The CPNGT is working on developing a dynamic inventory of Congress Park’s green assets. Green assets include community gardens, food-producing trees, xeric landscapes, pollinator gardens, alternative transportation options such as B-cycle and bus routes, local green businesses, recycling and composting drop-off locations, Little Free Libraries, home solar installations, energy efficient homes, and even the “green expertise” of some of our neighbors such as bicycle experts and solar experts. Some of these assets are public assets, many are assets created, installed and owned by a neighbor. The inventory includes a description of each asset, its location within Congress Park, and its use.
Initial map of gardens in Congress Park, collected at Earth Day Festival 2016
The purpose of this inventorying is two-fold:
- to promote the wider use of sharable green resources, and
- to establish a baseline of green assets from which to set green team goals and targets for expansion.
To facilitate the inventorying project, CPN donated ten large maps to the CPNGT (Thank you, CPN!). Mapping began at the 2016 Earth Day Festival when Green Team members invited festival goers to map their assets, including pollinator, vegetable, and xeric gardens (see image to the right), composting locations, recycling centers, home solar installations, and even a clothesline user! The Green Team will continue this effort at various neighborhood events (e.g., home energy workshops, alternative transportation workshops).
As our neighborhood green asset inventory grows, these assets will be made available to the community here – via a link to a Google map with pins indicating the geographic location and description of each asset. We will also have hard copy of these maps available for display at neighborhood events. Stay tuned!
Do you have a green asset that you’d like to add to the Congress Park Green Asset Inventory? If so, please contact either sustainability@congressparkneighbors.org and mention Green Asset in the subject line.
