- Zonolite Park. 9 a.m.-noon Aug. 29. Volunteers and the South Fork Conservancy will help thin the cattails in the park's pond to enhance accessibility for birds and other wildlife. (Note: Park Pride says this project will be "damp, muddy and uplifting.") 1160 Zonolite Place N.E., Atlanta.
Some projects may have to be modified depending on the number of volunteers who turn out (pre-registration is strongly recommended). But that’s rarely been an issue since Park Pride’s founding in 1989 as an organization that engages communities around green space through volunteerism, community-led park redesigns and grant receipts, public education and advocacy. The nonprofit annually coordinates 17,000 hours of volunteer service in Atlanta and DeKalb parks, surpassing the 500,000-hour mark overall last year.
Park Pride more typically plays large-scale matchmaker, creating volunteer days where its corporate partners or other groups can tackle a project at a park or green space. The upcoming trio of August events offer individuals a chance to do the same thing in a newer park near where they live. Or, say, in the case of Constitution Lakes Park and its weirdly wonderful Doll’s Head Trail, one they’ve maybe been hearing about and meaning to visit for a while.
It’s all about planting seeds …
“These projects are an exciting way for us to engage directly with individuals and introduce them to Park Pride’s volunteer program and three amazing but little-known green spaces,” said John Ahern, volunteer manager. “These parks are worthy.”
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