Author: RiverAdmin
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When Partnerships Get Official
Published first on the Progress News, July 11, 2022 We’ve talked in the past about partnerships in a general sense – folks working together for the common good. Municipalities working with community groups working with agencies working with private individuals, all working toward some shared goal for the benefit of their community. The River Roots Community Farm… Read more
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Azerbaijan and the Valley that Changed the World
t on the Progress News, June 27, 2022 Events in different areas, even opposite sides of the planet, can sometimes collide in the most unexpected of ways. When we heard back in May that the Ambassador from Azerbaijan wanted to visit the Oil Heritage Region, we were delighted, but also somewhat confused. Azerbaijan is a small country… Read more
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Summer Project Updates
Published first on the Progress News, June 20, 2022 If someone could please let me know where the year has gone, I’d much appreciate it. But, here we are in the middle of June already, so it seems like a great time for a project update! Over at the River Roots Community Farm, a generous donation… Read more
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ORA Staff Member Graduates From Harvard With 4.0 GPA
Published first on the Progress News, June 21, 2022 Oil City, PA— Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry & Tourism Redevelopment Manager Selina Pedi graduated with “Highest Honors”, from Harvard University, earning her master’s degree in Sustainability with a focus on community resilience on May 26. In addition to her 4.0-grade point average, Pedi’s master’s… Read more
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Agency Partnerships
Published first on the Progress News, May 23, 2022 Last week I shared the great news that we have been awarded another EPA grant to continue the important foundational work of assessing and planning for future reuse of our region’s brownfields. This is one of those times where, yes, absolutely, the funding is fantastic and necessary… Read more
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Look Ma, We Won!!
Published first on the Progress News, May 16, 2022 We are absolutely delighted to announce that the ORA’s Redevelopment program has been selected to receive another EPA Community-Wide Assessment (CWA) grant! We were one of only six applicants selected in Pennsylvania for this round, so we consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have made the cut. Our first… Read more
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Agroforestry Based Brownfield Remediation in Texas
Published first on the Progress News, May 2, 2022 To wrap up our discussion around agroforestry this month I wanted to share a successful tree-based bioremediation project out of Texas. Since much of the redevelopment work we do in and around the Oil Heritage Region is brownfield redevelopment, we are always keen to learn about viable,… Read more
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Guest Column – Tracey Coulter, Agroforester
Published first on the Progress News, April 25, 2022 Last week’s Redevelopment Column introduced the concept of agroforestry and how it is often defined by specific practices. In the mid-Atlantic and Northwest regions of the country there are on-going efforts to plant riparian buffers to enhance water quality and to protect fisheries. In the Midwest, thousands of… Read more
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Intro to Agroforestry
Published first on the Progress News, April 18, 2022 Given the importance of agriculture to our state’s economy, it’s no surprise that a fair bit of agricultural activity is included in redevelopment planning, especially in rural northwestern PA. We’ve talked a fair bit in the past about opportunities with solar farming and hemp farming, and today… Read more
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Midspring Project Update
Published first on the Progress News, April 11, 2022 With daffodils beginning to bloom all around us, it’s official. Spring is really, truly here, regardless of how many snow flurries we might still get! And with spring comes the much-anticipated return of suitable weather conditions for our boots-on-the-ground projects. As always, in the brownfield redevelopment world, especially, physical… Read more
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Waterfront Opportunities
Published first on the Progress News, March 28, 2022 One of the greatest joys of traveling is seeing how other people do things, how challenges are identified and overcome, how resources are shared and utilized, and what sorts of impacts actions have in differing places. I was in Chicago last week, which certainly has its fair… Read more
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The Role of Business
Published first on the Progress News, March 21, 2022 We talk a lot in this column about the role of community organizations like the ORA, and we’ve touched somewhat on the role of individuals and businesses in community redevelopment. Today, though, I’d like to take a deeper dive into the role of businesses in community resilience. It… Read more