Grant Park Conservancy

Our Grant Park plant of the week is the slow-growing post oak (Quercus stellata). Another of our indigenous trees, the post oak is fairly easy to spot due to the distinctive rounded cross-like shape of its leathery leaves. In nature it prefers dry, poor soils and as a result tends to be one of our more drought-tolerant species. The post oak is also resistant to decay, so it has been used for things such as siding, railroad ties, flooring, and its namesake: fence posts! There is a nice grove of very mature post oaks in the southeast quadrant of the park.

One of our coolest Summer Shade Festival sponsors this year is Hasbro, and they're bringing with them a Beyblade Arena!! If you're into Beyblades (and seriously, who isn’t??) stop by their booth and check it out!

As the Captain reminds us, variety is the spice of life! Thank you to our sponsor, Captain Morgan, who will be providing delicious cocktails to cool you off during the Summer Shade Festival!

We have exciting news! The long-awaited next phase of the Erskine Fountain Project is starting today. Construction fencing is up and soon we will break ground on the restoration of the Abana Courtyard, the space behind the fountain that once overlooked Lake Abana. In 2020, we restored the 1896 Erskine Fountain, the marble platform and bench, and the island on which it all sits. The restored courtyard will offer visitors another space to gather and enjoy our wonderful park. Construction is expected to last three months, and unfortunately access to the fountain will be closed during construction, but we know the wait will be worth it! We’ll keep you regularly updated on our progress.

Grant Park Conservancy has already raised $200,000 towards the $230,000 project cost which includes reclaiming the courtyard, installing permeable pavers, managing drainage, and expanding the green space. Your contribution matters! Will you help us close the gap? Please visit the Donation link: https://www.gpconservancy.org/get-involved/support/
Friends of Erskine

Thanks to our summer interns Audrey and Xander for leading a great workday with the Maynard Jackson cross country team! We appreciate all your hard work! Check out the huge pile of tree limbs they gathered today 🌳 Thanks for keeping Grant Park beautiful!

Heads up, neighbors! City of Atlanta and Fulton County Family Days are happening at Zoo Atlanta this weekend! Be prepared for heavier traffic in the area, but make sure to head to the zoo for free entry! Visit zooatlanta.org/familydays for more details.

Our plant of the week is the native buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) - a deciduous shrub endemic to the eastern and southern US. This showy deep-woods plant with its glossy leaves and white spherical blossoms attracts many bird species as well as butterflies and other pollinators - it's also a great nectar source for honey bees. The rounded nuts that follow the flowers persist as a wildlife food source through the winter. It favors moist locations with shade, which is why you'll find it appropriately situated in the wetland just north of the Milledge Fountain.

One of the best things about the Summer Shade Festival is the free live music, all day long! Now announcing the lineup for 2024! Who are you most excited to see?? This year, you'll find the main stage located at the north end of the park, in the Cherokee Meadow (at Cherokee & Sydney), and more live music at the recently restored bandstand, affectionately known as the gazebo, near the Grant Park Pool entrance.

Visit the Summer Shade website (summershadefestival.org/music) for a full line up of times and locations.

Where in the park is Skyler this Wednesday? She’s checking out all the cool mushrooms! Mushrooms love moist environments and usually pop up a few days after significant rainfall. After all the rain we got in July there are tons of mushrooms throughout the park!

Check out these two mushrooms. The first is a blusher, named for the pink color it turns when cut. These mushrooms are safe to touch. The second is a green-spored parasol mushroom, which is not safe for humans or pets to eat.

We are still looking for Summer Shade Festival volunteers! Volunteers are imperative to the success of the festival, so if you have some time to lend us on the weekend of August 24-25, we'll hook you up with a coveted festival tee or tank, plus free beer after your shift (21 and older)!

Volunteer assist us with a range of duties, and one of those is helping us keep an eye on the children in Bouncy House Village. Visit www.summershadefestival.org to find the sign up links for both volunteer opportunities!

Deep South Wrestling has entertained Atlantans since 1983 and has been a mainstay in the Grant Park area for over a year now, offering free, family-friendly entertainment to the community. Now, they're bringing the spectacle to Grant Park's Summer Shade Festival. Catch the incredible acrobatics, zany characters, and mind-blowing feats of strength as the men and women of DSW show you what it means to be . As a special attraction, Deep South Wrestling will present a Tag Team Championship Tournament at this year's festival. It's double-the-fun, with high-stakes, high-flying action that everyone can enjoy.

Our Grant Park plant of the week is a shy little woodland jewel we found tucked away along Cherokee Avenue. Eastern yellow passionflower (Passiflora lutea) is a native vine found statewide in woodlands, forests, and thickets. The flowers are super showy but small, only about one inch across, pale greenish-yellow to off-white, blooming in late summer to fall.

The flowers are followed by small black berries. This vine is a favorite wildlife plant, attracting bees, butterflies, birds, and mammals. Not as showy or agressive as its more familiar passionflower cousin (P. incarnata), this pleasing flowering vine can be found at some native plant nurseries.

Williams Teusink, LLC returns this year as a valued sponsor of the Summer Shade Festival! Longtime friend and neighbor Eric Teusink, founding and managing partner of Williams Teusink, has a team of lawyers ready to advocate for you in the areas of business law, real estate law, and government affairs. When you purchase an alcoholic beverage at the festival, you'll receive a limited edition WT koozie to keep your drink cold, and you'll be reminded to contact them for your legal needs!

You can learn more about Williams Teusink by visiting williamsteusink.com.

Where in the park is Skyler? She's keeping our playground clean and beautiful for our youngest visitors! We loved seeing all our neighbors and campers from Camp Best Friends enjoy the playground this summer ❤

Atlanta’s favorite neighborhood festival, the Grant Park Conservancy Shade Festival is returning to Grant Park on August 24-25 for its 22nd year, and you don’t want to miss it! Featuring all the things you look for in a festival- live music, local and regional artists, makers and vintage goods purveyors, fun for the kids, a diverse selection of food and beverages, and of course, shade!

The festival is always free to attend and welcomes all ages! To learn more about the festival, including the music lineup, artist market info, and food vendors, please visit www.summershadefestival.org.

Red mulberry (Morus rubra) is a terrific native understory fruit tree that is truly under-appreciated. Our plant of the week favors moist stream banks and deep woods and can feature varying leaf shapes - sometimes lobed, sometimes not. Its fruit (edible only when ripe) provides sustenance for all manner of woodland creatures and it is a larval host for any number of moths and butterflies.

Red mulberry was the Swiss army knife of trees for Native Americans, who used it for everything from parasite remedy to food source to basket weaving material. Unfortunately it is often displaced by the invasive and agressive white mulberry (M. alba), which can also hybridize with our native version, thereby endangering the red mulberry's long-term prospects as a unique species.

Where in the park is Skyler? OMG! She's checking out the future Park Care Center! You may have noticed the fence surrounding the old police precinct on the corner of Cherokee and Atlanta. Due to the fantastic partnership between the Department of Parks and Rec and the GPC, this building is going to be our new home! Stay tuned for more details.

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Which vendor are you excited to see at the Summer Shade Festival in August?? We have so many amazing new and returning artists to our artist market- over 150 booths, and introducing this year, a selection of vintage vendors curated by ! Find a piece of unique handcrafted art, jewelry, or clothing that you won't see anywhere else! The artist market is open both days of the festival until 6pm.

Usually found at the edges of wooded areas where they can find some sunlight but avoid being mowed down, our Grant Park plant of the week is the herbaceous Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota).

Originating in Europe and southwest Asia, this summer wildflower (closely related to domesticated carrots) has been naturalized across much of North America. Cultivated for centuries as a food source (the roots are edible when young), this plant is a pretty robust spreader and in some states is considered a noxious pest - especially in pastures.

But usually it is considered a "beneficial w**d" and is used as a companion plant for crops: it tends to attract pollinators and can actually boost production of tomato and blueberry plants!

Finishing touches are being added by to the Loomis entrance at the willow island! We can't wait to see what it will look like once the plants mature. We have enjoyed facilitating this impactful project, and if you haven't yet visited, now is the perfect time!

The Loomis entrance is located at the north end of the park, off Sydney Street, at the three-way intersection with Loomis Avenue. Donations to the Conservancy to help with all our improvement projects are greatly appreciated. Donate today!
https://www.gpconservancy.org/get-involved/support/

Where in the park is Skyler this Wednesday? She's getting ready for Summer Shade!!! And she needs your help to pick up tree limbs, spread mulch, and beautify our park before August 24! Check out the link in our bio to sign up for one of our next workdays or to volunteer at Summer Shade. See you soon!

Kids love summer- not a care in the world, staying up late, and spending time with friends for several carefree months. They'll be back to school once the Summer Shade Festival rolls around, but even kids know the best way to close out summer is to attend the festival and head straight for Bouncy House Village, sponsored again this year by Councilmembers and . Continue the Best Summer Ever and bring the kids to Grant Park on August 24-25, and close out summer with a bounce!

It's Milledge Monday! Check out our new, colorful summer plantings!

You also may have noticed the fountain isn't running due to the tree that fell! Georgia Power is aware and the fountain should be up and running in the next few weeks.

Sassafrass (Sassafrass albidum) is a native small to medium-sized tree which grows in wood edges, fields, thickets, and roadsides. Shrubby in youth, it matures to a tree up to 60' tall. In spring, female trees feature greenish-yellow flowers which (if pollinated) give way to bluish-black berries called drupes.

Its leaves come in three shapes - oval, mitten-shaped, and three-lobed - and have great fall color. Native Americans used sassafras oils for tonics and medicine, and culinary uses have included sassafras tea, root beer flavoring, and a gumbo ingredient called filé. There are many young trees to be seen, but look for a mature example of our Grant Park plant of the week up on the east side of the earthworks in the southeast quadrant!

Where in the park is Skyler this Wednesday? She's checking in on our amazing summer interns! Audrey and Xander are tackling projects throughout the park and making a big impact.

The Summer Shade Festival is right around the corner, and while we're gearing up, so are our friends at Adams Realtors and the annual kick-off to Summer Shade, the 22nd annual Run for the Park 5K and Tot Trot! Register today for the race that supports the GPC!

https://runsignup.com/Race/GA/Atlanta/RunforthePark5K

Our Grant Park plant of the week seems perfect for this time of year! Sparkleberry (Vaccinium arboreum) is the largest of the blueberry species. With a mature size of up to 20 feet, you can see how it got the species name of ‘arboreum’ which means tree-like. Native throughout Georgia, it has shiny leaves and teeny-tiny flowers that turn into teeny-tiny fruit. The fruit is edible, but too many seeds per berry make it less tasty to humans - more for the birds! It is deciduous but can be late in dropping its leaves. We planted dozens of sparkleberry plants in the woods along Cherokee Avenue - check them out!

We hope everyone is having the Best Summer Ever™️ and enjoying everything summer has to offer! However, we don't think it can be considered your Best Summer Ever™️ if you don't attend the Grant Park Conservancy's 22nd annual Shade Festival on August 24 & 25. Mark your calendars, and continue to embrace summer until we see at you at the festival! Don't forget your sunscreen!

Our Grant Park plant of the week is the distinctive and elegant American beech (Fagus grandifolia). This sturdy forest tree is easy to identify due to its smooth, steel-grey bark. Beechnuts - which are now appearing on our park trees - are an important food source for native wildlife, but trees can be 40 years old before they produce a meaningful crop! There are some nice beech trees at Constitution Spring and behind Milledge Fountain - look for the prickly husk that holds the triangular, edible beechnuts.