Baltimore?s parks are squeezed for green, and with funding from the city running tight, community groups and nonprofit organizations are stepping in to make up the difference.
Jenn Aiosa, 35, moved to the East of Patterson Park area about seven years ago in part to be close to the 140-acre park.
“Since the park has been more vibrant, neighborhoods all around the park have been much more viable. You see a lot of renovation going on, businesses are opening up. You?re actually seeing a lot of investment in the area,” said Aiosa, who is a director of the Friends of Patterson Park board.
Baltimore?s Department of Recreation and Parks has 0.57 employees per 1,000 residents, less than the national average of 0.76, according to the Trust for Public Land. That means the crew responsible for Patterson Park and other nearby spaces must tend to about 1,000 acres, according to Tim Almaguer, executive director of the Friends of Patterson Park.
“[They] have 14 people to maintain that,” said Almaguer. “Monday morning, your job is to maintain 70 acres per employee. The question is, where do they get the help? At this point, it?s community groups.”
The largest of the nonprofit groups is Parks for People, an organization created in 1984 byformer Mayor William Donald Schaefer. In 2002, the group and city created the Office of Partnership within the Department of Recreation and Parks to work with community groups on park issues.
The ideal partnership is when the city takes care of basic maintenance, and the nonprofits target specific improvements and needs of a park, said Almaguer.
Groups like Almaguer?s are well-established on the parks landscape, but others are just getting started. The parks committee of Herring Run Watershed Association hopes to one day break off and become the Friends of Herring Run Parks, said committee chairperson Sarah Bur. The effort may get a boost this Wednesday with discussion of a master plan for watershed areas. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Morgan State University?s Student Center.
Although community groups can plug those gaps, they can also individualize the parks, said Ben Welle, program coordinator for the Trust for Public Land?s Center for City Park Excellence.
“Parks really aren?t boons to the community ? it?s communities that are boons to the park,” Welle said. “That?s kind of the story of Patterson [Park] and how the community got involved. Now since the community gave so much to the park, the park is giving back to the community.”
By the numbers
» City of Baltimore Department of Recreation and Parks employees: 0.57 employees per 1,000 residents, ranking 42nd among top U.S. cities; national average is 0.76
» Grants awarded through city?s Partnership for Parks Program: 99 grants totaling $297,860 since 2005 to 69 community-based organizations.
Source: Trust for Public Land, People for Parks
