December 12,2023:

April 24, 2021:

Join the Groundwork RVA Team! We are in search of a Green Team Program Manager. Please review the job posting carefully and apply if you think you would be the perfect fit. We are hoping to fill the vacancy by February 2024.

Groundwork RVA, Capital One and Arbor Day Foundation to Celebrate Earth Month with Tree Planting in South Richmond

“The pandemic highlighted what we’ve known for quite some time and exposed many of the gaps in our community,” said Rob Jones, executive director of Groundwork RVA. “For many families in South Richmond, that includes a lack of access to fresh foods, green spaces and even shade from trees. All of this leads to lower life expectancy, greater health risks and challenges that makes it harder to survive, let alone thrive.” 

“That’s why we’re thankful to receive funding from Capital One and the Arbor Day Foundation to plant more trees and build healthier neighborhoods,” Jones added. “This work is not only vital for our communities today but the survival of future generations, especially as we tackle climate change.”

April 28, 2021:

VOF Grant Spotlight: Hillside Court MicroFarm and Outdoor Lab, Richmond, VA

Groundwork RVA has been collaborating with Hillside Court residents in the urban agriculture work that is driving the building of the MicroFarm and Outdoor Learning Space.

April 27, 2021:

Groundwork RVA plants 50 new trees at Southside community garden

“‘When these trees grow in and there’s pears and there’s apples, they’re not for anybody except the people who live around here and want to come and harvest them’. Last year, Groundwork RVA helped plant more than 375 new trees at playgrounds, schools and other public places.”

March 18, 2021:

The Impacts of Place, Space, Climate Change and Race — Flood Awareness Week Roundtable Discussion

Featuring Groundwork RVA Executive Director Rob Jones

September 10, 2020:

Going Green with Groundwork RVA — wtvr richmond

“Groundwork RVA is a local nonprofit that cultivates young black and brown conservation leaders by creating green infrastructure in Richmond’s urban neighborhoods.”

september 2, 2020:

Nonprofits to plant 650 trees in formerly segregated neighborhoods impacted by extreme heat — richmond times-dispatch

“It’s built into our DNA has been this notion that there’s an inequity in the impact of heat in the city. It’s more dangerous than we know. It’s an invisible killer,” said Rob Jones, executive director of Groundwork RVA, another community group involved in the project. “Here we’ve got efforts around remediation. That’s really what matters — that we’re looking at how to put equity into this conversation.”

August 24, 2020:

How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering — The New York times

While many are optimistic about Richmond’s efforts to focus on racial equity, they warn there’s still much work to be done to undo disparities built up over many decades. Inequality in housing, incomes, health and education “all make a difference when we’re talking about vulnerability to climate change,” said Rob Jones, executive director of Groundwork’s Richmond chapter.