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A Ceremonial Resolution
21-54
In the Council of the District of Columbia
May 5, 2015
To recognize and celebrate the success of the Earth Conservation Corps in cleaning up the Anacostia River and elevating the livelihoods of at-risk youth throughout the District of Columbia.
WHEREAS, the Earth Conservation Corps is a nonprofit, environmental action program dedicated to the restoration of the Anacostia River and empowering underserved youth in the District of Columbia to reclaim their communities and their livelihoods by way of restoring the river;
WHEREAS, the Earth Conservation Corps’ River of Hope partnership seeks to engage more than 2,000 at-risk youth by providing them with skills, job training, and employment opportunities throughout the course of their volunteer service;
WHEREAS, partners include the Environmental Protection Agency and the District Department of the Environment whose guidance and expertise provide volunteers with the experience to set them on a path toward a profession in the environmental sciences;
WHEREAS, the Earth Conservation Corps, along with Living Lands & Waters, a national river restoration organization, cohosts the “Capital River Relief” project, a 3-week river cleanup event, which galvanizes more than 400 volunteers to remove trash and debris from the Anacostia River;
WHEREAS, on Earth Day, the Earth Conservation Corps mobilizes over 200 volunteers to remove about 7.5 tons of trash from the river as part of the project;
WHEREAS, through their ongoing in-school, after-school, and summer programming partnership with the District of Columbia Public Schools, Earth Conservation Corps members have delivered their conservation lessons to more than 2,820 younger children and their families; and
WHEREAS, when the Earth Conservation Corps was founded in 1989, the Anacostia River was one of the most polluted rivers in the United States; however, today the river is recovering in part due to the strong leadership of Bob Nixon, the Founder and Co-Chair, and Brenda Richardson, the Community Outreach Director, and their dramatic reclamation effort.
IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, that the District of Columbia is grateful for the unwavering commitment of the volunteers of the Earth Conservation Corps to the restoration of the Anacostia River and encourages the Earth Conservation Corps to continue to engage District youth in green infrastructure projects and environmental education programs.
Sec. 2. This resolution may be cited as the “Earth Conversation Corps Recognition Resolution of 2015”.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of publication in the District of Columbia Register.
