Author: RiverAdmin

  • Challenges of a Community Garden

    RiverAdmin

    , ,

    Published first on the Progress News, August 15, 2022 As we get started on the work made possible by the USDA’s Farm to School grant, I’ve received a few questions from folks curious about the big picture. So, I’d like to talk a bit more about what a school garden or farm can be, and what… Read more

  • River Roots Wins USDA Farm to School Grant

    RiverAdmin

    , ,

    Published first on the Progress News, August 8, 2022 While this year has been flying by ridiculously fast, it has still been a pretty good year, all things considered. And we just got another reason to smile – the USDA approved of our vision for the River Roots Community Farm and awarded us a Farm to… Read more

  • Aligning Values

    RiverAdmin

    Published first on the Progress News, July 25, 2022 When it comes to partnerships between public-benefit, non-profit organizations and private, for-profit companies, there is no shortage of confusion and misunderstanding. For quite some time, the only way most corporations, large or small, got involved in public-benefit programs and projects was by donating money or, occasionally, sending… Read more

  • When Partnerships Get Official

    When Partnerships Get Official

    RiverAdmin

    , , ,

    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

  • Azerbaijan and the Valley that Changed the World

    RiverAdmin

    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

  • Summer Project Updates

    RiverAdmin

    , , ,

    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

  • ORA Staff Member Graduates From Harvard With 4.0 GPA

    RiverAdmin

    ,

    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

  • Agency Partnerships

    RiverAdmin

    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

  • Look Ma, We Won!!

    RiverAdmin

    , ,

    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

  • Agroforestry Based Brownfield Remediation in Texas

    RiverAdmin

    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

  • Guest Column – Tracey Coulter, Agroforester

    RiverAdmin

    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

  • Intro to Agroforestry

    RiverAdmin

    ,

    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