Washington Parks & People is spearheading four major initiatives to develop the health, economic viability, and sustainability of our city: Green Corps uses parks and green spaces to counter poverty and entrenched unemployment, spurring self-reliance and economic recovery for our neighborhoods through green jobs training. Community Harvest puts that green job training to work developing systems of sustainable, industry-scale, local agriculture on public lands. Heart & Soul uses the outdoors to develop holistic health for all – body, mind, and spirit. Education & ParkArts encourages all DC residents to take advantage of the cultural, educational, and arts opportunities offered by the parks.

Green Corps

The Green Corps program focuses on enhancing, restoring, and beautifying natural systems through use of native plants, especially in under-served communities across the city. Through the DC Green Corps training program, Parks & People connects the health of our parks to the health of our neighborhoods’ economy. Launched in 2009, the training program provides a city-wide gateway to 50 different green career tracks in urban and community forestry and forest-based ecosystem and watershed restoration.

Are you ready to become part of the local, green economy? Learn more about DC Green Corps here.

Community Harvest

Through the Community Harvest program, Washington Parks & People supports a network of over 50 gardens and greening sites across the city. We provide grants, seeds, tools, technical assistance, training, volunteers, design services, promotion, and advocacy. Our goal is to develop the Washington city region as a hub of urban agriculture, where, together with our neighbors, we are equipped with the tools and know-how to feed ourselves and break our reliance on distant agribusiness.

Want to see DC become a model of local food and sustainability? Click here to learn more.

Heart & Soul

The Heart & Soul program focuses on a holistic education of body, mind, and spirit. We raise awareness in our communities about the benefits of healthy living habits for ourselves and our environment. By nourishing the body with park-based physical activity and healthy food, we can address the challenges we face from the sedentary lifestyle that has become so pervasive in our culture.

What would it look like to to feed our city’s hunger for meaning, movement, and imagination? Find out more.

Education & ParkArts

Healthy bodies aren’t enough. We want to see our community flourishing with learning, creativity, and discovery in the context of our public spaces. We’re convinced that many of the types of art and culture that we associate with enclosed buildings can be just as powerful – if not more so – when brought into the natural context. Through our ParkArts program, we bring art of all kinds, artists, and musicians into our public spaces – especially in areas where access to art and live music is harder to come by.

By activating our public parks as places where we can learn and play, dance and sing, we invite you to think outside the classroom and concert hall. Are you ready? Learn more.