On a scorcher of an early summer morning, beneath birds’ insistent chirps, members of a George Washington University grounds crew worked over the mulched mound in Pushkin Park putting in dozens of plants—the perennial foam flowers, golden groundsel, wild geranium, blue mistflower, black-eyed Susan and oakleaf hydrangea—species all native to the area around the District of Columbia that could save the university thousands of dollars.

For the past three years, the District of Columbia has been ranked as having the Number 1 park system in the United States. A new report by the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health counters this narrative with findings that park management by the National Park Service has resulted in great inequities in amenities, maintenance, and park access across the nation’s capital.

It’s easy to miss Woodlawn Cemetery. Its gates are slightly tucked into the side of Benning Road, surrounded by a few trees that obscure the entrance. It’s also been closed to the public for over 50 years, so most people aren’t looking for it to begin with.

Urban areas across the United States, including Washington, DC, are facing a convergence of crises: climate change, a national mental health emergency, and a growing epidemic of loneliness. While these issues may seem separate, they’re deeply interconnected—and they may share a surprisingly simple solution: how we design our public spaces.

President Joe Biden recently announced his appointment of Green Spaces for DC Advisory Board Member Hazel Ruth Edwards, Ph.D. to the Commission of Fine Arts.

The scorching hot temperatures experienced in June 2021 shattered records in cities and states across North America. Wildfires sparked, pavement buckling, power lines melting, and hundreds of deaths attributed to the historic heatwave in the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

When Alethia Tanner Park began welcoming visitors in June 2020, demand couldn’t have been higher. Learn how Eckington Parks & Arts (EP&A) became a community force, with ambitions to build lifelong stewards and advocate for public space in a neighborhood that lacks access to greenery.

Thank you to everyone who managed the July heat to be with us for the 5th Annual Green Spaces for DC Meet + Greet Event. Those who made it were rewarded with good food and great conversation with a magical sunset over the Anacostia River and the poetry of Melanie Choukas-Bradley embracing the splendors of our earth.

D.C. contains almost 7,000 acres of land controlled by the National Park Service, and up until now, the federal agency was charged with maintaining all of it, including the majority of the city’s neighborhood parks.

On a beautiful sunny September 29, 2018, Green Spaces for DC sponsored a series of walks while ParkRx America and other community groups participated in Rock Creek Park Day on the grounds of the Rock Creek Park Nature Center.

A big Thank You to everyone who battled through the chaos around Nationals Park to be with us for the 4th Annual Green Spaces for DC Meet+Greet. For those who made it, you were rewarded with good food and great conversation. We even experienced a magical sunset over Anacostia. 

Washington Post, April 28, 2017. DC Historic Preservation Review Board to win Historic District Designation for the Smithsonian Quadrangle Complex and the future of the Enid Haupt Garden.  

A post from The Cultural Landscape Foundation discusses the threat of demolishment to Pershing Park has garnered international attention.

In September 2014, Green Spaced for DC (GSDC) was awarded a grant from the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) to develop and provide an innovative training program for DDOE’s RiverSmart Homes program.