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Parks with Purpose

A “Parks with Purpose” effort has been engaging the community of Southeast Raleigh in creating a new green park facility that celebrates the local history, culture and natural environment. A Community Task Force selected the Bailey Drive Gateway site to create a place of community gathering, while also providing a space for environmental education and outdoor recreation. A Stewardship Corps of community members supports this and other parks spaces through engaging events and hands-on care. Funded by The Conservation Fund and in partnership with the City of Raleigh, the PWP initiative is one of several on the east coast.

The Bailey Drive Gateway Project

  • The Community Task Force chose to design and construct park facilities on an unmaintained site along Bailey Drive, adjacent to the Walnut Creek Wetlands and part of the Walnut Creek Wetland Park.
  • Design Workshop, a design firm, led the design process by engaging community members and residents
  • How did the Bailey Drive project come about? The 2018-2020 Community Task Force effort is described in the 2020 Parks with Purpose Vision Plan. 
A group of five adults and four children look up at a bird as a woman with a spotting scope explains how to identify birds.
Participants look for birds with expert birder Deja Perkins as a guide during a February 2024 event at Bailey Drive Gateway

News and Events

  • The City of Raleigh received notice of funding from the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Grants Program of the National Parks Service in early 2024. This grant should provide the remaining funding needed to construct the Bailey Dr Gateway designs, in addition to funds committed by City of Raleigh, The Conservation Fund, NC Safe Routes to School, and the NC Dept of Justice Ecosystem Enhancement Grant Program.
  • The Conservation Fund continues to work with Design Workshop and City of Raleigh with completing construction designs and preparing to release a Request for Proposals for construction.
  • Community members reached through events, meetings and online surveys selected, “A Walk in the Neighborhood” as the final concept plan.
  • The Stewardship Corps conducted an informal poll of neighboring residents to inform activities in 2024. As cultural celebrations was highly regarded, they held an event to honor Juneteenth on June 22, 2024.
  • We unveiled artist  Tiffany Baker’s artwork at the Bailey Drive Gateway site in 2021! Titled Our Reflective History, this homage to the Rochester Heights neighborhood’s rich history was celebrated with local food, music, and festivities. You can visit it today. See photos, a video, and oral history recordings at this site.
  • Local workforce training crews joined an American Conservation Experience (ACE) crew twice to do vegetation management at the Walnut Creek Wetland Park, including the Bailey Drive Gateway site.
Final Concept Plan – A walk in the neighborhood

  • In 2022- 2023, Stewardship Corps hosted events including healthy soul food, how to make a bouquet with local flowers, outdoor exercises for all ages, and participating in Mud Day.
  • The Corps collaborated with NC State and Sound Rivers in monitoring Little Rock Creek for E. coli between 2022- 2024.
Mud Day 2022 participants answered the question, “What do you want to do at our parks?”

To stay up to date with the Stewardship Corps’ upcoming events, visit
go.ncsu.edu/parks2024 or contact Christy Perrin, at
Christy_perrin@ncsu.edu

Learn more about this project

Get Involved!

For more information on this project, contact Christy Perrin with any further questions; or visit Parks with Purpose.