Weekly Report: Youth Environmental Workshop on Flooding & More

Hi Anacostia Community,

Happy Wednesday!

Youth Environmental Workshop on Flooding | I had a meeting with the DOEE team to solidify our plans for June 22nd at Anacostia High School with 22 to 25 students for a special event during Flood Week. APACC is partnering with the Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) to make this happen. APACC will be providing pizza and pop, and coordinating with DOEE. The event will feature 4 stations that include the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA).

Air Quality in the Park | I had a wonderful meeting with Kelly Crawford who runs the Air Quality Division at DOEE. They are interested in more community engagement on air quality. There is a $55,000 RFP that was due April 25th. I am hoping that our members will partner with each other to go after future grant.

Foster Care Initiative in the Park | Akiima Price (Thrive Outside D.C.), Richard Trent (Friends of Anacostia Park), and I met with a group from the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) that works with foster children east of the river and across the region. We had a productive meeting and agreed to work with 17 of their foster care youth from the ages of 14 to 21 on August 4th from 1 pm – 3 pm, and provide meaningful engagement in the park that will include a boat ride, skating, biking, and fishing. The Friends of Anacostia Park will provide lunch for this event. If this effort is successful, we will plan follow up series of activities in 2023.

NEEF offers a variety of grants and awards to help organizations engage their local community to improve the environment, increase diversity, and expand their work locally. Check out their grants program here.

Forest Patch Tour in Baltimore | We took a tour of 8 forest patch sites in Baltimore, Maryland. It was interesting to learn how they recruited volunteers from the community to maintain the forest patches. It was a long day but very well worth the trip!

November 1st Invasive Removal Clean Up | Casey Trees have joined our upcoming Invasive Removal Clean Up in Watts Branch in Marvin Gaye Park to support volunteer outreach and provide tools and training along with the folks from the Urban Forestry Administration.

Poplar Point Meeting | Casey Trees will host the next virtual Listening Session is scheduled for June 29th at 6:30 pm.

July General Meeting with DCEN | Chris Weiss of the DC Environmental Network expressed an interest in co-hosting our APACC July 15th General Meeting. We have invited Vanessa Batters-Thompson, the next Executive Director of the DC Appleseed Center to be our guest speaker. We are waiting to hear back from her. Stay tuned!

All the best,
Brenda Richardson | APACC Coordinator