Interview with Malkia McLeod
This week I interviewed Malkia McLeod via e-mail; she is the Marketing and Media Relations Manager of the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks. I just asked her some basic questions about what the department has been doing lately as well as her opinions about parks and citizen use in general.
When I asked McLeod about the general public’s knowledge of and involvement in the parks and areas around their communities, she explained that the department is constantly developing ways to promote Baltimoreans to get active and go green.
“We host several tree plantings through TreeBaltimore; offer trainings as well as volunteer cleanups, invasive removals (weeds) through our Park Conservation and Community Outreach Office; and establish partnerships with community organizations, non-profits and corporations through our Partnership Office. Our “Friends Groups” are organized to preserve the trees, foliage, and other natural resources of the parks as well as for charitable and educational purposes.”
McLeod stressed that urban green space is a necessity because it promotes a healthier city and gives a sense of cohesion.
She also provided me with some statistics from the National Park and Recreation Association about the nation’s park availability and usage.
- Research shows that 75% of Americans live within two miles of a public park.
- More than 75% of the population takes advantage of their local parks.
- This amounts to a staggering 192 million people visiting parks annually.
I was not able to find similar statistics for Baltimore, but I would like to investigate this further and see what people in the community think about the parks.
