Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for the people of Pittsburgh by restoring the park system to excellence in partnership with the City. Work is conducted primarily in the four regional parks of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States: Frick Park, Schenley Park, Highland Park, and Riverview Park, although the Conservancy works in other city parks as resources permit.
The Conservancy was founded in 1996 by Meg Cheever, former publisher of Pittsburgh Magazine, who modeled it on other private/public partnerships in Louisville, Kentucky, New York City, and Buffalo, New York. It has a constituency of over 8,000 members.
The Conservancy raises funds to help the city maintain, repair, and improve the parks with environmental sensitivity, respect for the parks' historic landscape design, and attention to the recreational needs of modern users. After holding public meetings, the Conservancy and city published the Regional Parks Master Plan in 2000 as a 20-year blueprint for parks restoration. Work outlined includes capital projects and ecological restoration.
To date, the Conservancy has completed nine capital projects:
The Conservancy is also involved in ecological maintenance of the parks, which includes control of invasive plants, seeding of native trees and shrubs, and the creation of sustainable trails. The Conservancy works with other environmental organizations as well as with volunteers, recording over 4,000 hours of volunteer labor annually. The Conservancy is heavily involved in the Urban EcoStewards program, where citizens receive training in ecological restoration techniques in order to care for a particular plot of parkland and monitor its progress over time.
In 2008, the Conservancy served as the local host for the 2008 International Urban Parks Conference, "Body and Soul: Parks and the Health of Great Cities." More than 600 park advocates from 10 countries and 31 states convened in Pittsburgh to explore the greening of the city and the crucial role parks play in the health of cities' people and economies.
Future Conservancy projects include building a new Environmental Center at Frick Park, replacing the former structure that burned in 2002; the complete ecological restoration of Schenley Park's Panther Hollow watershed and rebuilding of the boathouse at Panther Hollow Lake; and the implementation of a comprehensive trail and signage program in the four regional parks.