On Thursday, September 24, at 6:00pm, you are invited to join Episode 3 of APACC’s Urban Nature Healing Fall 2020 Webinar Series, featuring APACC member Brenda Richardson: Best Practices in Engaging Vulnerable Communities in Nature. Register for the virtual event here.

The Anacostia Coordinating Council, founding member of APACC, is leading outreach efforts to inform people about COVID-19, provide tests and help keep the community safe. They are also spreading information about the 2020 Census in an effort to increase our communities’ response rate, which will help the District unlock funding and other resources in the future.

Ward 8 Woods is taking a survey about how people in Ward 8 use woods and trails. Tell them what you think. There are more than 500 acres of forested parkland in Ward 8, but most of it is difficult to access, and only two established trails cross it. Ward 8 Woods wants to change that. They aim to create an expanded network of natural-surface paths in the woods of Ward 8. Tell Ward 8 Woods how you use the woods and trails and what you want to see there by completing this survey. It should take 5 minutes or less.

Please join the Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative for an upcoming nature programming webinar series with partners that include: Conservation Fund, Clean Water, Chozen Consulting, LLC and Akiima Price Consulting.

Philip Pannell, Executive Director of the Anacostia Coordinating Council and a founding member of the Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative, is the "The Old Man of Anacostia." He has launched a new column, and his first article, "Solving the Code of Silence" is available now via East of the River online. Philip will be contributing on a monthly basis, tackling issues concerning Ward 8.

A short summary of updates and news from the APACC network.

A group of black environmental leaders from around the world, including several leaders active in the Anacostia River watershed, have published this statement in which they demand an end to the systemic and pervasive racism within the environmental field.

Danielle Burs, chair of the Anacostia Park & Community Collaborative’s Policy Working Group, submitted testimony to the Council of the District of Columbia Committee on Recreation and Youth Affairs Virtual Public Oversight Hearing on the Department of Parks and Recreation.

The Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative has updated it’s meeting schedule for the year, and these meetings have been posted on our calendar of upcoming events.