Committee to Restore Shepherd Parkway’s innovative approach to park and waterways

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Ward 8 has a new environmental/job/job training project: Ward 8 Woods (Facebook) coordinated by the Committee to Restore Shepherd Parkway and supported by the Anacostia Coordinating Council. The goal of the project is to

drastically reduce the burden of trash and invasive species [sic] not only in Shepherd Parkway, but in the other three large wooded areas in the Ward 8 as well: Oxon Run Parkway, Suitland Parkway, and Fort Stanton Park.

Funded by a Community Stormwater Solutions Grant from the Department of Energy and the Environment, Ward 8 Woods (full name, Engaging Ward 8 Residents in Ward 8 Woodland Restoration), will

  1. Hire four Ward 8 residents to be Park Stewards. Candidates must be unemployed or underemployed and face barriers to employment. Park Stewards will each be paid for 80 hours of work and training over the course of the project year June 30, 2018 to June 29, 2019. Interviews start soon.
  2. Hold at least one clean-up each month at each of the four parks, with the goal of removing at least 50,000 pounds of trash and cutting invasive vines from 300 trees.
  3. Cover a modest number of hours each week for Committee chair Nathan Harrington. Harrington has put in thousands of hours over several years cleaning and coordinating the Committee.
  4. Welcome all Ward 8 residents, organizations, and schools "join as volunteers and collaborators for a healthier and more beautiful environment."

We'll be walking streets and knocking on doors to recruit volunteers, and gather information about how residents use the parks and what changes they'd like to see. With our partners at the Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative we’ll be spreading the message to “Take Care of Your Trash” by not littering or dumping.


Learn more about Ward 8 Woods in Committee to Restore Shepherd Parkway Wins $20,000 DOEE Grant! and Environmental Justice in the Woods of Ward 8.

DOEE’s Community Stormwater Solutions Grants are a pretty big deal. They

provide start-up funding for innovative, community-oriented projects aimed at improving water quality in the District, reducing trash, and raising awareness about what citizens can do to restore our rivers, streams, and parks. The program started in 2016 with the goal of expanding DOEE’s work with community partners and strengthening existing relationships by supporting projects that are inspired and supported by the community.

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