SU, Mayor’s Office opens Scotlandville community park

The Southern University Center for Social Research and Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden officially opened the new Scotlandville Community Garden Park on Friday, Dec. 21.

A midday ribbon-cutting ceremony opened the park located on the corner of Pembroke and Goudchaux streets.

SUBR Chancellor James Llorens, who participated in the ceremony, said “Southern is proud to be a part of the efforts to improve the community and partnering to gear better neighborhoods and making quality life better for Baton Rouge as a community.”

Funding for the community garden was provided through the Love Your Block initiative, developed as part of Baton Rouge Proud, the Mayor’s high-impact service plan that aims to increase volunteerism and target volunteers to address the city’s greatest needs. 

“Projects like the Scotlandville Garden Park represent how neighbors can work together, take ownership and build pride among its residents to improve the quality of life for their communities,” Holden said.

On Dec. 15 the SUBR community, Community Against Drugs and Violence, Inc., The Home Depot, and the mayor’s office worked together to build the community playground and garden with plots for residents to grow vegetables and fruits. The project is part of a community-development master plan to revitalize the Scotlandville community and to turn an “eyesore” into the Scotlandville park. 

KaBoom, ExxonMobil, Scotlandville Community Development Corporation, Community Against Drugs and Violence, Inc., The Home Depot Foundation, Fiskars, Orange Thumb, Southern University School of Architecture and Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center partnered with the SU Social Research Center to make the park possible.

Others who participated in the ceremony included: Councilwoman Tara Wicker; Jason LaBlanc, The Home Depot; Jamilla Sykes, ExxonMobil; Dean Lonnie Wilkinson, SUBR School of Architecture; Senator Sharon Weston Broome; and Pat McCallister-Leduff, president of Communities Against Drugs and Violence.