Ground breaks on systemwide improvements

The Parks Conservancy would like to invite fellow park lovers to a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, October 26 at 9:30am to celebrate the beginning of a comprehensive trail and signage improvement project in the parks.  We’ll meet up in the Lower Frick parking lot off Lancaster Avenue in Regent Square and be joined by representatives [...]

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A look at zone management

Yesterday the Parks Conservancy hosted two park experts from New York to tell us the story of zone management: Doug Blonsky, President of the Central Park Conservancy and Administrator of Central Park, and Tim Fulton, former Director of Park Operations at the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy.  They were joined by our own Phil Gruszka, who [...]

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Eight Unsung Spots #3: Highland Park Seasonal Pools

What do you get when you cross a lawnmower with a huge, completely flat field of grass that just happens to be located at the foot of a very steep hill?
If you answered “a maintenance nightmare,” you’ll appreciate one of the Conservancy’s lesser-known capital projects, known as the Highland Park seasonal pools.  Once a large [...]

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Photographic Atlas of Plants of Pittsburgh Parks

We’re starting a new series on the blog today called the Photographic Atlas of Plants of Pittsburgh Parks.  Our beautiful parks are biological treasures nested and locked in an urban environment.  The plants and animals are reservoirs of the biological diversity that once existed.  This series will feature those special, unique, and common species that [...]

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“What does not bend must break”

Last night’s storm was one of the strongest Pittsburgh has seen in years.  As the streets flooded and the wind blew, I couldn’t help but cringe thinking about what I’d see when I walked through the parks this morning.  What I did ultimately see was certainly disheartening, but a chat with Phil Gruszka and Erin [...]

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Eight Unsung Spots #1: Schenley Pool Meadow

We’re starting a new series on the blog today called Eight Unsung Spots in the Parks. These are places in our park system that either get a lot less traffic or that people might have overlooked on their regular hiking or biking routes. We’ll do a spotlight on two places in each of [...]

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“It’s irresistible!”

So said our CEO, Meg, the other day while talking about how she can’t help interrupting her dog-walking to pull up garlic mustard.  That’s about as apt a description as any; I truly think that once you know how destructive this plant is and see just how widespread it is, it becomes imperative for you to [...]

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Life among the daffodils

I am a broken record when it comes to winter.  I can’t stand it.  The gloominess, the cold, the persistent slush on the ground…and most of all the fact that (when it’s not covered in snow) everything is just brown.  I’m a flower person.  So for the second year in a row I have been [...]

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Spring tree planting brings vitality

Springtime.  Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, and trees everywhere are awakening from their winter slumber to once again break bud and offer their leaves up to the sun.
Right now, before trees completely wake up, is the perfect time to pluck them from the ground to be moved from the loving stewardship of our nursery friends around [...]

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American chestnut comes back

We thought we’d share some exciting news about the rebirth of the American chestnut that we came across in the Chicago Sun-Times.  This is especially interesting to us because our own Phil Gruszka has been part of this research. There’s an orchard in Highland Park that has been part of the chestnut breeding program for years, and we’re glad [...]

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