On a Saturday in late August, Pingree Park was the place to be. It’s where it was happening.

Pingree Park is usually a great spot for picnics and family gatherings or shooting a few hoops while the kids play on the playground. But on that Saturday, the park was an extra fun party space for the whole neighborhood to enjoy. A DJ, food trucks, bouncy houses, games and concessions made the popular park the Block Party of the summer – all in celebration of the seven passionate Detroiters who are devoted to elevating parks like Pingree all year round.

The Party was in celebration of the seven Detroit residents who are part of Our Backyard Detroit (OBD), a program created by Green Living Science and the Gilbert Family Foundation to better support local parks. The OBD Park Champions are given a stipend, training and other resources to act as stewards to their neighborhood parks, and all of them live close to the park they serve. Each Park Champion has been instrumental in cultivating their respective park, planning community events, park cleanups, educational workshops and more. They do a lot for their parks and neighborhoods, so we wanted to celebrate their efforts. “It’s an honor to be recognized,” said Walter Bailey, a Park Champion for Jayne Field and Lasky Park. “It’s a great program.” (Learn more about the OBD Park Champions and why they’re so excited to be a part of the program in this post).

Check out the Block Party in the video below, including comments from a few of our Park Champions and Logan Applebee, Director of Community Engagement at Green Living Science.