The 2023 application period has now closed.

If you have an idea for a Sacred Place, please contact Neha Srinivasan below.

As a special program this fall, we are inviting urban neighborhoods in the Washington, DC,/Baltimore region — places where quality, accessible nature spaces are lacking — to apply for
The Neighborhood Nature Project.  

Nature Sacred is ready to make a long-term investment in your community by supporting you in the creation of a new shared green space, a Sacred Place. 

Over more than 25 years, Nature Sacred has worked with 100 plus diverse communities to create green spaces — Sacred Places — that reflect their vision, their dreams. 

We are seeking applications from communities interested in designing a Sacred Place in partnership with Nature Sacred. Nature Sacred offers a collaborative design process and access to the Nature Sacred Firesoul Network — which means, we will be with you for the long haul. Additionally, this program will provide funds for construction.

To apply, interested parties should:

  • have a site in mind (in the Washington, DC/Baltimore area)
  • own the land or hold a 10-year minimum lease on that land
  • have authority to make changes to the site and specific goals to achieve through the design of the Sacred Place

What selected applicants receive

  • Nature Sacred’s full scope of design services. The Nature Sacred Design Process forges a partnership between a community leader — whom we call a Firesoul — and a landscape architect or designer — a Nature Sacred Design Advisor — to guide community members through a visionary charrette process to achieve a welcoming Sacred Place
  • $50,000 in construction funding to bring your green space — Sacred Place — dreams to life 
  • A signature Nature Sacred bench and journal  
  • Lifetime membership in our Firesoul Network, supporting community leaders and ongoing programming for years to come

Key Milestones

10/15/2022

    Call for projects opens

12/9/2022  

    Deadline for submissions

3/15/2023 

    Accepted projects announced

Ready to Apply?

To present your project for consideration, we require that you complete an online questionnaire. Note that this link will take you outside of the Nature Sacred website to a Google form. Though the form will automatically save your progress, we still recommend that you compile and polish your answers in a separate document before filling out the questionnaire. To aid with your preparation, we have included a downloadable PDF of the questionnaire.

Preparing your responses and completing the questionnaire should take 30-45 minutes.

Evaluation criteria:

Please note that throughout the selection process, Nature Sacred may request additional information about the proposed site, including but not limited to virtual meetings, site visits, and 1-2 minute walkthrough videos of the site.

 

Preview the questionnaire here.

Please review this document thoroughly before you apply, as it contains an overview of Nature Sacred as well as important links and definitions of terms used in the questionnaire.

 

Apply now.

We’re looking forward to learning what you have in mind!

Have questions?

Contact

Neha Srinivasan,
Sacred Place Project Manager
nsrinivasan@naturesacred.org

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