Spring has sprung and there’s no better time to celebrate Grant Park, Atlanta’s oldest city park. Located in the heart of the bustling Grant Park community, the historic park will turn 135 years old this May and to commemorate the occasion, the Grant Park Conservancy has launched a campaign to raise $135,000 in 2018 to continue its mission of protecting, enhancing and preserving the park while planning for its future needs and uses – including caring for its ecological health, upgrading its recreational facilities, and improving the park experience for all visitors.
“Fundraising is critical to implementing improvements to Grant Park. The Grant Park Conservancy operates entirely on donations made through grants, corporate gifts and sponsorships, individual donations and community fundraisers,” says Michelle Blackmon, Executive Director of the Grant Park Conservancy. “As we celebrate and strategically plan for the future, we invite Atlantans to become a member of Team 135, our 135th anniversary campaign, and join us in our efforts to continue to restore and revitalize the park – keeping with the open spirit and purposeful design that characterized its creation more than a century ago.”
A sampling of the 135th anniversary campaign initiatives include: plant 135 trees; host over 20 Project G.R.A.N.T. workday sessions to eradicate invasive plants; perform structural tree pruning on trees throughout 25 acres of the park; install 12 more trash receptacles; spruce up the pool bathhouse with a new coat of pain; install a new picnic spot to prevent erosion and protect turf and trees and much more. Additionally, Grant Park Conservancy is one of two organizations in the City of Atlanta that have been awarded the opportunity to be a part of Park Pride’s esteemed Park Visioning Program centered around community-supported design. Led by professional landscape architects on Park Pride’s staff, the Park Visioning Program will guide the Conservancy and Grant Park leaders and residents through a process that will turn the community’s vision for approximately eight acres of the southeast corner of the park into a conceptual master plan.
“We are excited to begin community engagement process to envision what the southeast corner of the park slated for the Grant Park Gateway will become,” says Blackmon. “We’re thrilled that Park Pride’s Park Visioning involves education and dialogue with the entire community, making it possible for us to present a unified voice in the planning process while creating a park design that meets our unique needs. As we celebrate Grant Park’s 135th birthday, we’re grateful for Park Pride’s leadership in helping us to begin planning for the next 135 years of the park’s future.”
Leading up to the park’s official 135th anniversary in May, additional details about upcoming events, opportunities, news, and more will be released in the coming months. For more information about the Grant Park Conservancy or to become a member of Team 135, visit www.gpconservancy.org. Parties that donate at or above the $135 level between now and May 17, 2018 will receive a limited edition anniversary gift, a membership, and other benefits throughout the year.
