Restoring a neglected park in Baltimore

Baltimore's Parks & People Foundation has rescued a ruin to establish its headquarters in the Druid Hill Park at Auchentoroly Terrace. One of the most interesting things about this LEED Platinum renovation is that to simply access the overgrown site the designers at Ziger/Snead Architects (Steve Ziger, principal) hired a team of goats to cut through the vegetation.

I looked into this while writing the story and found that this is done in many places (see Eco-Goats). As with bioremediation, rain gardens and bioswales and other ways we use nature to solve modern problems, sometimes the green tools of today might be something our great, great grandparents used.

Do you have an innovative product or approach that can make the world a better, greener place? Contact Russ Klettke to discuss how communications can get the message out.

Photo: Baltimore's Parks & People Foundation converted a neglected nine-acre parcel of city land that had been abandoned due to 1960s road building that made this section of an historic park inaccessible. This new-build structure (which complements a restored 19th century stone home, now the organization's administraiton building) hosts green-oriented community activities, including community composting and demonstration gardens. The entire site is within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, where efforts are underway to reduce toxic runoff, hence stormwater retention is a large part of the program.