APACC Newsletter: March 2022

APACC’s Candidates Forums on the Environment

APACC is sponsoring two candidates’ environmental forums that will be held at Anacostia Senior High School on:

Mayoral Candidates Environmental Forum

  • Thursday, April 21, 2022 from 6 pm – 8 pm

Chairman & At-Large Councilmember Candidates Environmental Forum

  • Friday, May 20, 2022 from 6 pm – 8 pm

The purpose of the forums is to provide the community with an opportunity to learn more about the candidates’ environmental platform on parks. For example, Poplar Point, a national park has been on the radar screen for development for the past 30 years. However, until the land is transferred to the District and remediated, this waterfront public land will forever be in limbo.

There is also the question of how to reduce trash and litter and a push for a bottle bill. It is interesting that Ward 8 is home to the largest national and local park in the entire city ~ Anacostia Park and Oxon Run Park. There is an issue with accessibility to public restrooms as well as more funding for staffing and programming to activate and maintain the parks.

There is also question of development in a floodplain. In light of climate change, our days will be getting hotter. How do we ensure that there is a more robust tree canopy east of the river to keep neighborhoods cool? Research has shown that there is a direct correlation to heat sensitivity and violence. These environmental questions are important to the quality of life for residents in Wards 7 and 8. This is a very important conversation. Please join us.

 
 
 

Earth Day Clean Up Honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act: April 23, 2022

APACC is happy to support one of our members, the Friends of Oxon Run Park along with the Potomac Riverkeeper and the National Park Service’s upcoming Earth Day Event on:

  • Saturday, April 23, 2022 from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm

  • Oxon Cove | 17 DC Village, SW Washington, D.C.

  • (Meeting in front of the Forensics Lab)

This is a marquee Earth Day event that celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act. Oxon Cove is a national park that is quietly nestled in Ward 8. This national park is a hidden jewel that folks rarely have access to. This beautiful public land was fenced off from the community because it had become Mt. Trashmore with unprecedented illegal dumping.

Over the years various environmental groups have worked with the National Park Service to clean up the debris. On the Maryland side of Oxon Cove, the Potomac Riverkeeper has been working diligently to remove tons of trash.

Everyone is working collaboratively to recruit volunteers to participate in a clean up on the DC and Maryland side. Registration on the DC side will be held in the parking lot of the DC Forensics lab on 17 DC Village SW. There are two shifts available if folks do not want to stay for the entire day (9 am – 11:30 am and 12 noon – 2 pm).

Volunteers are invited to register on Eventbrite. Gloves and other supplies will be provided. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature and volunteers who have a vested interest in our parks (both national and local).

 

APACC Members Join the City Nature Challenge: April 29 - May 2, 2022

Congratulations to all the APACC members who have joined the City Nature Challenge. They include:

  • Shannah Cumberbatch | Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

  • Absalom Jordan | Friends of Oxon Run Park

  • Lora Nunn | Kenilworth Park

  • Vaughn Perry | BridgePark

  • Richard Trent | Friends of Anacostia Park

The City Nature Challenge is an annual, global community science competition to document urban biodiversity. The challenge is a bioblitz that engages residents and visitors to find and document plants, animals and other living organisms living in urban areas. There was a big push last year and this year more communities of color. It is such a wonderful occasion to watch children and adults on their phones with the INaturalist app to photograph something interesting that they may have never noticed before.

The City Nature Challenge is held from April 29, 2022 – May 2, 2022. CNC encourages everyone to connect to nature in a way that resonates for them. The challenge is for each city all of over the world to document thousands of findings. The CNC activities for Anacostia Park, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Kenilworth Park and Oxon Run Park can be found on the APACC calendar.

Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative