Our Blog

Just a few years ago, The Park People had a two person staff. Today, we are a robust dozen, and all good things come in 12s! Eggs, roses, donuts, days of Christmas, months in a year, and most importantly, your favorite nonprofit team! Since our last newsletter, we’ve added four incredible women to our staff who are ready to accomplish some good, green work in 2024. Let’s meet our newest Park People...

Fittingly, Hayley Kwasniewski interviewed to become The Park People’s first Development Manager while sitting under a Platt Park tree. They accepted The Park People’s offer and quickly introduced new approaches to donor communication while effectively employing time-tested methods to significantly increase grant and donation revenue.  Now, Hayley will be taking the next step on their career path by pursuing a PhD in Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Mackenzie Sanders has joined The Park People as its new Development Manager, succeeding Hayley. After growing up in Tucson and graduating from the University of Arizona, Mackenzie spent three years in New York, raising funds for non-profits and obtaining a master’s degree in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Now, she says, she is glad to be closer to home, the mountains, and western landscapes. What attracted Mackenzie to The Park People? While interviewing, she noticed that “everyone finds joy in this work.” 

A few years ago, when Diana Anick and her family moved to Denver, she sought a part time job that would enable her to “make a difference.”  Fortunately, she became the executive assistant to Executive Director Kim Yuan-Farrell.  Di, as she is known to her friends, and her husband Alan embraced The Park People’s Tribute Tree program, planting three trees in Platte Park and another six in Washington Park.  Although Di recently retired, she continues to volunteer and to donate because she still sees The Park People as an effective means of “leaving things in a better place.” Di’s enthusiasm for, and commitment to, The Park People drew in her mother, Jane King, who has made several very generous donations. Read more...

The City of Denver’s Urban Forest Strategic Planning process is an important and exciting opportunity for our community to plan holistically for the robust forest that we need now and into the future. The Community Survey is one way the City is engaging the many and diverse stakeholders in our communities to voice their wants, needs, and opinions that will inform the plan. Make your voice heard - complete the survey!

Curious about what The Park People thinks? Makes sense given our 5+ decades working in urban forestry. We’ve compiled our thoughts on the survey questions here.

David R. Hammond is a Class of 2022 Community Forester with The Park People. Community Forester cultivates knowledgeable, skilled volunteer city forest stewards through our five-part  workshop series. The series empowers residents to lead their own community greening projects in their neighborhood. The Park People is sharing David's thoughts on why he loves being a Community Forester and fellow Park Person. Read the article to hear his "why" and get more information about the workshop series. Registration opens in early 2023! We'd love to have you join us!