To celebrate our newly renovated Bike Shop, we had a really fabulous event on May 11th for our Grand Re-Opening! A true community gathering, many kids and their families came out, as well as many of our community partners. We grilled, held a youth bike swap and bike giveaway, and more fun activities. We gave away over 30 bikes!
In partnership with Drums No Guns, our Green Workforce is proud to have finished this African-centered Labyrinth!
Check out our photos from May’s Spring Planting Day at Hillside Farm! We had a blast getting our seedlings in the ground and optimizing the space for the coming growing season.
Ii’Jeana James, our Youth Educator, is a former Green Teamer who’s come full circle and now spends much of her time with the new generation of youth on the Green Team. Jeana’s passion for youth development and environmental issues, as well as the spirit of kindness and positivity she brings to any space she occupies, makes her a vital part of our team. In April, Jeana was invited to Washington, D.C. to advocate for our causes. Jeana writes of her experience at the Capitol, here:
Washington D.C was a movie. The trip started off with a behind the scenes guided tour of Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park with National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) Mid-Atlantic Staff and park rangers. We were shown a piece of canal restoration construction on the part of the canal called the Towpath. This part of the canal was named this because of the cargo of mules that were hauled along the waterway. The last part of the tour consisted of a short hike on the Billy Goat Trail. The ranger biologists and ecologist introduced the Buttercup Scorpionweed plant, a species sensitive to extinction. The park puts in a consistent effort to preserve this and other plant species of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. Support for both of these projects were funded by the Great American Outdoors Act and Inflation Reduction Act.
Next, there was luncheon and panel discussion with National Park Service Director, Next Generation Advisory Council, and other influential people with the topic of the sacredness and healing of parks and how their journeys led them to National Parks and/or environmental work. I attended the cocktail buffet reception that followed and enjoyed tiramisu overlooking the White House in the warm night air.
Day on the Hill was an experience for sure! I had the opportunity to shadow the amazing John Valinch of Groundwork USA and Kristen Sykes of the NPCA, lobbying Massachusetts politicians and sharing my experience as a former Green Team youth and now Youth Educator. I spoke of the importance of our national parks, not only for preserving culture and history, but also for the opportunity of learning and development they offer to the human experience. Lobbying is very fast paced— you have about fifteen minutes to share your information with the congress member or staff person, and then they are off to attend to their other duties. I got the chance to speak with Legislative Director Donald Pollard who works alongside Virginia Congresswoman Jenn McClellan. As a constituent, it was awesome to share excitement about Groundwork RVA’s projects in the area such as our Mini Farm in Hillside Court.
After Lobby Day was complete, I attended the 42nd Annual Salute to the Parks Awards Dinner at the National Building Museum. The National Parks Conservation Association honored Sara Capen of the Alliance of National Heritage Areas, Juan D. Martinez Pineda of the Forum for Community Solutions at the Aspen Institute, and Senator Debbie Stabenow. It was a beautiful and momentous occasion to break bread and share stories in the space of diligence and love for the outdoors.
At Mosby Memorial Baptist Church, in Northside, we partnered with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Virginia Interfaith Power and Light’s Faith-Based Places Initiative. The Green Workforce (GWF) prepared and supported the planting of 35 trees, installed concrete support pads, two 1000 gallon cisterns, and a solar powered pumping system. This rainwater capture system will irrigate the congregation’s planned urban agriculture project. The GWF also installed a native plant bioswale to handle runoff on another portion of the property (pictured with GWF member Darrell Atkins).
In anticipation of this spring’s groundbreaking Fulton Green Street project, Green Workforce went door-to-door to distribute 2,500 informational flyers to help the Fulton community stay abreast of this exciting project. GWF crew chief, Darquan Robertson, is shown above with project partners and a project rendering of what is to come!
Winter hasn't slowed down the Bellemeade Bike Shop team one bit! In December, the bike shop suffered a break-in and many of our tools were stolen. Our community rallied and came through to replace our valuable tools, and we are so grateful! With this experience, we realized that we needed to make the bike shop more secure so that this wouldn’t happen again. We were faced with an opportunity: a rebuild! With Will's invaluable assistance, we've been making speedy progress. The team has been hard at work putting up walls, building new structures, and getting the shop wired up for electricity. Weatherized and secure, we are on track to reopen the shop by mid-March, we are excited for our grand reopening on May 11th!
But that's not all that's been happening this winter at the bike shop. In an exciting new undertaking, we launched our first travelling Build-a-Bike program in collaboration with NextUp RVA at Henderson Middle School. This innovative initiative spans several weeks, with students learning how to fully deconstruct, repaint, and rebuild a bike of their choosing. Working alongside the talented students at Henderson has been an absolute delight, and we're immensely proud to see them develop their mechanical skills and unleash their creativity.
As we look to the future, we envision the Build-a-Bike program as just the beginning of a series of mechanics and riding programs in partnership with NextUp RVA at Richmond Public Schools. Together, we're committed to fostering a love for cycling and empowering the next generation of riders and mechanics within our community.
Putting the Farm to Bed for the Winter
In preparation for spring, Hillside Mini-Farm’s fall roots were put to bed in mid-November! The Green Team was there to assist in the laying of cover crop seeds and learned about their impact on soil health and farm production. The youth also had the opportunity to teach the neighborhood children, who ran over excitedly, interested in learning how to prepare their community farm for next season. The day concluded with breaking bread (or should we say pizza!).
Trash Pick Up with ReLeaf
The Green Team went out to the newly announced green space in Southside Richmond where the youth along with Southside ReLeaf participated in a trash pick-up that yielded over 10 bags of trash and other large objects! The Green Team also brainstormed environmentally sustainable additions to the green space that are natural and promote park upkeep. The Green Team envisioned ideas such as recycled tree stumps for seating areas and an easily accessible food pantry.
What’s Next!
We are excited to have more interested youth this spring season joining the Green Team and working to make improvements on community spaces in Richmond for all citizens. Green Team youth are in for much learning and fun, including new community service projects, community sustainability education and practices, arts and crafts, and tree climbing as well!
Green Team Staff Transitions
We have bid farewell to Rosa Roncales as Green Team Manager and wish her all the best in her next chapter. We are so appreciative of everything she contributed during her time at Groundwork RVA. We’ll miss you, Rosa! Filling the GT Manager position is Ryan Ott, an experienced outdoor educator and nature enthusiast. Welcome Ryan!
There has been no rest at the farm this winter and a fruitful spring is just on the horizon. Green Workforce has been hard at work installing an ADA accessible permeable pathway and community gathering space. With the install of the arbor and bulletin board finished, the entryway looks toward the community center and basketball courts, ensuring that the Mini-Farm becomes even more of a community destination where engagement and programming happens! We have big plans with Chef Ausar and the management at Hillside Court to offer cooking classes utilizing ingredients grown at the farm!
However, not all has been rosy at the farm this winter. A major stormwater pipe leak left us scrambling to find a repair or risk losing the bottom of our grow rows. Thanks to the swift response of the Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority, a crew was promptly dispatched to address the issue. We're grateful for their assistance, ensuring that our plans for the upcoming season remain on track.
Meanwhile, our Groundwork staff have been hard at work, putting the final refinements on our new solar panel system and crafting shade structures for our community space. We are starting seedlings and carefully repositioning raised beds, preparing the groundwork for a bountiful season ahead.
As we eagerly anticipate the arrival of spring, the spirit of growth and renewal permeates every corner of Hillside Mini-Farm. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to cultivate this thriving community space.
2023 has been a year of real growth and impact for Groundwork RVA. At a time when Richmond has been paying increased attention to sustainability and equity, we have been a central part of the conversation. As a leading voice in the Office of Sustainability Federal Convening project, Groundwork RVA was part of applying for and shaping the City's $6 Million Urban and Community Forestry Grant. Our work will be focused on getting trees into the ground in heat and flooding impacted neighborhoods and helping create a pipeline of living wage workforce opportunities in the tree care and adjacent industries.
Early in the year, the Hillside Mini-Farm and community space was selected as one of the Robins Foundation's Dynamic Communities sites! This pivotal support has allowed us to bring in soil amendments, additional space defining elements, the design, layout and construction of a permeable and ADA accessible pathway and an AMAZING MURAL! Family Movie nights and the ability to have staff create regular learning opportunities were important additions as well. Look for Cooking Classes this winter and spring!
Probably one of the most impactful changes we have made this year, is the addition of Alexandra James-Okochi as our Deputy Director!! Alexandra comes to us with a wealth of experience, as the CEO of Trinity Family Life Center in Richmond, and the Chief Program Officer for a national non-profit supporting family engagement. Alexandra's passion for community empowerment and staff support is already making a huge difference in Groundwork's ability to bring sustainability and best practices to our own work.
We also had a really big summer! Both the Bike Shop's Camp Spokes youth and the Green Team went for multi-day camping and service learning trips to Shenandoah National Park and Pocahontas State Park here in Virginia. We have been especially excited to deepen our relationship with Pocahontas State Park, where Groundwork RVA alum and former Green Team Leader, Kalen Gilliam, is the Chief Ranger!
Our long-standing relationship with the National Parks Service continued to provide amazing opportunities for Richmond youth to travel out West and be bowled over by the beauty and majesty of Big Skies, Big Mountains and Vast Spaces. We were able to take youth on two trips to Yellowstone National Park, and one to Grand Teton National Park! These trips are always the most fondly remembered experiences that Groundwork RVA youth refer back to time and time again.
This year saw one of our former Green Teamers, Tatiana Turner, take the big step of joining the National Park Service's Traditional Trades Advancement Program. This 6-month paid program hones participant abilities in a variety of skills needed in the Parks. It also provides all the hours necessary to qualify for Preferred Hiring Authority for many NPS positions. We can't wait to see what comes next for this smart and capable young woman. That's her below, with co-workers and drilling a hole in a really large piece of timber!
In November, we held our first formal event: our 10-Year Anniversary Celebration. With around 200 guests, we celebrated, told stories, made new friends, and raised funds for our programs. It was a night to remember and and we are so grateful to all our friends and supporters who helped to make it happen. And if you haven’t seen our 10-year anniversary video yet, check it out here!
As the year comes to a close and we look look ahead to the future, it is bright and full of possibility. The next 10 years will be full of exciting work to: support Richmond’s young people by opening opportunities for their development and impactful experiences in nature; offset disparate health and resilience impacts in communities of color; create more green spaces where our city needs them; grow food in ways that clearly connect to the lives of our young people and the health and well-being of their communities; and work in new ways to cultivate the next generation of urban conservationists in right here in Richmond — and we thank YOU for coming along on this journey with us.
Dear Groundwork RVA Friends and Family,
THANK YOU! Your financial support of Groundwork RVA enabled some truly remarkable breakthroughs, as I’ll explain in some detail in this letter. And…
Thank you in advance for renewing your commitment to our mission with a new, perhaps even more generous donation. I’m going to explain exactly how your investment will pay off for all your fellow Richmonders, particularly the Black and Brown youth and communities most impacted by a lack of green and accessible urban spaces.
Please read on. I’m confident that you will inspired to increase your level of support as needed to make our greater ambitions possible.
As you know, Groundwork RVA believes in the power of youth themselves to create the vibrancy they deserve in the green spaces and built environments where they live. Given historical inequities, the majority of our work and mission centers Black and Brown youth as immediate beneficiaries.
Our programs show what happens when we give these youth the skills, supports, and resources they need to be the change they want to see for themselves and their neighbors. With your help and support, this year we built strong and intentional partnerships that increased our reach in certain specific program areas:
Our Green Workforce…
… installed plants and trees in the Minefee Street walkable watershed with the James River Association and observed first-hand all hardscape work.
… was written into the upcoming Fulton Green Street with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, as installer for plants and pavers PLUS supporting growth and training for even more young people moving forward.
… designed and created 4 fully-functioning rain-capture systems ranging from 500-1,200-gallon capacities for use in Duron Chavis and Happily Natural Day’s garden projects, notably – the Sankofa Community Orchard, where they also built their longest permeable path to date!
… planted or gave away over 150 trees in some of the most heat-impacted areas of Southside Richmond with the Arbor Day Foundation and Capital One.
…procured and put into action #Water-To-Thrive our 500-gallon water-wagon and new-to-us work truck to tow it, in partnership with VA Dept of Forestry, Glen Allen Auto, and Hazen Corporation! Meanwhile…
Our Bike Shop…
…held our first-ever summer Bike Camp! Camp Spokes focused on young women and girls, giving them the chance to experience bike riding, safety, maintenance and repair skills and with space to be seen and heard.
…created opportunity for over 150 students, community members and others to “earn” their very own bikes; providing both freedom and outdoor access.
…held twice-monthly bike races and regular “Bike Shop Hours” 3 times a week, attracting hundreds of interested young people and their families.
…participated in Groundwork USA’s Mountains-to Main Street program, taking a bus-load of South Richmond youth to Fort Monroe to ride bikes, learn about the first Africans arriving in the Americas and enjoy a bit of quality “time away.”
Our Green Team brought Cherae Farms – MyAsia Goode’s vision for Hillside Court’s mini-farm – to life! In partnership with Richmond Redevelopment and Housing, we engaged scores of volunteers and community members to find full success in every area…
Planning – with numerous outreach efforts to friends and neighbors.
Prepping – turning soil, finding plants, growing seedlings, laying watering hoses and weed-block fabric, mulching and fencing.
Planting – melons, beans, squash, peppers, TOMATOES! And more.
Tending – daily watering, weeding, noticing what needed doing.
Harvesting – Making over 250 lbs of produce available to the community, through self-harvesting and other events.
You helped us achieve all this last year. And now, as promised, here’s how your generosity will help us move ahead in 2022, as we…
…launch our Green Infrastructure Apprenticeship Program! A way for teens and young people to earn certifications and build “warm hand-off” pathways to employment in urban greening and climate mitigation.
…create the “bones” at Cherae Farms, establishing physical infrastructure, (installed by our Green Workforce, of course!) a “Celebration Mural,” Garden shed, 3 Sisters Garden and more!
…plant many MORE trees in heat and flood impacted neighborhoods.
…BE the #Water-to-Thrive for over 500 trees across the City.
…continue deep and active partnerships with:
The Science Museum of Virginia, both on their site and in exciting community partnerships to understand, identify and build neighbor-approved and requested climate mitigation solutions;
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s “Greening Southside” initiative where we will water trees and our young people will learn about de-paving impermeable surfaces to create increased greening opportunities;
Richmond Hill where our young people will be part of a stormwater management design process, “from the ground up;”
The National Park Service – we SO hope to be back “on the road and in the parks” at Yellowstone, Glacier and other spaces for skills-based trips, recreation and connection with youth from around the country.
Groundwork USA, for access to nationwide best practices as well as exciting project-specific support and opportunities.
Groundwork RVA has been talking about and working towards environmental and racial justice for many years. And the world is paying attention . Richmond is being noticed and trying to move in many of the right directions. And - It will take deliberate community-driven, equity-based policy, actions and mitigation solutions to improve outcomes for the young people and communities we serve.
Your financial support has been vital in allowing us to be “the wind under wings” of so many young people and initiatives. Please consider continuing or increasing that support this year. We have much to do and not never enough time or money to do it! On behalf of Groundwork RVA’s Board, staff and young people, I thank you again for all you have done and will do in support of making Richmond Greener and More Equitable.
Yours for a greener future,
Rob Jones
Executive Director
P.S. As you read through our achievements and ambitions, you may be surprised that you are one of only a few hundred Richmonders who provide meaningful financial support. We may be the best investment anyone’s making in our communities. I hope you appreciate the importance of your financial support and consider increasing your generosity this year.
I’ve tried to give you plenty of hard evidence to inspire you to renew – and, I hope, increase – your financial support. Please use the enclosed form and envelope to make your gift, by the end of the month if at all possible. Thank you!!
