Groundwork USA Newsletter                                   Spring 2013
Hello!
GW Milwaukee Youth in the Kinnickinnic River
Milwaukee Green Team Youth Learning to be Stewards of the Kinnckinnic River (see story below)

As you'll see below, the Groundwork USA network has been busy this spring. From creating riverfront trails and reclaiming brownfield sites, to kicking off farmers markets and even harvesting in the White House Garden, Groundwork continues to engage people in transforming their communities for the better from coast to coast.

Behind the scenes, Groundwork USA staff have been working in tandem with NPS and EPA staff to evaluate 8 potential new Groundwork Trust communities through a competitive RFP process. By summer's end, our network will have two new communities exploring how our model might fit within their neighborhoods through an intensive Feasibility Study process (to learn more about how to establish a Groundwork Trust, click here)
 
All the best to you and yours as we head into summer,

The Groundwork USA Team - Rick, Anjali, Kate & Curt

In This Issue
Congratulations to Groundwork Trusts in Providence, Lawrence & Anacostia DC!
GW Somerville Goes to the White House
GW Dallas Builds Eco Classrooms Around the Trinity
GW Denver Chosen to Implement Xcel Energy Settlement
GW Milwaukee Stewards the Kinnickinnic River
GW Lawrence Celebrates Spicket River Greenway Opening
Brownfields News from Across the Country
Get Fresh Yonkers Farmers' Market Kicks Off the Season

Groundwork Trust News

Groundwork Trusts Celebrate Awards Across the Network   

 

Providence rain garden

Citizens Bank & NBC 10 named Groundwork Providence the first 2013 Champion in Action� in the category of strengthening communities in Rhode Island. Groundwork Providence received a $35,000 unrestricted grant, media coverage, and extensive promotional and volunteer support for its outstanding work.

 

Groundwork Lawrence was named the 2013 "Healthy Life Styles Social Innovator" by Root Cause's Social Innovation Forum for their 'Promoting Healthy Behaviors in Our Community' project. The award, sponsored by the Highland Street Foundation, will provide funding as well as an in-depth capacity-building consultancy. 

 
Dennis Chestnut, Executive Director of Groundwork Anacostia River DC, has been named an Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) Fellow. ELP's National Fellowship Program offers intensive leadership and skills training, national networking opportunities, and time for personal and professional reflection. Through immersive retreats, ELP's curriculum helps emerging leaders hone their leadership styles, improve their strategy and organizational development, and strengthen their outreach to diverse constituencies.
 
Congratulations to all! 


Groundwork Somerville is Invited to the White House!

Five members of Groundwork Somerville's Schoolyard Garden Club at the Healey School headed back to the White House Kitchen Garden for the summer harvest of vegetables they planted with the First Lady Michelle Obama in April 2013.

 

Healey School is home to one of eight Schoolyard

Gardens in the city maintained by Groundwork Somerville in partnership with the City and the Somerville Public Schools. Students in the garden clubs work with Groundwork staff and volunteers to plan, plant, maintain, and harvest the gardens throughout the year as part of a seasonal educational curriculum. In addition to learning biology, chemistry, math, English, arts, and social studies in a practical, hands-on laboratory, students participate in fun activities to get their bodies moving, minds thinking, and creativity flowing. 

 

Groundwork Somerville partners with Shape Up Somerville (SUS), the Mayor's city-wide campaign to promote healthy eating and physical fitness through programming, infrastructure improvements, and policy changes, which has received national recognition from the First Lady's "Let's Move" initiative. GWS and SUS partner on initiatives such as urban agriculture, the affordable Mobile Farmers Market, infrastructure improvements such as Community Path Extensions and walkable/bikeable paths, and policy improvements.  

 



Eco Classrooms in Dallas

 

Groundwork Dallas' Green Team at the Williams Prep Academy came to the end of its first school year. Twenty-two of those youth came to the Lone Star Trail Building School and completed the basic trail course. These students are now candidates for summer positions working with local and national partners. Moving forward with this program, Groundwork Dallas (GWD) is proud to announce the creation of their two newest Green Teams, which are currently under development and will launch in the Fall 2013 semester. Seagoville Environmental Science Academy with the Dallas Independent School District will house the agricultural-based Green Team, and Heights will become the third Green Team in the Dallas area. 

 

GWD launched the 'Adopt-A-Trail' initiative, which has recently been approved by the City of Dallas Parks and Recreation Department, and signed a new lease to utilize the City of Dallas Eco Park building to begin teaching trail maintenance classes as well as other educational programming for Green team members.

 

GWD staff and volunteers have removed over 70 TONS of trash and 10,000 tires from the Trinity River and Great Trinity Forest in these last few years; if you are in the area, GWD would love to have you volunteer with them on the 4th Saturday of each month!


Groundwork Denver to Implement Xcel Energy Settlement for Residents

 

Groundwork Denver was thrilled to announce the agreement that WildEarth Guardians and Xcel Energy came to, bringing maximum benefits to the residents of the Globeville, Elyria and Swansea neighborhoods. Because of this settlement, the residents will have a new park where they can connect with nature, walk, bike and play. At least 140 homes will be insulated, collectively saving $27,000 per year, and a solar PV system will be installed on a public or community building, saving another $3,400 per year. Each of these projects will benefit the residents while also demonstrating a sustainable future for the neighborhoods. Groundwork Denver is honored to have been

entrusted by both parties with the funds because of their strong record of accomplishing tangible projects, their history of working in these north 

Denver neighborhoods, and their fiscal responsibility. Groundwork Denver looks forward to continuing to work with both parties, the neighborhood residents, and partners at the City of Denver to accomplish all of this very important work.   

 

In other news from Denver, check out this fun video documenting Groundwork Denver's Green Team youth at Rocky Mountain National Park. 



Groundwork Milwaukee Stewards One of Nation's Most Endangered Rivers

by Dave Mangin, GWM

 

For the past two years, Groundwork Milwaukee (GWM) has undertaken physical projects to protect the Kinnickinnic (KK) River on Milwaukee's near south side. In 2007, the KK River was listed as the nation's 7th most endangered river by American Rivers due to its nearly complete urbanization, elevated levels of PAH's and PBC's, and concrete lined channel and tributaries. As some of our grant cycles come to an end, we would like to celebrate a few of our successes.

 

GWM initiated best management practices for storm water (BMPs) on 53 properties within the KK rivershed. GWM is also project manager for the Gateway to Improved Long-Term Spawning (GILS) project, in which innovative habitat underwater baskets (HUBS) are planted with native vegetation and float within the corrugations of steel sheet piling comprising the shoreline of the river's industrialized portion. And GWM's Green Team provided educational programming in the way of weekly field seminars in a program called Watershed 1 on 1 for a local high school. Through this service learning course, students learned what a watershed is and about BMPs, removed invasive plants, planted native shrubs and trees, maintained rain gardens, picked up trash, and paddled the KK and other Milwaukee area waterways. GWM also partnered with other organizations in conducting river clean-ups that drew over 1000 volunteers.   

 

River reclamation fforts complementary to these are being led by the City of Milwaukee, which is now building the Kinnickinnic River Trail that connects residents of the KK watershed with Milwaukee's downtown. GWM is the project manager for the construction of a trailhead that will serve as a resting stop, trail access point, educational kiosk, and neighborhood information site for trail users. Read about this project in more detail here

   


GW Lawrence Celebrates the Opening of the Spicket River Greenway!  

   

In Lawrence, MA, the long-awaited Spicket River Greenway is being opened with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting scheduled for July 22nd. The
community of Lawrence will come together to celebrate the opening of the Spicket River Greenway, a new three-mile linear park. This momentous occasion was 15 years in the making. With persistent effort and a strong partnership between federal, state, and local governments, working in partnership with private businesses and nonprofits (including Groundwork Lawrence which played a leading role in getting this project completed), more than $10 million has been invested in the Spicket River Greenway project. Running through the city's most challenged neighborhoods, the Greenway connects seven new or rehabilitated parks, seven schools, and three large employers - Lawrence General Hospital, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, and Polartec.
 

The Spicket River Greenway is a powerful model of how strategically coordinated public investment can leverage existing assets and draw private investment into a community-wide project because the benefits will be broadly shared. Nearly 30,000 residents live within walking distance of this new linear park and their quality of life will increase with greater access to safe recreational space.



Brownfields, Trails, & Green Infrastructure news from...

 

Groundwork Elizabeth developed a comprehensive inventory and report that will allow the city of Elizabeth to dedicate resources to brownfield sites that pose the biggest hazard to sensitive areas, such as schools. The inventory also allows working sites such as gas stations to be excluded in favor of empty properties without ownership issues. Read more here.  

  

Groundwork Portland and partner organizations involved 12 teenagers in their summer Green Team program, working on green infrastructure projects around the city, while also learning about environmental justice issues and career opportunities, and gaining leadership experience. Team members learned about stormwater management, pollution and bio-accumulation, and keeping stormwater out of the combined sewer system. Projects the team worked on include eco-roofs, bioswales, rain gardens, green street facility maintenance, invasive plant removal, and native plant installation. Read more here

 

Dona Ana County's Vado Park and Trail is utilized by both the Vado and Del Cerro communities. Residents from both communities worked together to identify the need for recreational space in their communities. With Groundwork Dona Ana's guidance and assistance, this community
Path to Putnam Spur Rail Trailwas able to make the Vado Park and Trail a reality. Read more here.

 

GW Hudson Valley was awarded the competitive EPA Brownfields Area-Wide Planning grant, focused on the Lawrence Street neighborhood in Yonkers, NY, and the Putnam Spur Rail-to-Trail/Brownfield project. EPA awarded approximately $4 million in grants to 20 communities across the country to assist with planning for cleanup and reuse of brownfields properties. More than half of the recipients are located in the northeast/midwest region, including sites in IL, IN, IA, MA, NY, OH, PA, VT, and WI, and aims to promote community revitalization by using cleanups to stimulate local economies and protect people's health and the environment.


Get Fresh Yonkers Farmers Market Kicks Off Season in Van der Donck Park 
Farmers market corn

Groundwork Hudson Valley kicked off the season on Saturday June 1st, in the newly built park downtown around the just-daylighted (and much celebrated!) Saw Mill River. 

 

GWHV opened the Farmers Market in 2010, bringing local, affordable produce to Yonkers each week. The market is part of Groundwork's Get Fresh Yonkers initiative to create a food co-op for Yonkers in collaboration with area farms, local schools, and downtown businesses. Along with the market, GWHV is offering culinary training in a professional kitchen for youth interested in starting their own food-related businesses, and creating partnerships between local restaurants and farms, increasing their access to seasonal and delicious local produce. The co-op also includes the Citizen Farmer initiative, which provides Yonkers residents with the space and skills to grow vegetables for the farmers market, as well as to share with each other and other members of Groundwork's Community Supported Agriculture program. 

 

Groundwork USA newsletter edited by Anjali Chen.
Groundwork USA, 22 Main St., 2nd Floor, Yonkers, NY 10701