Grant Park, Atlanta’s oldest city park, will celebrate its 135th anniversary this May, and the Grant Park Conservancy (GPC) has announced a campaign in honor of the park to raise $135,000 this year to help protect, enhance and preserve the park.

According to Michelle Blackmon, the executive director of the GPC, the group operates entirely on donations made through grants, corporate gifts and sponsorships, individual donations and community fundraisers.

“As we celebrate and strategically plan for the future, we invite Atlantans to become a member of Team 135, our 135th anniversary campaign, and join us in our efforts to continue to restore and revitalize the park – keeping with the open spirit and purposeful design that characterized its creation more than a century ago,” Blackmon said.

The campaign initiatives include planting 135 trees, performing structural tree pruning on trees throughout 25 acres of the park, installing a new picnic spot to prevent erosion and protect turf and trees, installing 12 more trash receptacles and more.

Additionally, the GPC is one of two organizations in Atlanta that have been awarded the opportunity to be a part of Park Pride’s esteemed Park Visioning Program centered around community-supported design, according to the GPC. The Park Visioning Program, led by professional landscape architects, will guide the GPC and Grant Park leaders and residents through a process to improve approximately eight acres of the southeast corner of the park.

“We are excited to begin community engagement process to envision what the southeast corner of the park slated for the Grant Park Gateway will become,” Blackmon said.  “We’re thrilled that Park Pride’s Park Visioning involves education and dialogue with the entire community, making it possible for us to present a unified voice in the planning process while creating a park design that meets our unique needs.”

Additional details about upcoming events, opportunities, news, and more will be released leading up to the park’s official 135th anniversary. For more information, visit the GPC website.