| Washington Parks & People
Brian Rodgers Joins Parks & People
Brian Rodgers will be joining Parks & People at the beginning of Earth Week, April 20, as full-time coordinator of our Community Greening and workforce development initiative east of the River, based at the Riverside Center. A trained master gardener and six-year veteran of Johnson's Florist and Garden Center, Brian was one of the co-founders of the Down by the Riverside Campaign and Watts Branch Community Alliance seven years ago. Brian is a lifelong resident of Ward 7 and has been a leading advocate for community greening east of the River. He is a graduate of Denison University with additional experience in youth development.
Community Greening Mini-Grants
With support from the TKF Foundation, Washington Parks & People has just made 16 community greening mini-grants, ranging from $200 to $2500, for neighborhood improvement projects across the city, focused on places with the greatest need and potential for impact. The projects include community vegetable gardens, parks, schoolyard greening, healing gardens, green gateways, green play spaces, and more. In addition to cash grants, Parks & People is also providing community greening technical assistance, planning and design, training, support, advocacy, and partnership sponsorship and development. The TKF Foundation works across DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis to create "Open Spaces, Sacred Places". It partners with organizations to create sacred green places that increase a sense of community and contribute to a deepening of human connections.
Marvin Gaye Trail Nears Completion
The Marvin Gaye Trail is soon to be a reality, the first major new trail inside a DC municipal park in 30 years. From the time Parks & People first walked the trail with DC Parks and Recreation officials 11 years ago, this has grown into a $3.5 million project led by the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT), featuring 1.6 miles of beautiful new intermodal trail to connect the entire stream valley together, including two new bridges to unify the entire park and trail for the first time. The trail will feature lighting along its entire corridor, with curb extensions at nearly every crossing to enhance pedestrian safety and calm traffic. The trail's ribbon-cutting is expected to take place in June in conjuncton with African American Music Month, but most of the trail is ready for a test walk or bike ride right now!
Cool Capital Garners New Support
A recent study found that our region could gain over 100,000 new jobs by investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy -- making fighting the climate crisis an immediate imperative for all of us. The Cool Capital Challenge, the model regional climate-saving initiative hosted by Parks & People, has won endorsements from governments, businesses, and communities across the Washington region. Find out how you have the power to "Cool Now!" Click on www.coolcapital.org to make a pledge to get help in taking immediate direct action to reduce your carbon footprint and help make a better world for your children and grandchildren.
Watts Branch Stream Restoration Set to Begin
The DC Department of the Environment, in collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, DC Parks and Recreation, the DC Water and Sewer Authority, the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, and Parks & People, is set to launch the long-awaited Watts Branch stream restoration later this year. The $5 million restoration will dramatically improve the appearance, sustainability, habitat, and health and safety of the entire stream corridor. Key features include replaced and relined sewer pipes to stop all sewage leakage, reconstructed natural stream banks, improved stream and streamside fish and wildlife habitat, riparian buffer and native tree canopy planting, and a wide range of broader stream valley improvements to stem the flow of stormwater, mud, and trash into the stream and river. The goal of this work is to create a healthier, more sustainable community and watershed in which children and people of all ages will be able to connect to, learn from, and benefit from a model urban stream restoration. The improvements will improve life for all along the stream and river, and residents will one day be able to fish and swim in the Anacostia once again. |
|
 Reserve the Parks Center for your own special event!
We invite you to explore the programs and events at the Josephine Butler Parks Center, a multi-organization "greenhouse" for advancing green spaces and rebuilding communities.
Find out more information about making a contribution through the Network for Good.
Washington Parks & People began 17 years ago with Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park receiving the National Park Service's highest organizational award for leading the transformation of the single most violent park in the capital region into one of its safest. We now help revitalize once forgotten parks and communities throughout the inner capital region by working with a wide variety of people, agencies, and organizations. Parks & People is completing its sixth year of dramatic impact in the Down By the Riverside Campaign at Marvin Gaye Park in the Watts Branch stream valley. Join the Parks & People Network or find out more about volunteering to help the parks today.
Thank you to our Parks Center Partners.
Riverside Campaign Expands
Parks & People's seven-year Down by the Riverside Campaign and Watts Branch Community Alliance are expanding, with these developments in collaboration with our numerous partners and the DC government:
- Community Greening Center set to open later this year, with park-based green restoration and job training;
- Phase II Play Garden construction plans nearing completion for this model family green space opposite Richardson Dwellings;
- Park improvements slated for construction include new playgrounds, lighting, emergency call boxes, water fountains, landscaping, low impact development, stages, chess tables, horseshoe pit, outdoor classrooms, and pavilions;
- Community family services at Parks & People's Riverside Center, in collaboration with Project Blessings and other community and public partners;
- Heart & Soul program for park-based health, fitness, and nutrition programming, advocacy, and support;
- Expanded youth and arts and cultural programming and education partnerships; and
- Replication of the model Marvin Gaye Park model to other park partnerships along the Anacostia.
Riverside Center Wins Green Grants
Parks & People has won $100,000 in grants for its ongoing improvements to the Riverside Center at the heart of Marvin Gaye Park. The Center, formerly known as Barnett's Crystal Lounge and the scene of Marvin Gaye's professional debut, has become a town hall and hub of community reclamation. Riverside hosts park planning and revitalization of all kinds, as well as frequent community forums, volunteer work days, youth mentoring of all kinds, dance classes, healthy cooking classes, youth bike safety and repair, arts and cultural exhibitions, heritage tours and story-telling, seasonal celebrations, job training, and the popular weekly farm market. The new grants come from DC's Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, the Energy Division of the DC Department of the Environment, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and Whole Foods Market. They will support such needs as facade improvement, solar panels, HVAC replacement, and other green upgrades.
Press Features
The Marvin Gaye Park improvements have been featured in dozens of local, national, and even international media stories. Here are a couple:
|
|
