Center for Ministry Formation

Clean & Green Baltimore: Transforming Community by Stewarding Spaces

Baltimore’s population has been declining since its peak of about one million residents in 1950. Today, it’s home to just under 586,000. Vacant homes created by population loss and other economic factors cause quality of life issues for communities. The demolition of these homes, however, left Baltimore with a different problem—vacant lots, over 16,000 city-wide.

When not actively maintained, vacant lots can become eyesores and attract criminal activity. A small playground installed on one vacant lot, located just half a block from the Bon Secours Community Support Center, on North Fulton Avenue, was beloved by the Franklin Square community, but was unable to be properly maintained. 

Lionel Terrell, a long-time resident of Southwest Baltimore and employee of Bon Secours Community Works remembers tall grass, trash, and deteriorating play equipment.

“The monkey bars, swings, and slide were broken, and kids had stopped coming to the park.”

Lionel serves as Program Specialist for Clean & Green, a workforce training program established in 2006 that provides paid training to West Baltimore residents through community beautification and stewardship projects. Lionel began his career at Bon Secours as a Clean & Green trainee before moving into his role delivering the program to others seeking career advancement.

“Clean & Green would go up there and pick up trash, needles, and all kinds of other things. We used that lot to teach our trainees how to make a site safer to use.”

Things got worse when the playground was demolished in 2011. Tall grass made illegal dumping easier and allowed rodents to fester. The site was frequently used for drug dealing and other criminal activity. Clean & Green committed to making the site a regular stop on its maintenance route, keeping the grass mowed and trash level down.

“We did that for years. It showed the community that, even though we didn’t own the site, somebody cared. Most people saw that, and they respected it. We also hosted cookouts and other events that brought positive attention.”

In 2017, Bon Secours began working with neighbors to envision a long-term plan for the site. At the center of that process was Shakira Franklin, another Clean & Green program participant-turned-leader who grew up nearby and lives in the neighborhood, with her family. Shakira dreamed of restoring the park as a place for children and families.

Shakira and other community members formed a steering committee and eventually proposed a park centered around a water feature that would make it free and easy for children and families to gather and cool off during the hot summer months, combating the “urban heat island” effect within the Franklin Square community.

Over the next six years, Shakira and the steering committee expanded the design process to include the voices of many other neighbors through a series of “park jam” events, surveys, community comments, and one-on-one interviews.

Finally, in 2023, the community-designed splash park, dubbed “Unity Park”, opened to the public. The name “Unity” honors the process of stakeholders coming together to make the community’s dream a reality.

Shakira notes, “Sometimes people dream things and it stays a dream, but with the help of people all around me, my dream became a reality. It’s like the best feeling in the world.”

Clean & Green continues to steward Unity Park, keeping it safe and clean for its new attendees.