Community Corner

The Park's Protectress

Ormewood Park activist honored for advocacy work with Constitution Lakes park

The stretch of Moreland Avenue between Constitution Road and I-285 bustles with truck traffic and the sounds of heavy industry.

So it's unlikely that one would think of this area in South DeKalb as home to a hidden oasis of greenspace.

But Constitution Lakes, a 266.7-acre preserve of wetlands, woods is that oasis, serving as the home home to scores of migrating and native bird species like herons, geese, ducks and woodpeckers.

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Joy Carter, an Ormewood Park real estate agent and community activist, has been a tireless voice for Constitution Lakes, working for the last five years with other Southeast Atlantans to spruce up the park, advocate for improvements and get the word out  to the general public regarding its existence.

"It's a wonderful resource for people in Southeast Atlanta," Carter told EastAtlantaPatch.com Friday during a tour of the DeKalb County park, which is just off South River Industrial Boulevard.

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Constitution Lakes had been a brickyard operation, closing after the turn of the last century.

 "The areas where they dug out the clay to make bricks filled out with water and so now we have these wonderful lakes and it's a real oasis in the city," Carter said.

Park Pride, an Atlanta non-profit that works with neighborhoods and communities across metro Atlanta to enhance the quality of public parks, agrees with that assessment.

Last week, the organization awarded Carter with its Park Pride Inspiration Award for community service.

Nominated by the Atlanta Audobon Society, Park Pride noted Carter's "leadership, commitment and innovation" which made Constitution Lakes a "safer, more accessible place for people.

"Her five years of steady visits and advocacy for that little-known place have catalyzed others to be involved, and contributed to it being a positive place in SE Atlanta.

She also was cited for her bird walks and efforts to educate people on the roles of birds in helping sustain the environment and greenspaces.

"When I first saw this place five years ago...I couldn't believe that seven minutes from my house, was this place. I'd never heard of it before," Carter said. "It was wonderful."

Soon, she and several other boosters of Constitution Lakes formed a group to advocate for the park.

"Some of us are birders, some of the people like to just to come down and walk around; we all have our different reasons," Carter said. "But we really value this space...It is a jewel inside 285 that nobody knows about."

Coming next Thursday in Viewfinder, "The Sights and Sounds of Constitution Lakes."


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