Happy May! It’s been a wild and crazy couple of months, and we’ve all had to adapt and reassess priorities in the wake of COVID-19. All planned public Blueprint activities and events are still on hold, but we are hard at work behind the scenes, looking for every opportunity to increase our resilience. We’ve seen the spirit and generosity of this community shine, and we know we can all continue to navigate the changes with grace and resourcefulness.
One big change coming is particularly welcome and exciting, as noted in this week’s ORA press release. We have been successful in winning an EPA brownfield assessment grant, a first for this area, and that means that brownfield sites all along the river now have the opportunity to get cleaned up and utilized again. It’s a new lease on life for sites like the former Fuchs Lubricants plant, and we are, quite simply, over the moon. There’s a lot of work ahead, and we are eager to dive in as soon as possible!
Anyone interested in hearing more about what this grant means or what will be happening with Blueprint over the summer is welcome to join us at a virtual public meeting on Thursday, May 14th, at 6pm. Instructions for signing on to the meeting are posted on our website here: http://acrivervalley.org/zoom-meeting-information/, and you can always reach out to the Blueprint Community Coordinator, Selina Pedi, at info@acrivervalley.org with any questions.
We can’t say for sure when we can reschedule our planned events and classes, or when we can finally start digging in the dirt at the school farm, but we are already finding ways to adapt to the current circumstances. Join us on Thursday if you want to be part of the conversation, and if you’re short on time but still want to show your support you can check out our fundraising campaign at mightycause.com/story/acvalleyblueprint. This region was built on a can-do, adventurous spirit, we are so proud to be part of this new opportunity to build our capacity as an organization, and as a community.
