This is a weekly feature called Community Notebook, filled with snippets of information, conversations, and reporting about the communities where we work. Canopy Atlanta Fellows and other community residents may contribute to this weekly reporting. The Community Notebook is featured in our newsletter Voices — sign up to find this in your inbox every week.
Caring for the land
By Ann Hill Bond, Collier Heights Guest Editor
In partnership with the Center for Civic Innovation
Neighbors with Adair Park Today came together this weekend at Muscogee Park—not just to clean, but to care. Mulch was laid, weeds pulled, native flowers planted with quiet intention. It felt less like a project and more like a gathering—people honoring land and memory at the same time.
Beneath every footstep is a deeper truth: this land once belonged to the Muscogee (Creek) people. Long before streets and city lines, they cared for it. Between 1827 and 1837, they were forced from Georgia — torn from the soil they had tended for generations. And yet, the park holds them. Hold their memory with intention. A lending library filled with the voices of Indigenous authors. Beds of native flora that remember what once thrived here. The park honors that past with native plants and a lending library filled with Indigenous authors.
Moments like this remind us: when a community tends to the land together, they’re also tending to what’s been lost, and making room for what can grow in its place.
Join neighborhood leaders to learn about the importance of self-care
By Audrey Hamm, Intern
Come out this Saturday to learn more about “Empowering Self, Empowering Community,” hosted by the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership. This annual Neighbors Together Community Leadership Initiative supports neighborhood leaders, and this year the team will discuss self-care.
The keynote speaker will be Shawntà Hooks, a mindfulness facilitator, speaker, and CEO of Mindful Culture Creators, which works to transform workplaces by fostering inclusivity and mindfulness.
ADNP invites neighbors, neighborhood leaders, HOA members, homeowners, faith and nonprofit organizations, local business owners and more to join them for this free event on June 14. Register here.
I hope this story leaves you inspired by the power of community-focused journalism. Here at Canopy Atlanta, we're driven by a unique mission: to uncover and amplify the voices and stories that often go unheard in traditional newsrooms.
Our nonprofit model allows us to prioritize meaningful journalism that truly serves the needs of our community. We're dedicated to providing you with insightful, thought-provoking stories that shed light on the issues and stories that matter most to neighborhoods across Atlanta.
By supporting our newsroom, you're not just supporting journalism – you're investing in Atlanta. Small and large donations enable us to continue our vital work of uncovering stories in underrepresented communities, stories that deserve to be told and heard.
From Bankhead to South DeKalb to Norcross, I believe in the power of our journalism and the impact it can have on our city.
If you can, please consider supporting us with a small gift today. Your support is vital to continuing our mission.
Floyd Hall, co-founder
