Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

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 $100 million to restore and protect 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:

• The Reynolds Street gatehouse entrance to Frick Park
• The restoration of the Schenley Park Visitor Center
• The creation of a babbling brook to dechlorinate waste water from Highland Park's water filtration plant
• The ecological restoration of the Phipps Run natural area in Schenley Park
• The restoration of the Highland Park Entry Garden
• The conversion of Schenley Plaza from a parking lot into the grand entrance to Schenley Park
• The creation of a seasonal pools wetland habitat along Highland Park's Washington Boulevard
• The restoration of the Riverview Park Chapel Shelter and its surrounding landscape
• The restoration of the Mary E. Schenley Memorial Fountain in Schenley Plaza
• The restoration of the Mellon Park Walled Garden and installation of public art piece
• Completion of a federally-funded trail and signage project
• The revitalization of the entrance of McKinley Park in Beltzhoover
• The restoration of Downtown's Mellon Square

Other projects conducted by the Parks Conservancy include:

• Landscaping and restoring the Westinghouse Memorial in Schenley Park
• Ecological restoration of the Panther Hollow Watershed in Schenley Park
• Renovation of Cliffside Park in the Hill District
• Rebuilding the Frick Environmental Center in Frick Park

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.

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]

• 10-minute walk
• Park conservancy

• Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy website
• Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy blog
• Archive of 2008 International Urban Parks Conference materials
• Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy on Twitter
• Pittsburgh park photos on Flickr
• Gigapan images of Pittsburgh's parks
• Pittsburgh Dept. of Parks & Recreation website

• William Loeffler (2000). Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy profile: story by Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Retrieved May 14, 2007.