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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“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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“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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Frick Park’s great equalizer

Recently we heard from a park user who was interested in learning more about the stone wall near Frick Park’s lawn bowling green.  She said that Frick Park is her favorite place in the city, and she was curious about this particular area, which looks somewhat like a fort.  We thought we’d share a little [...]

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Board Spotlight: Illah Nourbakhsh Mixes Technology and Nature

The Winter 2009 issue of the Parks Conservancy newsletter, “The Voice,” features an interview with one of our board members, Illah Nourbakhsh, Assistant Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute.  For this and upcoming issues, we’ll be posting longer versions of some of the articles here on the blog.  (I also apologize for [...]

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Nature Photography Bingo!

The Parks Conservancy has recently entered into a partnership with Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center.  A team of graduate students there is working on an effort sponsored by the Grable Foundation to create the Playground of the Future.  Leading up to the design of the playground, the ETC students are sponsoring several activities in the parks [...]

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Just Desserts…From Pond Muck to Pudding

A happy flock of first-graders was a delightful sight yesterday afternoon at the Frick Environmental Center. These spritely campers had explored the pond, and then made wind socks decorated with aquatic motifs. I happened to be there just as the kids, released from their art session back to the outdoors, came running joyfully across the [...]

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