Last month the Bay Journal ran a profile on Baltimore Green Space, a project started by OSI-Baltimore Community Fellow Miriam Avins. The organization is a land trust that helps preserve and support community-managed open spaces and urban woodlands.
The article talks specifically about the environmental benefits of their forest patch program, but the Baltimore Green Space helps to preserve and protect spaces as diverse as the Pigtown Horsehoe Pit andthe Charles M. Halcott Square sitting garden. Urban green spaces can provide a number of benefits, including providing habitat for wildlife, helping to cool the “heat islands” of the city, as well as absorbing and filtering storm water.
Baltimore Green Space can provide security for development, basic liability insurance, and access to technical assistance for community-managed spaces that are at least 5 years old. The organization also provides information and resources for anyone looking to start or strengthen a green space.