Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
Founded 1996 (20 years ago)
Founder Meg Cheever
Location
Origins Schenley Park Conservancy
Volunteers
1,570
Website www.pittsburghparks.org

Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for the people of Pittsburgh by restoring the park system to excellence in partnership with the city. Work is conducted primarily in the regional parks of Pittsburgh: Frick Park, Schenley Park, Highland Park, Riverview Park, Mellon Square, Mellon Park, and Schenley Plaza although the Parks Conservancy works in other city parks as resources permit.

History

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy was founded in 1996 by Meg Cheever, former publisher of Pittsburgh Magazine, who modeled it on other private/public partnerships in Louisville, Kentucky, New York City, and Buffalo, New York. To date, the Parks Conservancy has raised over $84 million to restore the parks.

The Conservancy raises funds to help the city maintain, repair, and improve the parks with environmental sensitivity, respect for the parks' historic landscape design, and attention to the recreational needs of modern users. After holding public meetings, the Conservancy and city published the Regional Parks Master Plan in 2000 as a 20-year blueprint for parks restoration. Work outlined includes capital projects and ecological restoration.

To date, the Conservancy has completed the following capital projects:

Other projects conducted by the Parks Conservancy include:

Recent projects

The Conservancy is also involved in ecological maintenance of the parks, which includes control of invasive plants, seeding of native trees and shrubs, and the creation of sustainable trails. The Conservancy works with other environmental organizations as well as with volunteers, recording over 4,000 hours of volunteer labor annually. The Conservancy is heavily involved in the Urban EcoStewards program, where citizens receive training in ecological restoration techniques in order to care for a particular plot of parkland and monitor its progress over time.

In 2008, the Conservancy served as the local host for the 2008 International Urban Parks Conference, "Body and Soul: Parks and the Health of Great Cities." More than 600 park advocates from 10 countries and 31 states convened in Pittsburgh to explore the greening of the city and the crucial role parks play in the health of cities' people and economies.

Urban Eco-Stewards

Through the Urban Eco-Stewards program, volunteers sign up to maintain a specific section of a park. The stewards perform activities such as trail maintenance, invasive species removal, trash removal, and tree plantings. All Eco-Stewards are trained by the conservancy to carry out their duties in a proper way.[1]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.pittsburghparks.org/ues
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