On September 30, over 60 people were on hand at Adelaide Bentley Park in Towson to witness the opening of the Joanna Hastings-Kiessling Memorial Garden. Joanna's family and friends donated plant material and made monetary donations toward the garden's creation last spring. NeighborSpace volunteers harvested the plant material over the spring and summer and transplanted it at Bentley Park. The native plant material is a welcome addition to a park where invasive species had a firm foothold until grubbing and clearing commenced in 2013. NeighborSpace is grateful to Lowe's of Towson for its contribution of reduced-priced annuals for the garden shown below, where Joanna's daughter, Faith Kiessling, was photographed on September 30.

The park opening in 2017 coincided with the launching of the Donald C. Outen Urban Tree Society, a reaction to the fact that while GIS maps show that the County has exceeded its goal of having 40 percent tree coverage inside the URDL, our experience shows that many of those trees are unhealthy. Supporters from around the county sponsored health trees in the park when it was opened in 2017 providing funding to help us take care of them over the long term. Those trees were officially tagged on September 30, with each tag bearing an inscription personal to its donor along with a QR code, providing information about the particular genus and species. Don Outen, the forest sustainability expert for whom the Tree Society is named, was on hand to say a few words about the importance of maintaining the tree canopy in our very urban, first-tier suburbs.

NeighborSpace is not alone when it comes to efforts to improve the livability of communities inside the county’s Urban Rural Demarcation Line and we want to celebrate the achievements of individuals and groups who are passionate about things that complement our mission. We do this through the award of “Green Jackets” to our comrades in arms. Councilman David Marks has been a true supporter of open space in his district and has found many ways to leverage diverse funding streams and harness private and non-profit muscle to get a number of new public open space projects built during his tenure. Adelaide Bentley Park, the location of Sunday’s event, is one of them. The Councilman was also instrumental in making Radebaugh Park happen. A groundbreaking for that project happened just a few weeks ago.

Also instrumental in Radebaugh Park’s creation was the Green Towson Alliance. NeighborSpace also recognized its leader, Dr. Carol Newill, with a green jacket.  Accepting the award for Dr. Newill, who was traveling, was Avery Harden.

NeighborSpace wishes to thank the Peabody Heights Brewery, Boordy Vineyards, and BCB Eats for their contributions of no- or reduced-cost food and drink items for the event.  Finally, if I could impose on you to help us with one more thing, I'd be grateful.  Would you share this with others whom you think might find it interesting?