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The green spaces created and advocated for as a result of the work of TPL and like-minded organizations add to our overall health and quality of life. It’s easy to see that the Bayou Greenway Initiative and others like it will become catalysts to get more people outdoors and to foster mobility, resiliency, and economic development.

Spotlight: Mount Auburn Cemetery

When you think of urban green spaces, parks are most likely at the forefront of your mind. But there are many kinds of urban green spaces, and cemeteries are one of the most underappreciated. Cemeteries are planned and laid out meticulously, with special attention to landscape design. They’re intended to be places of beauty and quiet reflection, but today many also host community events and programming open to the public on the land apart from the graveyard.

One of the nation’s most beautifully landscaped cemeteries is Mount Auburn Cemetery, which lies just outside of Boston. It is 170 acres, lush with a variety of plants, walking paths, fountains, and ponds, and both a National Historic Landmark and an active, contemporary cemetery. Governance of the cemetery is by an internal board of trustees and a community board, the Friends of Mount Auburn. It also has a Council of Visitors comprised of leaders in horticulture, landscape enhancement, historic preservation, and more. They work with the cemetery trustees and Friends of Mount Auburn to plan and host programs, and hold many events each month, bringing visitors for educational sessions, concerts, book club meetings, tours, and more. Bird-watchers, naturalists, and casual visitors are also regular guests. In total, Mount Auburn welcomes more than two hundred thousand people each year.10 It is always open to the public and there are no admission fees.