2016

2017 Planning

The Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative, which includes 18 community-based and city-wide nonprofit organizations, met on November 30th. Discussion focused on activities in 2017 that would support the goal of community-led, equitable revitalization of the Anacostia River parks, adjacent neighborhoods, and a thorough cleanup of the Anacostia River.

Preparing for DC 100 Resilient Cities Launch

On November 29th, the Anacostia Partnership and the Environmental Law Institute gave a presentation to DC's 100 Resilient Cities Launch Team about an innovative proposal to create resilience corridors in the District. The corridors would catalyze community-based planning and implementation efforts to address a variety of sustainability goals. 

Read the Ambassador's blog on resiliency here. Exit

Wilderness Inquiry's Canoemobile on the Anacostia

Thanks to the National Park Trust, Izaak Walton League, and National Park Service, students learned about wildlife along the river, water quality, and impacts of pollution through land-based activities in addition to taking canoes out on the water. Wilderness Inquiry's Canoemobile took District of Columbia and Maryland students out on the Anacostia River from October 31 - November 4. 

Urban Waters Ambassador named to the Federal Agency of Stormwater Management Workgroup

On November 3, Katherine Antos, Anacostia Ambassador, participated in a meeting with staff from EPA, DoD, General Services Administration, National Parks Service, National Capital Planning Commission, and the District Department of Energy and Environment to discuss federal agencies' stormwater management within the District of Columbia. Katherine was named a member of the Federal Agency Stormwater Management MOU Workgroup and will work with the agencies on projects which will help meet water quality goals for receiving waters, including the Anacostia River and the Chesapeake Bay. 

Anacostia Riverwalk Trail

On October 31, federal and state leaders gathered to commemorate the opening of a 4-mile segment of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. This creates a network of almost 70 miles of trails in the District, Montgomery and Prince George's Counties and provides access to 16 waterfront communities. The Riverwalk Trail is the culmination of over two decades of planning and was funded by federal, state, and local funds totaling over $22 million. Plans exist to continue expanding the trail network. 

Festival del Rio Anacostia

The Anacostia River area will be celebrating the first ever "Festival del Rio Anacostia," an evironmental and cultural festival to connect the Latino community with the Anacostia River and its restoration. The event will feature demonstrations, boat tours, games, food, and more.

Park(ing) Day

Anacostia Urban Waters Ambassador, Katherine Antos, participated in two Park(ing) Day events on Friday, September 16th to increase awareness about the Anacostia River. Park(ing) Day is a national event that temporarily turns city parking spaces into mini parks. The first site was co-hosted by the National Park Service, and focused on parkland and rivers in the DC area. The second site was hosted by the DC City Council and featured five organizations working on the Anacostia: the Anacostia Waterfront Trust, Wahington Parks and People, Living Classrooms, The Nature Conservancy, DC Urban Green, and Washington Area Bicyclists Association. Both spots created an excellent opportunity to gather the public's and local officials' vision for what a healthy Anacostia would mean for the citizens of the region. 

2015

Anacostia Riverwalk Trail to recieve $10 million

The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail project was selected from over 400 applications to receive $10 million from the US Department of Transportation to complete the final portion of the trail. The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail serves as a backbone of the Anacostia Waterfront, connecting residents, visitors and communities to the river, one another, and numerous commercial and recreational destinations. The National Park Service played a critical role in developing the successful proposal.

Earth Conservation Corps offers water quality workshops to local students

The Earth Conservation Corps has a wonderful Water Quality Monitoring program for students as citizen scientists. ECC has introduced this program to students in the Washington DC area. Students visit the ECC pumphouse on the Anacostia River where the water quality monitoring occurs.

The Earth Conservation Corps Exit is a key partner in the Anacostia Watershed location.

Students as Citizen Scientists: Water Quality Monitoring (1 pg, 2015, About PDF)You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA’s About PDF page to learn more.

The East Capitol Urban Farm

The Anacostia UWFP location, the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), and the DC Housing Authority (DCHA) partnered to transform an abandoned parcel into the District’s largest-scale urban farm and aquaponics facility – the East Capitol Urban Farm. The farm promotes urban agriculture and improves nutrition through a community-centered farmers market; offers nutrition education; provides community gardening; creates opportunities for entrepreneurship; and includes a research and demonstration site for UDC. This opportunity for partners is to develop this farm as a model for temporary use of vacant lots while demonstrating on-site stormwater management and local food production.

UDC's CAUSES initiative and students from the Maya Angelou School Young Adult Learning Center put the finishing touches on the farm on December 4th, 2015.

Watch the American Forests video on DC's East Capitol Urban Farm Exit.

Read: Are Mobile Urban Farms a Good Use of Space in DC? Exit

The University of DC Exit has updates on the project at their website.  

Read about the build day on the EPA Blog Exit.