WithersRavenel employees pitched in Nov. 6 on the beautification of an historic Raleigh property being prepared for a new park.
The City of Raleigh organized the volunteer work session as part of ongoing work on Latta Park . The new park will be on the former site of Latta University, an African-American college in the Oberlin Village neighborhood. The university served Raleigh’s African-American community from 1892 until its closure in 1922.
The City’s vision is to turn the site into a public park that also memorializes the university. Planned amenities include a walking trail, dedicated community gathering space, educational materials on the site’s history, formal entries, benches and an enhanced landscape.
WithersRavenel employees as well as members of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (NCASLA) removed invasive plants at the park site. Additional work sessions will occur at the site later this year.
Courtney Landoll, PLA, ASLA, is a Client Success Manager for WithersRavenel and President of NCASLA. She volunteered at the event with other staff members.
“It felt really rewarding to engage with the City’s Parks and Recreation Department on a park site with such historical significance and do our part to protect this little piece of history,” she said. “The City staff were extremely organized and dedicated and led us through exactly which invasive species to remove and how to do it safely. We got a lot accomplished in a short amount of time.”
NCASLA’s work at the site reflects its priority to advocate for green spaces in under-resourced communities and support social justice. WithersRavenel is proud to work with the City and NCASLA as this new park begins to take shape.