During the second week of June, I had the opportunity of attending the Southeast Environmental Justice Summit held at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead. On the first day of the event, I participated in the Atlanta Justice40RWARD Environmental Justice tour, which included visits to significant locations, such as the Chattahoochee Brick Company site, Lindsay Street Park, and Project South. However, it was during our second stop at Lindsay Street Park that I had one of my most significant takeaways.

This park holds a special distinction as the first in the community created through the Conservation Fund's Parks and Purpose Program. The program aims to establish greenspaces that prioritize the safety of children while simultaneously addressing multiple challenges. These challenges include promoting access to healthy foods, creating employment opportunities for residents, and reducing the impacts of stormwater flooding through the implementation of green infrastructure features like rain gardens and bioswales.

However, it is disheartening to note that the park has been boarded up due to lead contamination, which was devastating to see. This visit provided me with a firsthand introduction to superfund sites and the detrimental health effects they impose on the residents in the area. The park, once designed as a safe and sustainable environment where children could play, has now become a restricted area. This serves as a reminder of the urgent need for remediation efforts and the importance of safeguarding community spaces for the well-being and health of all residents.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University System of Georgia, or the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.