Loridans Park: Progress and Plans
In this time of uncertainty over the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, we can take comfort in reflecting on past accomplishments and looking forward to future projects beautifying Buckhead.
Loridans Park is 2.3 acres of green space sitting adjacent to GA 400 on Lordians Drive. There is a lot of Atlanta history in this park, most notably an old cemetery and playground area. The playground used to be part of the D.F. McClathey Elementary School, which leaves a flat area in the center of the park. The Lowery-Stevens Family Cemetery, with graves from as far back as 1852, was surveyed using radar at the beginning of 2019. Then, a local boy scout created temporary fencing around the 60 identified graves. These locations were the two focus areas from last year’s work.
In 2019, we were able to complete the first major milestone of our Loridans Park project: invasive species clearing. Invasive species compete with native species for nutrients, water, and sunlight. From there, they throw off entire food chains for native wildlife which has negative multi-level ecosystem impacts.
Our volunteers not only cleared over 9,000 gallons of invasive species by hand, they spread a dump truck worth of mulch from the sidewalk into the property. They then placed a community circle with seating in the old playground area. We also removed a football field length of chain-link fence from the perimeter of the cemetery which will be replaced with proper signage and fencing.
These projects were completed thanks to our community and corporate sponsor volunteers! You can see our quantified impact and list of partners in the info-graphic to the right. If you’re interested in volunteering for one of these events or others in 2020, please contact our Community Engagement manager Anna Sharp at anna@livablebuckhead.org for more details on each event and information on how to participate!
QGenda is continuing to sponsor Loridan’s progress in 2020, with 6 events planned for 2020. They will be planting native species, painting picnic tables, and maintaining the new trails! We look forward to accomplishing these goals with our dedicated volunteers after we are able to continue business as usual.
