#ANDY PARKS AND REC NONPROFIT SERIES#

“The community garden provides ongoing opportunity for residents to participate and interact with one another. “We’re excited about all the healthy benefits Andy’s Unity Park brings to the Moorland neighborhood,” said Judy Coffey, RN, Kaiser Permanente senior vice president and area manager. Other key partners include the Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation and Sonoma County Department of Health Services as well as Kaiser Permanente, which provided a $75,000 grant for the community garden and recreation programming, and LandPaths, a local nonprofit that is developing the garden through a model similar to its work at Santa Rosa’s Bayer Park. It’s exactly the type of project our Matching Grant Program is intended to support.” “Andy's Unity Park is a place where residents can play, explore the outdoors, garden, and come together. “Ag and Open Space is proud to have helped make this park a reality,” said General Manager Bill Keene. Major funding for the $3.7 million construction project came from various county funds, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District’s (Ag + Open Space) Matching Grant Program ($1.08 million) and the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s Housing-Related Parks Program ($483,475.)

Regional Parks acquired the parkland in December of 2014, facilitated the community design process from 2015 to 2016, and managed construction from June 2017 to 2018. Residents have enthusiastically embraced the design process and volunteer efforts that make this park and community garden truly their project.” “The opening of Andy’s Unity Park provides a long-overdue resource for the neighborhood and is a direct result of efforts to engage and empower the community. “We are so pleased to welcome Moorland residents to their new park,” said Sonoma County 5th District Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, who represents the area. Shortly after Andy's death, two vacant parcels at Moorland and West Robles avenues went into tax default, and the county acquired them for the park. A developer had proposed a small park for the area in the 1990s, but it was never built. The nearest park is more than 2 miles away, far outside the standard half-mile service boundary for parks. “We started with a blank canvas, created a unified vision, and now we’re opening a park that represents the wishes and spirit of the community.”Ī park has been envisioned for the Moorland area for decades. “The creation of Andy's Unity Park was a uniquely collaborative project,” said Sonoma County Regional Parks Director Bert Whitaker.

#ANDY PARKS AND REC NONPROFIT SERIES#

The neighborhood determined the park’s name and design by participating in a series of workshops led by a steering committee of residents, park planners, and consultants. The 4.4-acre park includes a large natural turf field, community garden, off-leash dog area, basketball court, skate spot, playground, picnic and gathering spaces, pathways, natural area, and a memorial garden featuring a bronze-relief likeness of Andy set within a tile mosaic highlighting his interests. The park name evolved from the community’s desire to remember Andy Lopez, a 13-year-old youth fatally shot at the site by a sheriff’s deputy in 2013, and to celebrate the spirit of unity that rose during the park planning process. Located in an unincorporated residential area, the park fulfills residents’ longtime goal of creating a place for children to play and neighbors to gather. The afternoon will include a rich program of community speakers, music, food, children’s activities, dancers, drummers, art projects, yoga, skateboard demonstrations, and booths hosted by local organizations. The public is invited to celebrate the opening and dedication of Andy’s Unity Park at 3399 Moorland Avenue in southwest Santa Rosa from 1 PM to 5 PM.

Andy parks and rec nonprofit