Curbside Debris Piles
After the series of recent storms, we’ve begun to notice a number of debris piles across the neighborhood. Richard’s Garbage Disposal states that in order to have debris piles picked up, piles must be no more than 4 feet long, limbs no more than 4 inches thick, and bundled. If your debris piles don't meet these criteria, the city will not pick them up and you must either dispose of them yourself or pay a vendor to do so. The GBF is offering a debris pick up service in the coming weeks in order to mitigate the demand for debris pick up around the neighborhood. If you have a debris pile you’d like addressed, please submit the location using this form. If you do request a pick up, please consider a donation to the GBF to offset the cost of this service.
Movie in the Park: Saturday, July 27th 6pm, Belhaven Park
Join us for a family-friendly outdoor movie! Bring your lawn chairs and blankets. The film will be based on a book, and families in attendance will receive copies of the book. Feel free to bring your own movie snacks; we may even have a popcorn truck. We hope to see you there!
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Mississippi’s First Keith Haring Fitness Court Set to Open in Belhaven Heights Park this August
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The National Fitness Campaign (NFC), Greater Belhaven Foundation, Community Foundation of Mississippi and Jackson Heart Foundation are excited to announce that Belhaven Heights Park has been selected as one of only ten locations nationwide for a one-of-a-kind Keith Haring outdoor Fitness Court® as part of the 2024 National Fitness Campaign. NFC is an award-winning initiative that welcomed its 500th healthy community in 2023 and is now funded to deliver vital outdoor wellness programs to 1,000 healthy communities by 2025 to help get people moving outdoors and to fight the rising fiscal and humanitarian costs of physical inactivity.
The Keith Haring Fitness Court initiative was born in 2020 as part of NFC’s Arts and Culture Series, uniting the world-renowned art of Keith Haring, one of the most influential modern artists in American history, with the world’s best outdoor gym in the Fitness Court. Jackson was originally selected by the Keith Haring Foundation as one of the national sites for the court in 2019. Its original site was the pocket park on Woodrow Wilson across from the Children’s Hospital. The project stalled after the equipment was procured during the COVID emergency. The equipment has been in storage since2019. GBFproposed relocating the fitness court to Belhaven Heights Park to link the park to the Museum Trail and to add to the neighborhood’s outdoor recreational assets. GBF facilitated a letter-writing campaign, after which the City of Jackson agreed to relocate the project. We owe a huge thanks to our Ward Seven Council woman Virgi Lindsay for her leadership in this effort! GBF’s CID committee provided a design for the court in the Belhaven Heights Park as well as funding to construct the concrete pad for the equipment.The new Keith Haring Fitness Court at Belhaven Heights Park allows users to leverage their own body weight to get a complete workout using seven stations in just seven minutes. Created for people aged 14 and over and with all abilities in mind, the workouts are adaptable for all fitness levels, allowing participants to move at their own pace. The location at Belhaven Heights Park offers a significant tie-in with the existing outdoor recreational amenities in Greater Belhaven, including a direct physical connection to the Museum Trail and close proximity to the Belhaven Mountain Biking Trails, and will energize the park as a community center. 
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GBF Belhaven Mountain Biking Trails Voted an “M-List” Favorite in the “Best Bike Trails” Category in the recent Mississippi Magazine Best of Mississippi Ballot
The BMBT Committee has been busy maintaining and improving the miles of walking and mountain biking trails located on GBF’s 58 acres bordering I-55 and the east side of our neighborhood. Recently, several more bridges have been erected in the newly cut areas of trail, which helped to traverse low-lying, wet areas, as well as provide more fun features along the trail system. Volunteers completed a work weekend in which the current 4+ miles of trail were sprayed and mowed. The final stage of trail to be cut along the hilltop portion has been begun and volunteer Peter Hammond’s pump track is nearing completion. It is an incredible showcase of earth work that was done completely by hand. Construction on a new bridge has begun to aid in traversing wet areas in the inner Belhaven Creek loop.
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Historical Preservation Restoration Initiative
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We saw a tremendous response to our fundraising efforts for historical preservation efforts in the neighborhood. GBF quickly used these funds to repair the fallen historic entrance pillar on Linden Street and facilitate the refurbishment of the Historical Marker located at the neighborhood entrance on Peachtree Street and Riverside Drive. We are using remaining funds to contract with Seabold Studios for our Brick Pillar Renewal Project. This team will conduct a survey of all our neighborhood pillars, providing us with history on their construction, documentation on their locations, condition, and any needs for future repairs.
  
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More Storm Drains Vacuumed Across Greater Belhaven
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We have heard from many of you regarding concerns of flooding caused by clogged storm drains. GBF recently contracted with Suncoast Infrastructure to vacuum out particularly problematic storm drains across the neighborhood. Over the course of three work days spread out throughout the spring and early summer, we have seen a great improvement in the level of pooling and flooding in our footprint after significant rains. In order to keep drains flowing, it is critically important for neighbors and lawn care services to bag leaves and debris and avoid blowing them into these drains. If you’d like your drain to be included in the next round of work, please submit the location HERE and consider a donation to the Greater Belhaven Foundation to offset this cost!
 
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