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Recently, Park Pride’s Executive Director, Michael Halicki, joined Atlanta Regional Commission’s LINK (Leaders Involvement Networking Knowledge) trip to Pittsburgh with other metro-Atlanta leaders. The goal was to connect with and learn tactics for addressing regional issues from Pittsburgh leaders that could be adapted and applied in the Atlanta area. In this week’s Saporta Report, Michael outlines the lessons and ideas he hopes leaders will bring back and incorporate in Atlanta, especially as they relate to parks and greenspace.

SOURCE: Saporta Report

The 10-Minute Walk Campaign—a partnership between The Trust for Public Land, National Recreation and Park Association, and Urban Land Institute–today announced $400,000 in grants to advance the goal of ensuring that everyone has a quality park within a 10-minute walk of home. Park Pride received a $40,000 grant to support the Community Schoolyards Program, a pilot effort to use area schoolyards as community green spaces.

SOURCE: The Trust for Public Land

A proposed Atlanta Public Schools and City of Atlanta program would open up schoolyards for use as public parks after school, on weekends and summer breaks. It’s part of a growing national trend to use school playgrounds to fill a void in neighborhoods that don’t have public parks within walking distance. “We think of parks as being the hearts of communities, but the schools are similarly the center of communities,” said Michael Halicki, executive director of Park Pride. The Atlanta park advocacy organization, along with partners including The Trust for Public Land, are helping APS and the city open three schoolyards as public parks next year. Over three years, the program would expand to include about 10 schools throughout Atlanta.

SOURCE: AJC

Michael Halicki had the good fortune to be in the room at an Atlanta City Council committee meeting last week when Atlanta Parks Commissioner John Dargle recounted his observations since taking on his role 5+ months ago. This column is an attempt to share the Commissioner’s observations and layer on the vantage point of Park Pride.

SOURCE: Saporta Report