The Fight to Save Hickory Hill

In October 2021, Southside ReLeaf, along with partner organizations, led a planting of 100 trees at Hickory Hill Community Center, a historically significant community center and local park in a predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood. Just a year later, the city of Richmond proposed to pave over two acres of green space at the community center to build a burn tower for a fire training facility — bringing fires, smoke, and more concrete to a renewed community park in a formerly redlined neighborhood. By summer 2023, the city reversed its decision to pave over the park thanks to activism and advocacy by neighbors and community groups.