_Now It's Easy Being Green

Jan 28, 2009

For parks, private green is the green that matters, says Carl Stages, executive director of Baton Rouge's BREC Foundation. The organization launches a new Web site, brecfoundation.org, this Friday to spark private investment in public green space. The Capital City's park system in not alone in its push to raise money, Stages says. "There is more of an effort nationally for parks systems to establish 501(c)3 foundations that are governed as traditional nonprofits," he says. "It makes it easier for donors restricted from giving to public entities to support projects." High-profile projects can push a donor's brand, as in the case of Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, whose signature canine inspired a $65,000 donation toward the year-old City Park Dog Park in Baton Rouge. On Monday, BREC hosted a community meeting concerning its Capital Area Pathways Project, a series of proposed pedestrian trails throughout the community. Stages says he's hopeful hospitals in close proximity to the $4 million Wards Creek-Dawson Creek four-mile foot path will offset costs of a potential "Medical Mile."

Written by Maggie Heyn Richardson for 1012 Corridor