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| Groundwork USA Newsletter Spring 2012 |
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Hello Everyone,
From restoring the Sierra Vista Trail in New Mexico to cleaning the Anacostia River in Washington DC, and building chicken coops in Milwaukee to delivering environmental job training programs and green infrastructure in Providence, there's no shortage of high-impact projects happening across the Groundwork network.
In the national office, we are planning ahead for River Network's River Rally conference, happening this May in Portland, Oregon, where Groundwork practitioners from across our network will be sharing about their Trusts' urban waters initiatives and learning from others. Since the fall we've been traveling frequently to Cincinnati, OH, Tucson, AZ, and Richmond, VA, to help local stakeholders establish new Trusts in those communities. And recently, we've entered the more detailed stages of planning for Groundwork's Annual Assembly & Youth Summit, scheduled for October 10th-13th, 2012, in Yonkers, NY, and Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, NJ. Look for more information from us about that over the summer.
Wishing you a fertile and productive spring in the mean time,
The Groundwork USA Team - Rick, Anjali, Kate, & Curt
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Reclaiming the Chollas Creek Watershed in San Diego, CA
Groundwork San Diego gathered over a 100 shovel-wielding volunteers  recently to clean debris from and plant shrubs on the slopes of Radio Canyon. A tributary of the Chollas Creek watershed, the Canyon is a waterway that winds through San Diego's poorest, most distressed neighborhoods and carries floodwater out to sea. GW San Diego works on a range of programs and projects aimed at restoring the Chollas Creek watershed, including reclamation of an underutilized creek-front site now known as Earth Lab, where local students participate in hands-on environmental education in an outdoor classroom.
Listen to a radio interview with GWSD's Executive Director Leslie Reynolds, and read all about it here on local radio station KPBS' website.
Click here for more information about GW San Diego and their many Chollas Creek restoration undertakings. |
Greening Public Housing, Training Green Collar Workers in Providence, RI
Groundwork Providence and the ir partners, including the University of Rhode Island, Gates Leighton Landscape Architects, and the Providence Housing Authority, worked with EPA Region 1 on an adult job training program that brought together a diverse group of community residents and industry professionals to install the city's first rain garden located on a public housing site in Providence. With burgeoning Combined Sewer Overflow issues compounded by high volumes of impervious surface across this highly-developed city, rain gardens like these can help manage stormwater run-off and keep it from compromising water quality both in the community's rivers, as well as the nearby harbor.
Click here to see the ongoing work and interviews with GW Providence.
Click here for more about GW Providence's great programs. |
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Groundwork Hudson Valley's First Farmers' Market a Success!
Groundwork Hudson Valley had a great first season managing the new Saw Mill Farmer's Market, selling to the after-work crowd on Mondays each week. Trust staff worked with local sustainable farms that sold their beautiful produce to Groundwork at wholesale prices. Thanks to grant funds from local foundations, GW Hudson Valley was able to sell the produce to the Yonkers community at the same wholesale prices, making organic and fresh produce accessible and affordable for hundreds of enthusiastic customers.
GW Hudson Valley also surveyed customers to determine their preferences and better understand which additional, all-natural products they would like to see at the market. The Trust will be using that feedback to expand and strengthen the market at the newly daylighted Saw Mill River Park in Larkin Plaza in the spring! They hope to expand selection to include freshly baked bread, jams, and honey and to enliven the market with performances by local musicians.
Click here for more about GW Hudson Valley's projects and programs.
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Groundwork Anacostia Helps Expand DC's River Litter Trap Program
Washington, DC recently installed two new trash traps in the Anacostia river watershed to help prevent  trash from entering the District's waterways. Through a contract with the District, Anacostia Riverkeeper and Groundwork Anacostia River DC will be responsible for managing and maintaining the litter traps, thereby creating local jobs and encouraging broader community stewardship and awareness of the river.
Says Dennis Chestnut, Executive Director of Groundwork Anacostia, at the press conference formally announcing the installations this past January: "Hopefully going forward, other jurisdictions will follow DC's lead and see the incredible benefit in investing in this technology and supporting the resources that can work right along with it. By combining effective equipment, the Bandalong Trap, with a community's most valuable resources, the people, we are able to make the Bandalong the most efficient system operating on the river's behalf." Read about the Bandalong Litter Trap and what Groundwork is doing to help keep the river clean in the WAMU story here.
Click here for more about GW Anacostia River DC's projects and programs. |
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Groundwork Elizabeth Co-Hosts 9th Annual Bike Tour de Elizabeth
 | | Last Year's Tour de Elizabeth |
This year's Annual Tour de Elizabeth has expanded and will move to Winfield Scott Plaza, where the Tour will take place on May 20th, 2012. The ride will focus on Elizabeth's Architecture: From Founding to the Future.
The growing 15-mile recreational bicycle tour, an event designed to celebrate the community and encourage wider bike transit on off-street trails running through it, is hosted by Mayor Chris Bollwage, the City of Elizabeth, GW Elizabeth and other local partners. Information on applications to ride, sponsorships, and site vendor booths are available at the City of Elizabeth, or at the GW Elizabeth website and the Tour de Elizabeth Facebook page. |
Promoting (Re)Connections to Dallas' Great Trinity River Corridor
Groundwork Dallas helped to host over 40,000 people at the opening of th e Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge from March 2nd to 4th, 2012, in Dallas, Texas. The GW Dallas booth, located in the middle of the bridge, promoted environmental education and offered volunteer opportunities to help build trails, parks and gardens in the Great Trinity Forest and along the Great Trinity River.
The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, artfully engineered by world renowned artist, architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, is transforming the City's relationship to the 20-m ile green space known as the Trinity River Corridor. GW Dallas is very excited to report that at the Bridge event, Trust staff signed up over 230 people to be volunteers.
Click here for more about GW Dallas' other programs.
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Maple Sap is Flowing, Despite Short Winter Freeze, in Somerville, MA
Groundwork Somerville moved full speed ahead with its annual maple syrup harvest despite an unseasonably short winter: 18 volunteers were trained to lead weekly arts and science-based Maple Education sessions in 2nd grade classrooms across Somerville over a four-week period; local volunteers helped collect 250 gallons sap from the Community Growing Center's stand of 10 sugar maple trees; and a series of interactive children's workshops were held at the Somerville Public Library's Main Branch. Finally, the sweet partnership-driven endeavor culminated with a big Maple Syrup Boil Down Festival, featuring tapping demonstrations and syrup samples, at the Community Growing Center on March 3rd. The resulting 3 gallons of syrup can be purchased in small maple leaf containers this spring at the Groundwork Somerville booth during the Union Square Farmer's Market.
Stay informed by following Groundwork Somerville on Facebook and Twitter, and keep an eye on the Maple Syrup Project page of their website here. |
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Historic Campagnone Common in Lawrence, MA, Slated fo r Renovations
Groundwork Lawrence is helping advance much-needed renovations to the historic Campagnone Common, a symbol and legacy of the city's former grandeur as a mighty textile mill community. Recent grants from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, coupled with other resources dedicated to this effort, are making implementation of this long-awaited plan possible. At the same time, GW Lawrence staff have been assisting the City of Lawrence Community Development Department with design development for playground renovations on the Common. Read more about this project in the local newspaper, the Eagle Tribune, here.
For more about GW Lawrence's other projects and programs, click here. |
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 Renewing New Mexico's Sierra Vista Trail with Youth Environmental Job Training
Groundwork Doņa Ana County (GWDA) has recently been awarded a Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) Grant for revitalizing nine miles of the Sierra Vista Trail and building 1.5 miles of new trail over Tortugas Mountain. The Sierra Vista Trail is the southern part of a trail system on the western side of the Organ Mountains. The revitalized nine-mile section of trail extends from Dripping Springs Road (north) to the Pena Blanca trail head (south) and will encourage wider access to recreational trail use among local stakeholders and visitors.
In related news, GWDA just hired 12 local high school students as members of its YCC Green Team, which will be working on a 3-mile extension and 6-mile revitalization of this special local amenity. This project will include: clearing and designating a 1/4 acre parking area, installing signs and information kiosks at trail heads-ends, constructing trail heads, protecting sensitive plants by redefining trails, defining parking areas, and closing off social trails. The Team will also work to address ongoing erosion problems along the Sierra Vista Trail.
For more information about GW Doņa Ana County and their great programs, click here. |
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Healthy Infrastructure, Healthy Habits in Wyoming County, WV
Thanks to local volunteers, students at Glen Fork Consolidated School will soon be enjoying locally-grown produce in their school meals. Led by GW Wyoming County's AmeriCorps VISTA Jeff Curtis, a vegetable garden has been established on school grounds as a project commemorating the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. The MLK Day project was undertaken by the Great Eastern Trail and Glen Fork Consolidated School along with GW Wyoming County.
Once thriving, the garden will provide experiential learning opportunities for students and will nurture healthier eating habits by encouraging students to eat what they grow. The garden will also be used to teach students about biology, ecology, and economics.
You can learn more about GW Wyoming County's programs here.
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Producing Local Food with Re-purposed Materials in Milwaukee, WI
 Groundwork Milwaukee Green Team members braved the elements this winter to finish up construction of their Chicken Coop. The team is participating in a citywide 'coopetition', a coop building competition sponsored by Cream City Hens. Teams that produce a coop built entirely out of re-purposed materials (barring hardware) will have their competition registration fees reimbursed. GW Milwaukee staff happily cleaned out their basements to help and "donated" highly sought-after items like an old ping pong table, partially used cans of paint, old windows and old screens, all of which were used to build the Groundwork Milwaukee Chicken Coop. You can learn more about GW Milwaukee's projects and programs here. |
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Groundwork USA newsletter edited by Anjali Chen.
Groundwork USA, 22 Main St., 2nd Floor, Yonkers, NY 10701
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