“we did what we needed to do…”
– Richard Marion, Briarlake Forest Park
The Friends of Briarlake Forest Park are helping the old-growth forest in their community to thrive. They successfully protected the land from damaging development and convinced the county to purchase it for public greenspace.
“Only one thing mattered,” said Richard Marion, President of the Briarlake Forest Community Alliance, “We had to make sure that the trees didn’t get cut down. [The forest is] an amenity for future generations. We did what we needed to do to preserve this area and protect our quality of life.”
The Friends group has since taken advantage of many of the benefits Park Pride’s Friends of the Park Program has to offer: organized volunteer days, fiscal partner services, educational workshops, and more. The group even received a grant to host sheep in the forest to eat away stubborn invasive plant species that are harmful to the trees. Raising funds for warm and fuzzy weed control has brought people together in a fun way that benefits the forest!
