Ernest Road Park
Southside ReLeaf is working with the City of Richmond and Groundwork RVA to develop four of five new parks in South Richmond. In Spring 2024, we began developing the first new park located behind Ernest Road and part of Grindall Creek – a 1.5-acre parcel accessible through a grassy opening between 2913 and 4701 Ernest Road. In a few short months, the project team completed Phase 1 of the project in Fall 2024, successfully onboarding the park in accordance with federal funding criteria.
The park is not yet officially open to the public for general use, as the project team collaborates with the community to implement their design for the space, which includes a walking trail and amenities. However, we’re happy to provide a guided tour during one of our upcoming workdays or schedule a visit via email with our Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, Lisa Aikins-Afful.
Photo of the new park at Ernest Road on June 27, 2024, before invasive plant removal and habitat restoration work began.
Photo of the new park on November 21, 2024, after months of invasive species removal and habitat restoration efforts from volunteers and our partners.
To create a natural resource asset for the community, we’re making a long-term investment that will:
Improve the quality of life and health benefits for neighbors.
Reduce invasive plant populations and prevent future invasion through effective management.
Restore the ecological integrity of the space by planting thousands of native forest plants (e.g. trees, shrubs, grasses, ferns, sedges, and wildflowers)
Empower long-term stewardship of the urban park through community engagement, workforce development, and education.
Project Goals
Engaging the Community in Park Design
Lisa leads our team’s efforts to build authentic relationships with community members and invite them into the design process for the new park at every opportunity. Through bilingual outreach, we knock on our neighbors’ doors, distribute doorhangers and other materials about the park, host walking tours of the space with neighbors, and invite them to community events we’re hosting at the park, such as Outdoor Learning Classrooms. Through ongoing engagement, our neighbors continue to inform:
The design of the park and the available amenities.
The native trees, shrubs, grasses, sedges, wildflowers, and ferns that are being planted in the park as part of habitat restoration.
The name of the park, which has to be approved by City Council.
These efforts are creating a buzz in the community surrounding the new park and Southside ReLeaf is receiving great feedback that will ensure the park is designed to meet the needs of our neighbors. We will continue to engage our neighbors and seek their feedback as the park’s development progresses toward a grand opening celebration.
A young community member meets one of the sheep from RVA Goats & Honey during a community open house. The sheep helped us remove invasive ivy from the new park.
Lisa Aikins-Afful, our outreach and engagement coordinator, leads a group of neighbors on a tour of the new park space.
By building a new park at Ernest Road, we ensure the community has access to quality greenspace that cools and cleans the air, provides a gathering space, and supports mental and physical wellbeing.
Collaborating with Our Partners
Successfully developing a new park at Ernest Road requires the expertise of our partners in this collaborative effort, including Groundwork RVA, Restoration Environment Solutions (RES), and Richmond Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities (PRCF).
Groundwork RVA leads workforce development of the park space, mobilizing members from their Green Team and Green Workforce initiatives to support the work of clearing the space of invasive plants and other debris, forest re-establishment, and long-term maintenance.
RES acts as the technical expert to develop and implement an ecological restoration plan that will eliminate invasive species in the space, preserve the existing native plants, and install thousands of new native plants to enhance the urban forest.
PRCF is the lead partner for the city, supporting all efforts with their workforce development team, including invasive management, trail development, logistical support, and providing helping hands. Their workforce development team has been a major force in helping to clear the main trail through the park.
Members of Groundwork RVA’s Green Team during a workday at the new park. Along with members of the City’s workforce development program, their support has been critical to our efforts to ready the land to become a public park.
A volunteer from Mondelez uses a mattock tiller to cut invasive ivy vines at the new park. Volunteer groups from corporations, schools, and universities have been immensely helpful in our efforts to clear the park of invasives.
Timeline of Park Development
Fall 2024
Southside ReLeaf engages neighbors in tours of the developing park and discusses their vision for the space.
Our team hosts monthly volunteer workdays to clear invasive ivy and debris.
Work begins on creating a loop trail off the main trail.
A herd of sheep from RVA Goats and Honey clears invasive ivy from a huge swath of the new park. Neighbors are invited to meet the sheep and learn about the park’s development.
Winter 2025
Southside ReLeaf gathers with neighbors at a local restaurant to discuss desired amenities, preferred plantings, and other aspects of the new park’s development.
Our team engages in door-to-door canvassing in neighborhoods near the park to include additional neighbors in shaping the park’s design.
RES leads the process of seeding the land with native species that will help keep the invasives from returning while supporting habitat restoration.
Spring 2024
The Virginia Department of Forestry awards Southside ReLeaf, Groundwork RVA, and Restoration Environment Solutions (RES) a grant to develop a new Southside park along Ernest Road.
Summer 2024
Southside ReLeaf hosts the first two volunteer workdays to begin removing invasive ivy, tree debris, and trash litter from the park to create a main trail.
Spring 2025
Southside ReLeaf hosts the first Outdoor Learning Classroom in the park on International Day of Forests.
Our team hosts a volunteer workday to complete spring planting of native shrubs and under-canopy trees.