From Vacant Lot to
Forever Forest.

I donated a vacant lot. Here's why.

A few years ago, I picked up a quarter-acre parcel in Riverdale Park near the MARC station. The kind of infill lot that, on paper, makes total sense for a Route 1 real estate developer to build on. But the more time I spent on the block, the clearer it got: the neighborhood needed green space more than it needed another building.

So my husband Jay and I made a different call. We donated the land to Casey Trees — the first conservation site of its kind in Prince George's County, and Casey Trees' first in Maryland. The land is now protected in perpetuity. No buildings. No subdivision. No selling it off in a decade when the market gets hot.

Part of the decision was about the example we wanted to set for our three kids: that building isn't only about what can be demolished or monetized. It can also be about stewardship, restoration, ecology, and creating places where people feel connected to each other. The kids picked out a few of the trees themselves.

Communities need housing, businesses, and investment. But they also need green space, gathering places, and opportunities for people to connect with nature. The most successful communities make room for all of those things. — Kayleigh Kulp, Amity Rose Properties

Designed by the Neighborhood

Casey Trees designed Ravenswood with direct input from the neighborhood. At the Riverdale Park Farmers Market in May 2025, they put three design concepts on the table: a forested woodland, an open clearing, or pollinator pockets. Neighbors picked the "Woodland Wander" — winding trails through native trees, a pollinator garden, and natural play areas for kids.

Over the past year, the Casey Trees crew cleared invasive bamboo and vines, planted 50 native trees including serviceberry, sweetgum, and catalpa, seeded a wildflower meadow, and built a "dead hedge" from pruned branches as wildlife habitat. They left a tree snag standing on purpose — snags shelter more than a thousand species. This spring, a duck nested in the meadow.

A Block Party to Remember

On May 15, more than 200 neighbors showed up for the official opening — brass band, kids painting their own planters, a community banner everybody signed, and a plaque thanking the Kulp Munch Family and Amity Rose Properties. Riverdale Park Mayor Infiok Inyang, State Delegate Ashanti Martinez, and County Councilmember Eric Olson all spoke.

Honestly, the best part was watching the kids run straight to the stepping stones and the natural play area. Casey Trees made the place feel like it was already loved — because by the time they finished planting, it was.

Looking for Community Partners to Program the Forest

Ravenswood is a Nature Sacred site, and I'm one of its two Firesouls — the on-the-ground stewards who activate the space. The other is my neighbor Marianna Previti. Between us, we get to decide what happens here.

Thanks to our Nature Sacred grants, we have funding to bring in programming — storytime, yoga, native plant walks, kids' nature workshops, poetry readings, a forest school morning, a meditation hour, a school field trip, an art installation. If you teach, lead, organize, or make something that belongs outdoors and serves the Route 1 community, I want to hear from you.

Who I'd love to partner with: educators, naturalists, artists, yoga and movement instructors, kids' programmers, schools, scouts, faith and mindfulness leaders, gardeners, herbalists, musicians, and anyone with a community project that needs a beautiful, quiet, walkable home.

If that's you, send me a note. Tell me what you'd want to do. The first conversation is always free, and most of the programming slots are open.

Ravenswood Community Forest