{"id":39057,"date":"2024-04-30t16:44:15","date_gmt":"2024-04-30t16:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/?p=39057"},"modified":"2024-04-30t17:12:30","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30t17:12:30","slug":"shepherd-parkway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/shepherd-parkway\/","title":{"rendered":"shepherd parkway: washington d.c.’s neglected woods"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
tucked in between the neighborhoods of congress heights and bellevue in southeast washington, d.c. is shepherd parkway \u2014 a national park home to nearly 200 acres of woods, civil war forts, and rare microorganisms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
but people passing by would likely be unaware. shepherd parkway lacks any signage indicating its identity or rich history. the neglected park faces serious issues like trash dumping, invasive species and few amenities.<\/p>\n\n\n
in 2018, environmental activist nathan harrington began to fight the park\u2019s neglect through the creation of ward 8 woods conservancy<\/a>. ward 8 is the southern-most neighborhood in washington, d.c.<\/p>\n\n\n\n while working as a public school teacher, harrington began to volunteer on the weekends at shepherd parkway. he saw community members like him take an interest in caring for the park. after searching for a career change, he founded the non-profit through a grant from the dc department of the environment in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cthere’s so much work to do out here that weekend volunteer events are not going to cut it,\u201d harrington said. \u201cand there’s a lot of people living around here who need work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n shepherd parkway faces many challenges including illegal trash dumping and invasive species like the park\u2019s honeysuckle vine that stifles plant life. on the second saturday of each month, harrington hosts volunteers for a few hours to clean up trash and remove invasive plants.<\/p>\n\n\n harrington said that since his team’s establishment, they have removed 1.3 million pounds of trash and cut invasive vines from more than 7,000 trees. <\/p>\n\n\n beginning in 2012, harrington started envisioning a natural, winding hiking trail going through shepherd parkway which would extend<\/a> 3.6 miles through the wooded area. the proposed trail would serve to replace those carved out by the civilian conservation corps in the 1930s. due to a lack of upkeep, those are now non-existent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n the entirety of ward 8 offers<\/a> only 1.5 miles of natural hiking trails. in comparison, north d.c.\u2019s rock creek park is home to 35 miles of trails. harrington believes the reason why the trail has taken so long to construct is connected to environmental racism and stereotyping. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201csome think people in a black neighborhood are not interested in hiking or there are only certain types of people who enjoy that,\u201d harrington explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n harrington added that access to park amenities is an issue of environmental justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cif the government agencies that maintain parks do so to different standards \u2014 doing a good job in a wealthy area and not the working class area \u2014 then that\u2019s not equitable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n \u201ci think it\u2019s connected with environmental racism and stereotyping,\u201d he explained. \u201cwhere some think people in a black neighborhood are not interested in hiking or there are only certain types of people who enjoy that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n harrington added access to park amenities is an issue of environmental justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cif the government agencies that maintain parks do so to different standards \u2014 doing a good job in a wealthy area and not the working class area \u2014 then that\u2019s not equitable,\u201d he said. \u201cit’s not even seen as a park because it doesn’t have amenities or even signage to tell people what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n despite the park not being readily accessible to residents, it holds a deep value for history and the environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n two historic civil war forts are concealed<\/a> in the wooded area. fort carrol and greble were hurriedly built by the union army to prepare for a possible confederate invasion of the capitol. according to the national park service, many african americans escaping slavery would come to the forts in search of protection and work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n the area is also ecologically significant as biologists recently identified<\/a> two never-before-seen aquatic microorganisms in the park\u2019s seeping groundwater. in an article<\/a> published in february 2024, the biologists state that it is likely that these amphipods independently evolved within these small, continuous puddles of groundwater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n these important sites are extremely difficult to access. to harrington, these tidbits should give the national park service all the more reason to construct a natural trail in the park. <\/p>\n\n\n<\/a>
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