describes their feelings about their lives in the United States and their sense of empowerment in helping to make the park happen. In 2008, members of the neighborhood’s large refugee community began gardening in a vacant lot along Westerly Creek while their kids played pick-up soccer games in the dusty lot nearby. But the gardeners and children longed for a bigger garden
and a real park. This summer they got their wish, thanks to a park plan created by the residents themselves and devel- oped under TPL’s direction. Reflecting the diversity of the neighborhood, four languages were spoken during the park planning meetings in addition to English. The new garden is three times the size of the old one, and the park includes a youth-sized soccer pitch, a new basketball court, and a seating area shaded by a cottonwood tree. Partners in the New Freedom Park Project included the City and County of Denver, Denver Urban Gardens, and Mercy Housing, with key support from the Colorado Health Foundation, Great Outdoors Colorado, and MetLife Foundation. “We left my country because we were dying—killing each
other,” Burundian-born Neema Irakiza told the Denver Post at the opening celebration. “Today all of this around us makes us so, so happy.” For more information on The Trust for Public Land’s
work in San Francisco, go to
tpl.org/sf. For information on TPL’s work in Denver, visit
tpl.org.colorado.
Give your EarthShare
An EarthShare payroll deduction is one simple way to donate to TPL or more than 400 other environmental and conservation charities. Many corporate and government employers support EarthShare payroll giving. If yours doesn’t, ask them to start. If it does, simply decide on a single deduction or a recurring small one from every paycheck. Then designate The Trust for Public Land, member number 11440, as one of your conservation charities.
For more information visit
earthshare.org or email
donor.outreach@tpl.org.
Denver’s New Freedom Park includes a real soccer pitch where competitors used to play on a dusty lot.
DARCY KIEFEL
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