Exploring and Restoring Anacostia River & Parks

This year, there are several plans in the queue for Anacostia park and river restoration and at APACC, we serve the community by highlighting opportunities to authentically participate in planning and decision-making about the future of the Anacostia Watershed, and the development of the surrounding neighborhoods. Check out our webpage calendar to stay up to date with community meetings, events, and activities related to the parks and waterways as well as community events in the Anacostia Watershed.

In honor of black history month, we wanted to share these virtual tour videos of the African American History Museum and the Frederick Douglas House. As we reflect on the rich Black History of the Anacostia and how folks have historically engaged with the river and the surrounding green spaces, we invite you to share your images of how you, your family, your community organization, or friends and neighbors are using the Anacostia parks, trails and river system. Follow the I Love Anacostia Park instagram or the APACC facebook page to get your images published in our digital photo archives. The Friends of Oxon Run’s Urban Adventure Squad were for example, recently spotted frolicking in the Snow! Also if you didn’t get a chance to listen, don’t miss Friends of Oxon Run and Brenda Richardson featured on a recent episode of the Kojo Nandi show!

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Park/River Planning Updates

The National Park Service has extended the public comment period for the Kenilworth Park Clean-up plan alternatives with a new deadline of March 12th. You can find informational videos and materials on our web page about this process. For more information about submitting a formal public comment or accessing NPS documents on the Kenilworth clean-up project, visit their website.

The District’s Department of Parks and Recreation will be hosting a series of virtual listening sessions (Ready2Play) to engage the community in the District’s Parks Master Planning process. Find out more information regarding how to register for your ward’s Ready2Play session here. On the evening of February 10th, DPR facilitated the Ward 7 Ready2Play community engagement event. Some of the trending topics highlighted from participants were;

  • the need for improved park management and maintenance

  • easier access to recreational activities and programs

  • a desire for increased and improved amenities in Ward 7 parks

  • Deanwood, Kenilworth, and Marvin Gaye parks were identified by participants as the top priorities for Ward 7 park improvement investments.

DPR will be following up each Ready2Play session with a compiled document of the notes taken during the community breakout sessions that will be sent out to registrants of the event. Additionally, DPR is inviting residents to complete the Citywide Survey by March 2nd to inform the Ready2Play Parks and Recreation Master Plan.


The EPA Urban Waters Program has recently released a progress report that '“summarizes the accomplishments and significant milestones of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership (UWFP”. The Anacostia is a location in the UWFP and the report highlights progress in the Anacostia watershed particularly in community engagement and partnerships, and successes in community science and water quality monitoring. The EPA has also released an update of EJSCREEN, the Agency's publicly available award-winning environmental justice screening and mapping tool. EJSCREEN uses high-resolution maps and a methodology for combining datasets to identify environmental burdens on vulnerable populations.

 

The District Department of Energy and the Environment (DOEE) will be hosting a community engagement event to discuss restoration efforts on Kingman Island scheduled for March 2nd from 6:00-7:30 PM (more details to come soon).

DOEE grants to be aware of: RiverSmart Schools Small-Scale Schoolyard Conservation and Teacher Training Program: DOEE seeks eligible entities to help control, prevent, and remediate nonpoint sources of polluted runoff to District waters and the Chesapeake Bay. Eligible entities have been revised. The deadline for application submissions is March 5,

Urban Agriculture Infrastructure Grant: DOEE's Office of Urban Agriculture (OUA) seeks eligible applicants to build the capacity of new and existing urban farms in the District of Columbia through infrastructure improvements. The deadline for application submissions is March 1, 2021

Community Programs and events.

This year APACC will be sponsoring 20 members and community members from Ward 7 and 8 to participate in the Audubon Naturalist Society’s Taking Nature Black virtual conference. If you or your organization are an APACC member and/or you know of a ward 7 or 8 community member that would like to reserve a free sponsored registration to participate in this year’s virtual conference, contact us with your contact information and interest.

Don’t miss an opportunity to engage in Ward 8 Water Watchers’ fun socially distanced watershed education and restoration activities and an opportunity to get a free bag of produce on February 28th from 12:30-3:30 PM. Sign up for your socially distanced activity slot and find out more information here.

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