Meet Colleen, our summer AmeriCorps volunteer!

Say hello to Colleen Mader, our awesome summer volunteer!

She’s currently working with us through an AmeriCorps program, as an Up2Us Sports VISTA (or “Volunteer in Service to America”). We’re grateful to have her onboard for the rest of August!

From Colleen: “This summer I’ve been working on a variety of projects, and you may have seen me leading our Sunday morning park clean ups! I’m originally from Baltimore, but I go to school abroad at NYU Abu Dhabi, where I study public policy. My main interests are public health, social justice, environmental justice, and international relations. When I’m not working or studying, you can find me cooking up my favorite meals I learned from living in Morocco, practicing a new language, or going on long walks listening to podcasts!

This summer has been an enriching experience, and I love working with Friends of Patterson Park for so many reasons. To name a few, it’s really interesting for me to be involved with a public park within an urban area, as it’s a great example of how to improve community health and relations. I also love when I talk to the volunteers at our clean up events (come out and talk to me! From 6+ feet away!) and learn more about their experiences, and why they love Patterson Park. Seeing the variety of activities people partake in at the park always brings me so much joy, whether it’s walks with family, yoga classes, mindfulness sessions, or anything else!

This summer has already taught me so much, and I’m excited to share some of what I’ve learned with you all!” 

Black Lives Matter

The Friends of Patterson Park stands with those who are fighting in support of Black lives and racial justice.

As an organization, we believe that parks are central to individual and community health and well-being. We acknowledge that as a well-used public space, Patterson Park has seen its share of historic segregation and racism over its long history. We remain committed to promoting use of the park by all Baltimore City residents and visitors; sustaining partnerships with Black- and Latinx-led organizations; and advocating for equitable park funding Citywide.

But there is more we can do.

Looking forward, we will work to increase diversity and add more Black perspectives to our leadership – both staff and Board of Directors. We will listen, and we will continue to speak out against racist speech and actions. Members of our staff and Board of Directors who are white will educate ourselves on the perpetuation of white supremacy in public spaces. We commit to expanding our outreach to our local communities done in recent years that have enabled us to better understand and serve everyone’s needs. These efforts have resulted in the realization of new programming and youth employment opportunities. We will continue to learn and to integrate our learning into programming and advocacy to reflect Baltimore’s diversity in our public spaces.

We look forward to partnering with those who share our values and working toward a future where all of our parks are a welcoming haven for everyone, including Black, Latinx, indigenous, and other historically marginalized populations.

We will be sharing with you our efforts to date and future steps in the coming weeks. If you have ideas on park-related initiatives or have questions or comments, please contact us.

Virtual Groundbreaking Ceremony

Today, Saturday, May 9, 2020, we "officially" broke ground on the restoration of the historic 1868 Park Superintendent's house, our headquarters in Patterson Park! This project is Phase 1 of a two part plan to renovate the white house into a Visitors Center and our offices (Phase 1) and to construct a community programming space and courtyard behind the original structure (Phase 2).

Thank you so much to all of our members, project donors, funders and partners who have made this long-awaited day possible! We look forward to sharing our progress!

For more information on the project and how to lend your support to Phase 2, visit our campaign webpage, https://pattersonpark.com/capitalcampaign.

Enjoy this special video of our “virtual” groundbreaking (and be sure to stay to the end for a special treat)! 

Zoom from Patterson Park!

Click here for free Zoom backgrounds featuring beloved places in Patterson Park!

COVID-19 Park Use Updates

The Friends of Patterson Park is encouraging responsible use of the park using the guidelines and direction of Baltimore City Recreation and Parks and the State of Maryland. Click on this link or the button below for the most recent updates for Patterson Park, both to the current rules and for updates to our schedule. 

What we're up to behind the scenes...advocating for Patterson Park!

The Friends of Patterson Park is one of the largest park Friends group in Baltimore City. With our 20 year history we’re not the oldest, but over the years we’ve been able to build on our strong community support to affect change and to share our work and perspectives in support of all Baltimore City parks.

Here’s what we’re working on inside Patterson Park and around Baltimore City!

INSIDE THE PARK:

• The Flag in the northwest corner of the park. Being in the park and connected to our members lets us respond and support specific park needs. This spring we’ve worked with a Patterson Park neighbor, Jeff Riner, who is advocating for taking care of the flags in the park. He has been willing to research and commit to supporting specific needs. This work will allow us to have extra flags to switch out when the one flying gets weathered, and to ensure that the flags are raised and lowered in a timely way. Our flags are an important link to the park’s history, and to our city and nation’s history and we appreciate the support to make them look their best.

• The Boat Lake. We’ve also been working with Baltimore City Recreation and Parks to follow guidelines in our most recent master plan that call for increased attention and support for the park’s historic boat lake. The master planning process made clear that the lake was more than 5 years overdue for significant dredging. We have continued to call on the city to make this a priority and they have responded. The lake is now scheduled to receive this maintenance work in the coming year. We are participating in planning for this project with representatives from the city concerned with both the lake’s infrastructure and the safe removal of the lake’s invasive species. We will play a key role in communicating plans for the project to the public both on site and through our social media channels.

• The Pagoda. Our next effort will be ensuring the Pagoda is receiving the appropriate level of maintenance over the next few years by working with Baltimore City Recreation and Parks leadership.

• Trash cans. Last year, we received an anonymous donation from a park friend to put towards more than 20 new permanently-installed trashcans in the park! We have the trash cans, and are working with various city departments on installation.

• The Fountain. We were able to secure a new contractor to look at persistent issues have discovered extensive corrosion of the main pipe (along with other issues). Working with Baltimore City and private funders, we hope to move ahead with repairs this spring/summer!

AROUND THE CITY:

• Our Executive Director, Jennifer Robinson, has played a key role in several planning processes, ensuring that the voice of Friends groups is well-represented. Most recently she was on the Steering Committee for Baltimore City Recreation and Park’s REC 2025 strategic planning process. This resulted in a comprehensive plan for the agency that gives direction for their work for the next 5 years. Their report can be reviewed at https://myrec2025.com/plan

• The Friends is also part of several city-wide gatherings of park friends groups. These provide opportunities to share successes and common concerns. Most recently we participated in the planning for a Park Xchange workshop facilitated by the City Parks Alliance, a national park advocacy organization. The goal of this session was to determine how to better support partnerships between Baltimore City Recreation and Parks and park stakeholders. More than 125 people representing local government, foundations, community associations, and park leadership attended.

• We see our efforts in Patterson Park intimately tied to the success and support of our neighboring parks. We are excited to continue our partnership with Banner Neighborhoods to plan and implement programs that highlight the assets (and opportunities!) in other parks in Southeast Baltimore. We’re also working with other organizations, including the Parks and People Foundation, who do important city-wide work.