This Saturday is National Public Lands Day (NPLD), an annual event established by the National Environmental Education Foundation that brings together thousands of volunteers to care for and celebrate our country’s public lands.
Through community events, fee-free entrances to national parks, and volunteer opportunities, Public Lands Day is an excellent way to connect with the green spaces we hold close to our hearts.
To many, the term “public lands” conjures up images of expansive mountain ranges or limitless canyons that we tend to associate with our country’s great national parks. Yet NPLD is for all public lands, and in urban environments, even small pockets of public green space are crucial for maintaining clean air, supporting biodiversity, and cultivating community. In essence, these lands deserve to be celebrated, too!
At Casey Trees, our conservation easements play a crucial role in creating a greener, healthier city, and we’re proud to be DC’s only city-wide accredited land trust. In honor of Public Lands Day this weekend, here are some spaces in DC that Casey Trees is proud to steward.
Crispus Attucks Park
In the heart of DC’s Bloomingdale neighborhood sits Crispus Attucks Park, a green space brought to life through sustained community efforts and dedication. Once home to an old telephone cable yard, the lot began to transform as community members replaced concrete and asphalt with flowers and trees. As the park grew greener, Crispus Attucks became a neighborhood gem for community gatherings, hosting everything from movie nights to dog shows.
Yet this transformation did not happen overnight – for years, the Crispus Attucks Development Corporation, volunteers, and community members fought to reclaim the space amidst detriments such as back taxes and losses of public funding. As greening efforts picked up in the early 2000s, Casey Trees donated and planted clusters of trees around the park. This partnership culminated in the establishment of a conservation easement in 2014, ensuring that Crispus Attucks Park will be preserved in perpetuity.
Allison Street & 3rd Street NW
Our Allison Street conservation site turned a formerly overgrown and underutilized lot into a growing public food forest. Located on a corner plot in the 300 block of Allison Street NW in the Petworth neighborhood, we’ve planted a variety of fruit-bearing trees, including sour cherries, apples, plums, peaches, and pears, that will provide fresh, accessible produce to the community for years to come. The concept of a public food forest is simple yet powerful: It transforms urban spaces into edible landscapes where residents can come together, learn about sustainable agriculture, and enjoy the fruits of their labor—literally. This site serves as a model for how small urban plots can be repurposed to enhance food security, promote biodiversity, and bring neighbors together around sustainable agriculture.
Hellbender Hill
In addition to neighborhood pocket parks, our conservation efforts are also focused on the preservation and restoration of forested areas. Hellbender Hill is an excellent example of that. This conservation easement along New Hampshire Ave NE originally got its nickname from the nearby Hellbender Brewing Company, which unfortunately closed in 2024, but was an incredible partner in our efforts. When we first surveyed this steep, degraded site, it was choked with invasive bush honeysuckle, English ivy, and porcelain berry that were literally smothering the native trees.
Through community volunteer events and partnerships with the Anacostia Watershed Society and DC’s Urban Forestry Division, we’ve removed truckloads of invasives and freed over 25 trees to breathe again. While this patch might not look like a traditional forest right now, it has the potential to become one. With continued stewardship, we’re working to restore this space as a viable wildlife corridor and natural habitat—proving that even small urban forest patches can support biodiversity and natural regeneration when given the chance to flourish.
Sheriff Road & 48th Street NE
Sheriff Road cuts through the heart of Deanwood—one of DC’s oldest neighborhoods and the hometown of icons like civil rights leader Nannie Helen Burroughs and singer Marvin Gaye. Tucked along this historic corridor is our Sheriff Rd conservation easement: nearly a quarter-acre of green space where history, community, and nature meet.
Once home to a community garden with Groundworks DC, the site now hosts a mix of trees framing an open grassy knoll. Today, it’s more than just a corner lot—it’s a habitat for birds and wildlife, a pocket of calm in a bustling neighborhood, and a shaded refuge for neighbors waiting at the nearby bus stop.
By protecting this space, we’re making sure that Sheriff Rd continues to tell a story of resilience, growth, and community roots—past, present, and future.
1430 Morris Road SE
When we were first granted a conservation easement on Morris Road SE, it was a simple grassy corner lot – a cut-through for passersby and dog walkers and a gathering spot for neighbors. However, in a neighborhood grappling with rising heat and shrinking green space, we wanted to help reverse that trend.
This past spring, we planted more than a dozen trees of all shapes and species that will flower each spring and one day provide shade from their tall canopies. What was once a passive patch of grass is now on its way to becoming a pocket of relief, beauty, and resilience.
This easement shows that even the smallest spaces can have mighty impacts.
Celebrating Public Lands Day
There are many ways to celebrate the green spaces we all love — from volunteer opportunities to family-friendly events.
This Saturday, join our partners at CCAN, the DC Trail Rangers, and WABA for a bike ride on the Anacostia River Trail followed by some vine removal and vegetation management on the west bank of the Anacostia River Trail. Register here.
Or, come see us at the 5th Annual Kingman Island Friends and Family Day hosted by DC’s Department of Energy and Environment. Find more details here.
If you know of a green space that you’re interested in seeing protected, nominate it for a conservation easement, and our Land Conservation team will research the site to identify possible conservation opportunities.
