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For over 30 years, Park Pride has engaged communities to activate the power of parks. Parks have the power to increase quality of life. They promote community engagement, health, safety, and revitalization. They make citizens happy, communities strong, and cities sustainable. Park Pride's programs, leadership, and funding helps communities unlock these benefits in parks across Atlanta.
Bühne frei und Ohren auf für unsere neuen Podcaster: Timo und Mario! Außerdem: Zum 16. Mal feierte das Heide Park Resort gemeinsam mit dem CSD Nord den „Rosa Tag“ am 03. und 04. September 2022 das zweitägige Pride-Festival mit buntem Programm für die ganze Familie. Auf der Showmeile konnten wieder allerlei kunterbunte und kulinarische Köstlichkeiten entdeckt werden. Wir waren natürlich auch vor Ort und haben uns herrlich amüsiert. Auf der Showbühne traten Künstler wie der Paperman, Maksim, Antonella Rossi und Julian M. Stöckel auf. Dieser hat uns im Interview erzählt, wie er das Festival erlebt hat und warum Coming-Outs für ihn heute nicht mehr nötig sind.
The April issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today's bonus episode we're diving into one of this month's feature stories, “Celebrating Earth Day.” which explores how park and recreation professionals across the country are bringing Earth Day events to their communities during the month of April and on Earth Day, which takes place on April 22 – and, this year is the 52nd anniversary of Earth Day. Joining me on today's episode is the author of the article, NRPA Director of Community and Environmental Resilience Ayanna Williams. Prior to joining NRPA a little less than a year ago, Ayanna was the Healthy Cities Director at The Nature Conservancy in Georgia, and she also served as the Director of Community Building with Park Pride for more than a decade. Throughout Ayanna's career, she has cultivated a broad perspective and deep understanding of environmental resilience, building and maintaining relationships, and engaging in work that depends on diverse local partnerships and the support of national institutions. Tune in to the full episode below to learn more about Ayanna and what led her to a career in the community building and environmental conservation space. You'll also learn: How local park and recreation agencies are celebrating Earth Day in their communities as a day of action for the planet How agencies are using creative solutions to address challenges with hosting Earth Day celebrations What Ayanna would focus on if she were planning an Earth Day event in her community What we can all do beyond Earth Day to ensure environmental justice is a priority to those with decision-making power What gives Ayanna hope for the future of our communities and planet (and why there's no downside to hope) And much more! Related Links: Park.Change. Tool Exploring the Climate.Park.Change. Toolkit (Webinar on April 14, 2022) Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz NRPA Green Stormwater Infrastructure Certificate Program
Rene Iverson, president of Little Creek Farm Conservancy, joins the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast to discuss the journey of becoming a 501(c)(3) organization, upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. Iverson joins hosts Carol Morgan and Todd Schnick for the Around Atlanta segment. Married for 28 years with three college-aged kids, four cats and one dog, Iverson knows a thing or two about busy schedules and never-ending to-do lists. An Atlanta local long enough to be considered a native, she became aware of Little Creek Farm Conservancy in 2007 when her kids began taking riding lessons. Eventually, she took lessons as well and began volunteering. The rest is history! “I love all animals but being around horses is definitely a grounding experience,” said Iverson. Little Creek Farm Conservancy began informally around 2003 by horse owners at the then-private boarding facility. The group approached Dekalb County with the opportunity to purchase the farm giving the county a unique green space and a private boarding facility in the metro area. The county accepted the offer, transitioning the private facility to a county-owned 501(c)(3) organization. The conservancy is a volunteer-run facility that directs all donations and income to park improvement with the help of five board members and countless helpers. The organization's mission is threefold – fundraising, helping with capital improvements and providing programming for public interaction. Iverson shared that the current challenge is to create and fill Program Director and Executive Director positions and take these tasks off the current board's responsibilities. “Our volunteers are tireless, our horses are loved and we are grateful for the opportunity to do what we can,” said Iverson. The organization has a formal letter of understanding with the county for permission to fundraise and direct funds to the park, oversee a volunteer program and outreach to introduce kids, seniors and school groups to horses. The unique partnership allows the county and conservancy to work together to create initiatives and lesson programs along with stakeholders. Dekalb County owns the facility, land and provides the operational staff. Little Creek Farm Conservancy also has a great relationship with Park Pride, a nonprofit greenspace advocate group in Dekalb County. With benefits such as borrowing tools from the tool bank or organizing a volunteer workday with the help of the park group, the conservancy continues to learn and grow by achieving successes with grants courtesy of the Home Depot Foundation. The Small Change grant supplied the necessary funds to build a park pavilion, a capital improvement that provides accessible walkways for visitors to view the jump arena. Iverson said, “Park Pride is definitely a partner with us, and we have benefitted greatly.” Little Creek Farm Conservancy is currently executing a 2021 Community Building grant to update signage, security features and a build much-needed welcome center for its up-and-coming docent program for visitors and private tours. The conservancy is launching regular programming and moving out of pandemic operations. As an active barn, the green space is not a safe place to wander without the supervision of a guide, and the upcoming docent program will provide fun and collaborative tours for visitors to explore the space. Visiting hours will be posted on the organization's website. Soon, Little Creek Farm Conservancy will release the dates for the fall Hands on Horses event for guests to watch riding demonstrations while learning details about equine behavior, fun facts and more. Horse Fest is a highly anticipated fundraising and community outreach that features riding demonstrations, vendors and kid's activities, including pony rides and a petting zoo. The previous 2019 Horse Fest was the most successful festival yet, but due to pandemic effects in 2020, Little Creek Farm Conservancy hosted an online ...
Rene Iverson, president of Little Creek Farm Conservancy, joins the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast to discuss the journey of becoming a 501(c)(3) organization, upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. Iverson joins hosts Carol Morgan and Todd Schnick for the Around Atlanta segment. Married for 28 years with three college-aged kids, four cats and one dog, Iverson knows a thing or two about busy schedules and never-ending to-do lists. An Atlanta local long enough to be considered a native, she became aware of Little Creek Farm Conservancy in 2007 when her kids began taking riding lessons. Eventually, she took lessons as well and began volunteering. The rest is history! “I love all animals but being around horses is definitely a grounding experience,” said Iverson. Little Creek Farm Conservancy began informally around 2003 by horse owners at the then-private boarding facility. The group approached Dekalb County with the opportunity to purchase the farm giving the county a unique green space and a private boarding facility in the metro area. The county accepted the offer, transitioning the private facility to a county-owned 501(c)(3) organization. The conservancy is a volunteer-run facility that directs all donations and income to park improvement with the help of five board members and countless helpers. The organization's mission is threefold – fundraising, helping with capital improvements and providing programming for public interaction. Iverson shared that the current challenge is to create and fill Program Director and Executive Director positions and take these tasks off the current board's responsibilities. “Our volunteers are tireless, our horses are loved and we are grateful for the opportunity to do what we can,” said Iverson. The organization has a formal letter of understanding with the county for permission to fundraise and direct funds to the park, oversee a volunteer program and outreach to introduce kids, seniors and school groups to horses. The unique partnership allows the county and conservancy to work together to create initiatives and lesson programs along with stakeholders. Dekalb County owns the facility, land and provides the operational staff. Little Creek Farm Conservancy also has a great relationship with Park Pride, a nonprofit greenspace advocate group in Dekalb County. With benefits such as borrowing tools from the tool bank or organizing a volunteer workday with the help of the park group, the conservancy continues to learn and grow by achieving successes with grants courtesy of the Home Depot Foundation. The Small Change grant supplied the necessary funds to build a park pavilion, a capital improvement that provides accessible walkways for visitors to view the jump arena. Iverson said, “Park Pride is definitely a partner with us, and we have benefitted greatly.” Little Creek Farm Conservancy is currently executing a 2021 Community Building grant to update signage, security features and a build much-needed welcome center for its up-and-coming docent program for visitors and private tours. The conservancy is launching regular programming and moving out of pandemic operations. As an active barn, the green space is not a safe place to wander without the supervision of a guide, and the upcoming docent program will provide fun and collaborative tours for visitors to explore the space. Visiting hours will be posted on the organization's website. Soon, Little Creek Farm Conservancy will release the dates for the fall Hands on Horses event for guests to watch riding demonstrations while learning details about equine behavior, fun facts and more. Horse Fest is a highly anticipated fundraising and community outreach that features riding demonstrations, vendors and kid's activities, including pony rides and a petting zoo. The previous 2019 Horse Fest was the most successful festival yet, but due to pandemic effects in 2020, Little Creek Farm Conservancy hosted an online ...
Executive Director of Park Pride Michael Halicki is in the studio for today’s episode of Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio. Joined by co-hosts Carol Morgan and Todd Schnick, the group discusses various efforts by Park Pride to keep Atlanta beautiful through enhancing its hundreds of parks and greenspaces on this Around Atlanta segment of Radio. […] The post Park Pride Enhances Greenspace Throughout Atlanta appeared first on Atlanta Real Estate Forum.
Executive Director of Park Pride Michael Halicki is in the studio for today's episode of Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio. Joined by co-hosts Carol Morgan and Todd Schnick, the group discusses various efforts by Park Pride to keep Atlanta beautiful through enhancing its hundreds of parks and greenspaces on this Around Atlanta segment of Radio. Halicki worked with several environmental organizations before landing with Park Pride. His current job as executive director with the nonprofit keeps him busy, but in his free time, Halicki can be found with his wife and children or taking pictures in various parks around Atlanta to display on Instagram and Facebook. “Seeing the impact that the organization has in bringing the community together, getting to a point where people know their neighbors and get together to enrich the community, is something that really sets Park Pride apart,” said Halicki. “It is a part that I have really come to appreciate over time. Park Pride is an Atlanta-based nonprofit that encourages communities to activate the power of parks. Formed in 1989, Park Pride is the only nonprofit organization in Atlanta working to improve the parks and green spaces throughout the city. With a mission of contributing to the overall health and well-being of Atlanta, Park Pride has helped raise millions of dollars to support hundreds of parks over the past 30 years. Composed of 13 staff members, Park Pride works throughout Atlanta, as well as in Tucker and Brookhaven. Halicki and his team work with these local governments to find ways to connect the communities with their parks. The organization operates on a widespread level by creating "Friends of the Park" groups. These groups get involved in parks nearby and work on several service projects to raise the quality of the area. Park Pride receives grant funding to allocate to these groups for park improvements, including beautification efforts, trails, playgrounds and more. The grant funding is designed to be used by the individual groups to use at their discretion. This way, Friends of the Park are able to closely define what their park or greenspace needs the most. As members of the community, Friends of the Park spend the most time in these areas and can establish what the greatest need is at the time. “We believe that a great park is not something that is defined by a landscape architect or a park professional,” said Halicki. “Neighbors define what is a great park for them. Neighbors also change in terms of the demographics of the people that live around them. A park that might've met the community's needs at one point might change as different families move in.” Parks play an instrumental part in keeping communities connected, healthy and happy. From water parks and dog parks to playgrounds, walking trails and rolling fields, Atlanta parks play a number of important roles in the lives of its citizens. Recently, the importance of parks has grown even more as a result of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Studies show that attendance at parks is not only up as much as 60%, but that the same people are visiting multiple parks in the area. Over the past 30 years, Park Pride has established several different programs to keep the organization running and working efficiently. One program, the fiscal sponsorship program, was designed so people could raise restricted money for their specific parks through Park Pride. That money raised helps to unlock money from foundations to support larger parks as well, including Piedmont Park and the Atlanta Beltline. In addition, Park Pride helps these smaller Friends of the Park groups write grants to earn even more money for their parks. The grant money can be used towards whatever specific needs each park group has. “Part of Park Pride's magic is that we believe your good idea throughout the community is the big idea,” said Halicki. “We're not there to tell communities what they need,
Co-hosts Carol Morgan and Todd Schnick welcome George Dusenbury, the State Director of Georgia and Alabama for The Trust for Public Land, on today's episode of Around Atlanta Radio. Dusenbury discusses past and upcoming projects of The Trust for Public Land. Before working for The Trust for Public Land, Dusenbury graduated from Emery Law School, worked for Congressman John Lewis for 10 years and served as the Executive Director of local nonprofit Park Pride for six years. He was recently elected to the Decatur City Commission and lives in Decatur with his beloved wife and two children. The Trust for Public Land is a national organization founded 50 years ago in San Francisco. The mission of the organization is to preserve land and build parks for the public to enjoy. The organization has 30 offices around the country, has put nearly 5,000 parks into public ownership, preserved 3.7 million acres of land, created 500 parks and helped put over 9 million people within walking distance of a park. The Trust for Public Land has many exciting campaigns and projects in the works. 10-minute walk campaign The goal of this campaign is to get mayors and communities to endorse the idea that every person should live within a 10-minute walk from a park. “Fundamentally we believe that everybody should live within a 10-minute walk of a park,” Dusenbury said. “If you look at how parks improve public health, it's never been more true than now with COVID-19, it relaxes you, it lowers your blood pressure, it increases your mental capacity and people close to parks are also more apt to exercise. Parks also strengthen communities.” The Trust for Public Land has maps on its website where people can find the parks that are closest to them and it is actively working toward building more parks with its 10-minute walk campaign. School Yard Program The Trust for Public Land is working with Atlanta schools, Park Pride and Urban Land Institute to engage school kids and communities to envision what their schoolyards can be. The organization will open two schoolyards this year and hope they will serve as community gathering spaces. Cook Park Located on Atlanta's west side, this 16-acre piece of land used to have 160 families living near it. In 2002, a flood displaced the families and the land sat vacant. The Trust for Public Land started a project in 2015 to open Cook Park on the land, which will eliminate the threat of flooding and serve as a recreational place for the community. “It's been a challenging project with flooding and there were some contaminated soil issues, so the city largely took the lead in cleaning that up,” Dusenbury said. “But it's going to be a great amenity for the community and for the city.” Climate-Smart Cities Program This program collects data on demographics, topography and land use to figure out where communities should be making investments in parks to adapt to climate change and flooding. The program helped locate Cook Park to make sure the park has the most impact in the shortest time frame. Chattahoochee River Project The Trust for Public Land just launched an effort to create a camp and paddle trail in the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area. Visitors will be able to spend four days and four nights paddling and camping their way through metro Atlanta. Ways to show support Those seeking to support the endeavors of The Trust for Public Land can support the Great American Outdoors Act, which will fund land and water conservation for national parks, forests and state parks as well as provide $9.5 billion to reduce longstanding maintenance backlogs in public lands. People can contact their member of Congress and urge them to support it. At the state level, one can visit the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' website to learn more about and support its updated outdoor recreation plan. Lastly, at the local level, The Trust for Public Land encourages people to ...
Director of Park Visioning at Park Pride Andrew White is in studio for today’s episode of Atlanta Real Estate Radio. Co-hosts Carol Morgan and Todd Schnick welcome White on this segment of Around Atlanta Radio to discuss the Park Pride initiative, past and ongoing projects and ways to help the community. White is a registered […] The post For the Greener Good – Park Pride Joins Radio appeared first on Atlanta Real Estate Forum.
Director of Park Visioning at Park Pride Andrew White is in studio for today's episode of Atlanta Real Estate Radio. Co-hosts Carol Morgan and Todd Schnick welcome White on this segment of Around Atlanta Radio to discuss the Park Pride initiative, past and ongoing projects and ways to help the community. White is a registered landscape architect who moved to Georgia 10 years ago. White originally moved to Georgia to attend graduate school for landscape architecture at the University of Georgia. After earning his degree, he moved to Atlanta and has been in the city ever since. Park Pride is a nonprofit organization celebrating 30 years of operation. The organization works with several communities to help and elevate spaces around Atlanta. The Georgia capital has over 350 parks within its limit, meaning Atlanta residents can visit a new park every day for almost an entire year. The abundance of parks in the city not only helps to provide a beautiful and welcoming space for everyone to enjoy, but they also aid in several health benefits for those who visit as well. “Parks are good for people,” said White. “It's good for their health, parks help lower blood pressure and they are good for stress. Thay are also good for the community. Parks are a place where people can come together, meet neighbors and strengthen those social bonds. Parks are also great for the environment. They are good for the water, they help lower the temperature and keep the air clean. There are a number of benefits that come from parks.” Park Pride has several programs to help aid in its goals of keeping Atlanta beautiful. One program, the Park Visioning Program, acts similar to a grant program. Instead of granting money, it grants professional design programs free of charge. This helps community groups stay on the same page and articulate a shared vision for their specific neighborhood park. Park Pride also has a Volunteer Program, Grant Program and various other support programs. Park Pride recently wrapped up a project in Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park. This three-and-a-half acre-park is a multipurpose area that experiences a lot of localized flooding in the surrounding spaces. Years ago, the streams adjacent to the park were used as a deposit for waste, making them de facto sewers over time. Eventually, the streams were covered and built on top of, leaving nowhere for runoff and excess rain to go. Katheryn Johnston Memorial Park helps to capture stormwater and takes it offline, helping low-lying areas from being overwhelmed by runoff. Park Pride is currently helping support Mattie Freeland Park. This small green space only occupies less than an acre of space and was recently transformed by the community. Members of the neighborhood saw a rundown lot filled with old cars and junk and transformed it into a beautiful park for everyone to enjoy. The community has been working to develop this city greenspace for almost 13 years, and recently joined forces with Park Pride to turn it into a real City of Atlanta park. In addition to smaller local park projects, Park Pride is also working on a much larger scale initiative. In conjunction with the City of Atlanta, the nonprofit organization is working to double the Atlanta greenspace overtime. “This is the citywide comprehensive plan,” said White. “The purpose of that plan is to really set the priorities for the parks department for the city of Atlanta and to help them strategically think about everything from new acquisitions to operations and maintenance to staffing. Park Pride is working with them on the community engagement piece of that.” Because Park Pride has been working in Atlanta for 30 years, they have an extensive network of supporters. The organization has several park boosters and supporters that work in their own neighborhoods. Park Pride can leverage this support to help communities' voices be heard. To learn more about Park Pride or to find out how you can help,
Full show notes and transcript available at: www.creativeouthouse.com/podcastTranscript:Rudy Fernandez: Hey, this is Rudy Fernandez, and my guest this episode is Michael Halicki, the Executive Director of Park Pride. It's a small nonprofit that's gaining national attention for its outreach efforts. Of course, we've talked about the importance of parks, but we also talked about how marketing professionals are playing a bigger role in nonprofits, not just as communicators, but as leaders and directors. We talked about how to bring diverse groups together for one mission, and what for-profits can learn from nonprofits. Check it out. Welcome to Marketing Upheaval.Earcon: You're listening to Marketing Upheaval, from Creative Outhouse.Rudy: Hey, thanks for listening to Marketing Upheaval. My guest is Michael Halicki, the executive director of Park Pride, a park advocacy nonprofit organization based in Atlanta. It's gaining national attention. Michael's had a long career as a leader in nonprofit organizations. Then we're going to talk about that and Park Pride. Thanks for coming on the podcast.Michael Halicki: Glad to be here.Rudy: Michael, I follow you a lot on social media, and you visit a lot of parks and you tell people a lot about parks and I've learned a lot. What can you say about parks, especially local parks that are important, that we don't know?Michael: I think probably the most important thing is that parks are good for you. There's a lot of research that talks about how parks are good for your health. There's a lot of growing body of research that talks about a daily dose of nature and the idea that people need to get out into nature on a regular basis, and that when you don't get that access to nature, it has negative impacts on your physical wellbeing, social wellbeing, and psychological wellbeing. Parks are a place to do that.Rudy: Yeah. Do you advocate for all parks, big parks, local parks?Michael: We do advocate for all parks, but we really think that local parks, where you live, are something that everyone needs. So we keep track of things like the people that, in our service area, live within a 10 minute walk of a park, and we certainly like those signature parks, the destination parks that people will go to. But we think you shouldn't have to get in a car to drive somewhere to go have a great experience in a park.Read the show notes and full transcript at: https://creativeouthouse.com/2019/09/04/michael-halicki-on-communications-professionals-leading-nonprofits-and-marketing-parks/Support the show (http://www.creativeouthouse.com/our-work)
Host Ben Eason speaks with Michael Halicki, executive director of Park Pride.
Host Ben Eason speaks with Tina Arnold from Park Pride and South Bend.
Clayton Wyatt talks about being a songwriter and plans to tour Europe while Michael Halicki of Park Pride talks about their 30-year journey to help communities build better greenspaces.
Join Ron Comacho, host of The Business Hour when he talks with Michael Halicki, Executive Director of Atlanta-based Park Pride, one the nation’s leading groups for parks and greenspace, advocacy, planning and creation. Learn more about how Park Pride has made Atlanta a better place to live, work, play and learn why more cities should do the same.
Park Pride is helping beautify our parks in and around Atlanta. Hear from their Executive Director and Jane Hayes from the Atlanta Regional Commission.
Green space is a key component to any City's quality of life. Join us as we meet the leadership of Park Pride. Atlanta's non-profit to protect, maintain and grow park space.