About this Sacred Place
Washington Parks & People is a hub for activating public lands & waters for broad community revitalization – through partnership, innovation, discovery, and workforce development. Parks & People began 25 years ago in Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park, founded by a range of community and parks leaders and organizations. Today, they lead greening initiatives across the city — massive land reclamation, native reforestation, watershed restoration, public health and fitness programming, urban agriculture, and green job training — to help revitalize parks and work for justice alongside local communities.
Nature Sacred partnered with Washington Parks & People to elevate the Marvin Gaye Greening Center, a base for educational and stewardship programming across the street from Marvin Gaye Park, into a full-fledged Sacred Place. The 1-acre site is home to farm beds and hoop houses, an orchard, a stage, and an outdoor kitchen. Through the Sacred Place design process, the southeast corner of the Greening Center was more fully activated. Fruit trees and shrubs line the perimeter, forming a lush and spacious outdoor room. Grapes and raspberries twine up the inside of the fence, while vibrantly colored portraits by Life Pieces to Masterpieces line the outside to catch the eye of passersby on the street. The Nature Sacred bench is nestled at the end of a serviceberry allee, overlooking the rest of the site.
Design Team:
Jack Sullivan, Nature Sacred Design Advisor, University of Maryland
Jeffrey Catts, landscape architect, Washington Parks & People
