Green Space Make-Overs
“There are so many parks in Charleston, the partnership between the
Conservancy and the city and other
organizations is a brilliant example
of how nonprofits can benefit from
cooperation, “ said Sally Ann “Sam”
MacLaighlin Oliver, a CPC Park Angel.
“The variety of projects they sustain—
from maintaining existing parks, starting new parks, the vegetable gardening
programs, expanding parks, fundraising events—all of it is well done and
admirable. All the angels are gifted!”
Magnolia Park and Community Garden
opened in late April 2014. It has 40 raised
beds available for lease as well as community beds where volunteers can learn more
about gardening and help grow crops that
will be donated to local food banks.
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EMBRACING INNOVATION
While much of the Conservancy’s
work involved reinvigoration, renovation and renewal, its work also
includes innovation. The CPC looks to
engage the community through Urban
Gardening education classes, providing community members to learn new
planting techniques to bring plants,
flowers, fruits and vegetables closer to
Charlestonians—tweaking the concept
of “farm-to-table” to “garden-to-table.”
The Conservancy has also found that
engaging technology—wi-fi—in parks
is another way to bring the community
outside, into the parks and create more
interaction with Charleston’s civic
spaces. “We have been amazed to find
that by installing wi-fi in our parks we
have increased use of our parks,” said
Lesesne. “By giving people a digital
connection we have seen an increase
in these spaces.”
Concerts have blossomed in various
parks across the city. The Conservancy has partnered with the Spoleto
concert series which included a very
special event last year that featured
the screening of the documentary
“Olmstead and America’s Urban
Park”—the story of world renowned
landscape architect Frederick Law
Olmstead. Part of Piccolo Spoleto, the