Project EverGreen (the national nonprofit devoted to creating a greener, healthier, cooler Earth), the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA), the Chatham (GA) County Parks & Recreation Department and local volunteers will team up on Monday, January 17, 2022 at Mother Mathilda Beasley Park in Savannah to deliver another athletic field renovation.

Park History

Mother Mathilda Beasley Park offers neighborhood residents numerous activities including a:

• Playground
• Baseball/softball field
• Multi-purpose paved track
• Dog exercise area
• Multi-purpose athletic field

The park is named after Mother Beasley, the first African-American nun in the state of Georgia. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 14, 1832 and founded the St. Francis Home for Colored Orphans which opened in 1887. Beasley educated slaves in her home in Savannah, before the Civil War, which was illegal at that time.

The Project

The baseball/softball field is in need of a renovation to keep it a vibrant part of the community. Because the field receives heavy usage, the field needed enhancements to enable it to become a safe, sustainable playing surface.

Volunteers – sports field managers, lawn care professionals, landscape contractors and groundskeepers – will assist with the transformation. The project included:

• Leveling and refurbishing the existing baseball/softball infield.
• Laying of new grass edges along the infield. Remove all weeds and excess grass.
• Remove build up of infield mix from the front of the backstop, player benches and infield.
• Grade the existing infield to cut high areas and fill low areas.
• Supply and install 50 tons of the same infield mix already used on the infield.
• Grade the infield to meet the grass edges and ensure efficient surface drainage.
• Supply and top dress the infield with 40 Bags of infield condition
• Layout and rebuilding of the pitcher’s mound and batter’s boxes/catcher’s box and installation of a new home plate and pitching rubber.
• Re-grading of the infield skin surface to pull material that has migrated toward the perimeter of the infield along the base lines, around home plate and infield radius. Filling of the large low area in the center of the infield.
• Repair the fencing surrounding the field and on the backstop.

“Neighborhoods deserve healthy parks or community green spaces they can call their own,” says Cindy Code, executive director of Project EverGreen. “Thriving parks create a community hub for neighbors – young and old – to connect. Parks help to build community pride and confidence in residents and create spaces to safely exercise and enjoy the great outdoors.”

SFMA is supporting the renovation project by having its members – professional sport turf managers — assist with the planning and hands-on renovation work.

“We are thrilled to once again be a part of this important project and bring a well-managed and playable ballpark to a deserving community,” says Kim Heck, CAE, CEO of the SFMA. “To use our professional expertise and know-how and bring a plan like this to life is a win-win for everyone.”

Since 2008, Project EverGreen has renovated more than 50 community parks and restored nearly 150 million square feet of healthy turf across the country.

A city parks and recreation department and/or a community group can nominate a park for revitalization. Once selected, Project EverGreen works with local businesses, community groups and volunteers to transform and sustain community green spaces.