Starting today, Ward 8 families with a student in a Ward 8-based elementary or middle public, private or charter school can enroll in EduSaveDC and receive as much as $1,800 in the next 12 months to help save for a child's college education. This program is run by Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB) in collaboration with the 11th Street Bridge Park, a project of the Ward 8 non-profit Building Bridges Across the River.
Read MoreIrfana Jetha Noorani is the Deputy Director of the 11th Street Bridge Park project with Building Bridges Across the River, a member of the Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative. She will be featured in an upcoming national webinar on August 7 at 1:00 PM titled, “How a Park Can Prevent Cultural Gentrification.”
Read MoreThe NPS is hosting a public open house about the future of Shepherd Parkway on July 10, 2019, but in the meantime you can submit comments about the project here.
Read MoreResidents of Kenilworth, Eastland Gardens, Parkside, Mayfair and surrounding neighborhoods could be able to walk from their homes to the National Arboretum with a new proposed pedestrian bridge that would cross the Anacostia River at Kenilworth Park.
Some river users have voiced their concerns about the bridge, primarily that the footings would block boat traffic. You can read more about the issues in this article. One proposed compromise would be to design the bridge as a “clear span” bridge, with no footings in the river, which would be more expensive but not block any boat traffic. The planners have extended the comment period for the project.
Read MoreNew research shows that people who spend at least 120 minutes in nature each week are significantly more likely to report good health and higher psychological wellbeing than those who don’t visit nature at all during an average week.
Read MoreOn June 11, the Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative hosted an online meeting about its new initiative to build a cohort of organizations focused on meaningfully engaging Ward 7 and Ward 8 residents in Anacostia Park programming.
The Collaborative is dedicated to maximizing the value of Anacostia Park and other parts of the Anacostia River corridor for Ward 7 and 8 residents, and one of the most significant ways to make the corridor relevant to people’s lives is through events and activities. That’s why we are launching our Events, Programming and Outreach affinity group!
Read MoreRiver Network is an organization that hosts an annual conference, River Rally, and connects nonprofit organizations and government agencies working on river issues across the country. This year at River Rally in Cleveland, OH, River Network honored a local champion of the Anacostia River, Dennis Chestnut.
Read MoreOn a recent Saturday morning, I joined a handful of residents from DC’s River Terrace and Kingman Park neighborhoods on a community walk to Kingman Island. We were brainstorming ways to improve the connection from these neighborhoods to Kingman Island, one of two beautiful island parks lying between these two neighborhoods on opposite shores of the Anacostia River.
Read MoreThe Department of Transportation and the National Park Service have been working on plans for a bridge that will connect the Kenilworth Park area across the Anacostia River to the National Arboretum.
This pedestrian and bicycle bridge would help connect the neighborhoods of Mayfair, Kenilworth, Parkside, Eastland Gardens and River Terrace get access to the National Arboretum much more easily. DDOT hopes to complete the bridge by 2021.
Do you have thoughts about the bridge design or location? Do you have other concerns? Attend a DDOT public meeting and share your voice on May 21 or May 22.
Read MoreDo you want to learn more about getting a rain garden or rain barrel installed on your property? Are you interested in grants that support projects to improve water quality? Do you want to learn more about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and what DC is doing to improve it?
The Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative is co-hosting a meeting this Thursday, May 23, from 6:00-8:00PM with Washington Parks and People (an APACC member) on these topics. The Department of Energy and Environment will be there to learn from you how their programs can best serve your community while cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay through its “Watershed Improvement Plan.”
Read MoreThe McCourt Policy Innovation Lab is a graduate student initiative of the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, and the group is a member organization of APACC. The PIL is hosting a year-end presentation on Monday, April 29th from 4-5: 30 pm at the ARC Community Meeting Room (1901 Mississippi Ave SE Suite #101) on. The event is an opportunity for the Policy Lab to share their work and learn from the community as they continue their efforts to support racially equitable, socially just, and community-centric policies in D.C.'s Wards 7 & 8.
Read MoreNeighbor-to-Neighbor is a small grants program that was launched in 2019 to provide funding for community-based groups and organizations that are located in and/or serve in the following Ward 8 communities: Anacostia, Buena Vista, Fort Stanton, Garfield Heights, Hillsdale, Knox Hill, Stanton Oaks, The Vistas, and Woodland. The program’s design, implementation, and decision-making is driven by DC residents who either live or work in communities in Ward 8. Learn more here, and apply here by May 31, 2019.
Read MoreA new study released this month says that taking “at least 20 minutes out of your day to stroll or sit in a place that makes you feel in contact with nature will significantly lower your stress hormone levels.”
Read MoreYou are invited by the District Department of Energy and Environment on Saturday, May 11th from 10 am – 12pm for a Community Walk to Kingman Island to share your ideas for enhancing the journey from your backyard to the island. During the walk participants will explore pilot projects that can transform Ethel Kennedy/ Benning Road Bridge and the entrance to Kingman Island into vibrant social public spaces by adding temporary seating, plants, and art work to make the space more inviting and enjoyable.
Read MoreAPACC member Washington Parks and People is hosting Lights of Freedom, an event where community residents and descendants will join with the National Park Service and DC Parks and Recreation to light over 2,000 candle luminaries in honor of thousands of African Americans who were buried in what is now Adams Morgan's Walter Pierce park after they gained their freedom during the Civil War. This event was rescheduled to April 16 at 7:00pm due to rain.
Read MoreThe Anacostia River Festival has been rescheduled to this coming Saturday, April 20th, from 1:00-5:00pm due to forecasted rain last weekend. The Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative will be there with an activity to help you brainstorm fun ways to take advantage of the amazing park resources in Wards 7 and 8!
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