Green Upgrades at Blackwell Park
Studies show that access to healthy outdoor recreational spaces has dramatic impacts on the quality of life and overall health of communities. Green spaces also improve water quality, create wildlife habitat, and reduce heat and greenhouse gas emissions.
Charlie Sydnor/Black Playground (Blackwell Park) on Richmond’s Southside is a local park often used as a gathering space by the community and is long overdue for improvements.
Volunteers posing with all the trash they cleaned out of Blackwell Park during a Richmond Tree Week workday.
Collaborating with Our Partners
Southside ReLeaf is partnering with Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities (PRCF), Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU), the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and Timmons Group, to “re-green” Blackwell Park and provide recreation amenities the community deserves. The partners plan to create enhanced green space with safe parking, new walking trails, a nature playground, and more, all while keeping water quality, climate resiliency, and pollinators in mind.
We’re also partnering with the Richmond Office of Sustainability to build a community garden at the park and add additional infrastructure including fencing and a new water source to make watering the community garden possible.
Our goal is to convert Blackwell Park into a thoughtfully planned, beautiful community asset that improves water quality and brings quality of life benefits to the neighborhood.
Engaging the Community in Park Design
Southside ReLeaf’s primary role in this project has been to engage the local community in the process of designing upgrades to Blackwell Park, ensuring that the new amenities meet the community’s needs. Our team hosted initial meetings in 2022 with community members to discuss their desires for Blackwell Park before any formal plans were being drafted.
Blackwell community members gather to provide input on proposed upgrades for Blackwell Park.
Based on community input, the partners collaborated to develop a draft for proposed park improvements. We hosted another meeting in 2023 to allow community members to review the proposed plant and vote on their top three desired amenities for the park upgrades. We’ve since secured additional funding to bring more desired amenities to Blackwell Park.
When the plans for the park’s upgrades were completed, we hosted a brunch with the community to provide information and updated maps on the improvements coming to the park space. We also distributed door-hangers in English and Spanish that provided residents with information about the project and upcoming construction.
Co-founder Amy Wentz exchanging information with Blackwell community members at an engagement session to discuss the park’s proposed upgrades.
When construction is complete, Southside ReLeaf will work with the community to host a launch party to celebrate the grand re-opening of Blackwell Park.
Coming Soon: New Park Amenities
The green infrastructure upgrades at Blackwell Park will reduce pollution and improve water quality in the nearby James River by capturing and filtering stormwater runoff. They will also will provide other benefits to the Blackwell community, such as improved air quality, reduced heat, neighborhood beautification, and enhanced recreational facilities.
Thoughtful Landscape Design
This project will integrate green infrastructure with improved recreational facilities. Upgrades will help improve Blackwell’s climate resiliency by reducing heat and flooding while increasing wildlife habitat and beautifying the community.
This will be the first project of its kind in the Richmond area and serve as a showcase for how green infrastructure can improve athletic amenities like ball fields, sports courts, and trails.
