Neighbors pitch in to turn a mess into a park

Dedication ceremony marks hard work to convert parcel in Gwynn Oak

Boulders of varying sizes help decorate the small community park in the Powhatan Farms community in Gwynn Oak. A dedication ceremony Saturday celebrated creation of the park, a project that was in the works for more than a decade. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun photos)

Valentina Aye, 2, daughter of Woodlawn High School principal Georgina Aye, takes a walk on the new path in the park. ()

The Powhatan Farms community in Gwynn Oak worked for more than a decade to reclaim a dead-end lot that had become a wild thicket of dead trees, vines and tall grass.

But before they could transform the space into a small community park, they had one major obstacle — a large abandoned semi truck.

“You want to talk about a job?” said Aaron Barnett, president of the Powhatan Farms Improvement Association. He pointed where the abandoned truck had sat unclaimed, while the community association fought for two years just to have it removed and worked since 2007 to acquire the land.

On Saturday, Barnett and other residents and members of NeighborSpace of Baltimore County, a land trust that advocates for more green space, held a dedication ceremony for the new park.

The once-rugged parcel that separated residents along Norvo, Redman and Robin Hill roads from Powhatan Elementary School, is now clear of high grass and other debris. A new sandy walking trail provides a safer path to the school, its playground and ball fields from the community, and adds to a 1-mile loop through the neighborhood, which many seniors use for walks, Barnett said.

At the center of the park, native meadow grasses and wild flowers were planted as a haven for butterflies, replacing a 20-foot dead tree.

“It was a rats’ nest,” said Barbara L. Hopkins, NeighborSpaces’ executive director, of the land before the work.

Development in the county is largely concentrated in the south, which is more densely populated, and where NeighborSpace members say there is a greater need to preserve undeveloped land.

In addition to providing an outdoor space for the community, areas like the new park serve to remediate storm water runoff, allowing it to restore the groundwater supply and prevent flooding.

“We have to have buffer zones. We just have to look at Ellicott City,” said Sen. Jim Brochin, who spoke to residents at the event.

Students from Morgan State University’s landscape architecture program met with community members to develop a design, and they even helped clear the land.

Barnett said he hopes the new park will better connect neighborhood residents. He plans to host community association meetings, picnics and flea markets at the park

“It’s like a dream came true,” he said.

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