Ramping Things Up on Gwynn Oak Avenue
A quarter acre and two apple trees. It's a blank slate for the Graystone Community Association, which represents neighborhoods on either side of its borders, including Broadacres and Carlynn Heights.
NeighborSpace purchased the land in 2009 and the Graystone Community Association formed to unite the above-named neighborhoods through activities on the site. The group has had no shortage of ideas, hosting farmers markets ...
... and movie nights, wherein the apple trees support a painter's tarp for a projection screen, just to name a few of the association's activities.
The picture is rosy one but for a steep, three-foot grade change beginning at street level that puts the site off-limits for some community members, without a very sturdy helping hand. Wanting to support the Graystone Community Association's efforts to program the site, NeighborSpace began looking at ways to make access easier in 2013. In 2014, a landscape architecture student from Morgan State University produced a preliminary design and in 2016 NeighborSpace bid the project.
Shown below is work completed from December 2016 to date and supported through the open-space waiver fee funding that comes to NeighborSpace when contractors can't meet the requirement of providing 1,000 square feet of open space per new development unit in the county.
Some may ask why we undertake such projects. The simple answer is that undertaking them is at the heart of our mission. Well-improved open space helps people stay active, encourages interactions with one's neighbors, helps to reduce crime, and tends to raise the real estate values of properties nearby. The investment is typically a "win-win" for all involved, which is why we considered this effort so worthy of our focus. We look forward to activities on the site in 2017 and to seeing many more residents of Carlynn Heights and Broadacres in attendance!
Live Music and Ribbon Cutting at Graystone 7/28/26 | Will Kaselow, Community Conservation Manager
7/28/26 | Will Kaselow, Community Conservation Manager Thank you to everyone who came out to NeighborSpace’s final concert of the summer! After the original date was cancelled due to wildfire-related air pollution, we were able to quickly reschedule and ended up lucking into one of the most beautiful nights of the summer so far. We […]
7/29/2026 | Phyllis Joris, Executive Director Like many nonprofits, NeighborSpace operates on a fiscal year that runs July through June. This month, NeighborSpace staff and board members took stock of progress made in the past year and drafted a work plan for the coming year. More details will be provided in NeighborSpace’s Annual Report, which […]
Thanks to donations from generous supporters like you, NeighborSpace was able to hire three interns this summer. We want to help young conservationists gain fieldwork and behind-the-scenes experience, and staff is grateful for the extra hands and minds! We introduced you to our stewardship interns last month.Now read on to meet our communications intern, Mykiah. […]
Barbara Waters While I grew up in Massachusetts and then spent 6 years in Northern Maine, I have now lived in Maryland for nearly 32 years. I had been involved in many things in the community, but that involvement really ramped up once the pandemic started. To combat isolation, I started walking daily, and have […]
Thanks to donations from generous supporters like you, NeighborSpace was able to hire three interns this summer. We want to help young conservationists gain fieldwork and behind-the-scenes experience, and staff is grateful for the extra hands and minds! Read on to meet our two stewardship interns, Ashley and Katie. Hi! I am Ashley Metzbower. I […]
6/29/26 | Will Kaselow, Community Conservation Manager This month we welcomed the summer with song, hosting live music events at two of our sites! First, Patrick Alban and his Buena Vista Social Club joined us at Ridgely Manor Park in Towson on one of the hottest nights of the year so far. Despite the heat, […]
6/29/26 | Conor Harrington, Land Steward This spring, NeighborSpace installed its first microforest/Miyawaki plantings at Tollgate Wyndham Preserve in Owings Mills. With the help of some very dedicated volunteer groups from BGE and Stanley Black & Decker, we planted about 150 trees and shrubs in three contained locations of the preserve. The area covered by […]
6/29/2026 | Phyllis Joris, Executive Director NeighborSpace recently added a new site to its portfolio! With the addition of Stonegate, a beautiful 16-acre property in Catonsville, NeighborSpace now protects 116 acres across 22 sites for current and future residents of urban Baltimore County. This property is co-held with Maryland Environmental Trust (MET), the state’s land […]
This month we would like to thank Christie Bianco for her time and dedication as a NeighborSpace volunteer! Christie has lived in the Dunmore community for 21 years and first connected with Levickas Woods through her children, who would play in the woods and catch crayfish in the stream. She considers the woods to be […]
