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Trust for Public Land and L.L.Bean Announce 2024 Awardees for the L.L.Bean Community Awards, Promoting Greater Access and Equity
2024 Recipients Include the Rumford Community Forest in Maine, A Forest Pocket Park in Greeley, CO and the Archdale Community Park in Boston, MA
San Francisco, CA — Trust for Public Land (TPL), in partnership with outdoor retailer L.L.Bean, is delighted to announce the recipients of the sixth round of the L.L.Bean Community Awards.
In a continued commitment to promoting equitable access to nature and fostering community bonds, L.L.Bean initiated a partnership with Trust for Public Land in 2018, with a substantial investment of $1 million. With TPL as a partner, L.L.Bean has been instrumental in ensuring that more individuals can enjoy outdoor spaces in their respective communities, with now 18 projects across 16 states, creating access to a park or public space for over 46,000 residents within a 10-minute walk of their home.
This year’s awardees include the Rodarte Community Center Forested Outdoor Classroom in Greeley, Colorado; Archdale Community Park in Boston, Massachusetts; and the Rumford Community Forest in Rumford, Maine. Each of these transformative projects will receive grant support for park enhancement and community development efforts.
“We are beyond thrilled to support these exceptional projects through the L.L.Bean Community Award,” said Diane Regas, President and CEO of Trust for Public Land. “Our partnership with L.L.Bean empowers us to provide beautiful, equitable outdoor spaces that foster community engagement and combat climate change. By investing in park equity and community development, we are working towards our vision of creating accessible and inclusive green spaces for all.”
“Our company purpose is to inspire and enable people to experience the restorative power of being outside, ” said Shawn Gorman, Executive Chairman and great-grandson of L.L.Bean. “The L.L.Bean Community Awards program, administered in partnership with the Trust for Public Land, is a hallmark activation of that purpose and a continued source of pride for the company.”
In Maine, TPL, Inland Woods + Trails, Northern Forest Center, and the Town of Rumford are creating a 446-acre community forest in Rumford, ME. This project will offer new opportunities for hiking, fishing, biking, and skiing, boosting Rumford’s recreation economy and providing educational and recreational benefits to several disadvantaged communities. The Rumford Community Forest will be highly accessible, with new parking areas and easy-grade trails. New recreation options will support Rumford’s growing recreation economy and help meet its goals of diversifying beyond the local paper mill.
In Boston, Massachusetts, the Archdale Village public housing site has lacked a quality park since the playground burned down in the 1990’s and has never been replaced. In partnership with the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) and Archdale community members, TPL is working to design and build a vibrant park that meets the needs of this dynamic, multi-generational community. The project will feature a playground, green infrastructure, a basketball court, and neighborhood gathering spaces. These amenities will provide a safe and accessible space for residents to enjoy outdoor activities, promoting health and community cohesion.
In Colorado, TPL is launching a statewide Pocket Forest program, with the East Greeley Pocket Park project at its heart. For nearly 20 years, this vacant lot has been underutilized, offering little benefit to the community. This new urban forest pocket park project, developed in partnership with the Al Fruente De Lucha Center and the City of Greeley’s Rodarte Community Center, envisions a safe, welcoming, and shaded outdoor classroom designed by youth and seniors. This outdoor space will serve after-school students, teachers, families, and the broader community, promoting nature-based and STEM learning, community gardening, and youth-inspired art. The initiative addresses historical racial green-lining, restores wildlife habitats, and fosters positive intergenerational development, bringing the benefits of nature closer to home.
Trust for Public Land’s data shows that 100 million people, including 28 million children, or more than one in three Americans, do not have a park within a 10-minute walk of home. And furthermore, that nationwide, parks that serve the majority of nonwhite populations are, on average, half as large—45 acres compared to 87 acres—and nearly five times as crowded as parks that serve majority-white populations.
Meanwhile, rural communities face aging populations, isolation from infrastructure and services, and higher rates of chronic illness. All of this has led to inequities in healthy and safe outdoor access. Investing in parks and recreational opportunities in rural communities helps harness the recreation economy and make the transition from timber, mining and agriculture to a more diverse economy with greater community vibrancy. Great trails and recreation infrastructure are key to attracting new businesses, an educated workforce, and connecting youth to the outdoors.
L.L.Bean’s investment will continue to support TPL’s movement to address this disparity and put a quality park within a 10-minute walk of every person in America. Additional grants will continue to be awarded annually through the partnership and given to multiple worthy community projects across the nation.
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About Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,364 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $93 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.4 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.
ABOUT L.L.BEAN, INC.
L.L.Bean, Inc. is a leading multichannel merchant of quality outdoor gear and apparel. Founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean, the company began as a one-room operation selling a single product, the Maine Hunting Shoe. Still family owned, Shawn Gorman, great grandson of Leon Leonwood Bean, was named Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2013. While its business has grown over the years, L.L.Bean continues to uphold the values of its founder, including his dedication to quality, customer service and a love of the outdoors. In 2023, L.L.Bean donated over $6 million to outdoor and community-enriching organizations focused on increasing access to and inclusivity in the outdoors. L.L.Bean operates 57 stores in 19 states across the United States, along with 22 stores in Japan and 13 stores in Canada, in partnership with Jaytex Group. The 220,000-sq. ft. L.L.Bean retail store campus in Freeport, ME, is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and welcomes more than 3 million visitors every year.
L.L.Bean can be found worldwide at www.llbean.com, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram.
