Environmental Justice & Public Health Committee Announcements 

National Brownfields Conference Scholarship Opportunities to attend the EPA National Brownfields Conference for Environmental Justice Stakeholders and Leaders from the Goldstein Brownfields Foundation

On behalf of the Florida Brownfields Association Environmental Justice Committee and the Florida Brownfields Association Foundation, I am pleased to provide information on a Scholarship opportunity from The Goldstein Brownfields Foundation for Environmental Justice Stakeholders and Leaders who are Florida Residents working on Community Environmental Justice Issues to attend the National Brownfields Conference to be held August 8-11th, 2023 in Detroit Michigan. More information on the conference is located at  https://brownfields2023.org/ . 

To be considered for the scholarship, please provide the following to The Goldstein Brownfields Foundation at [email protected]

  • a letter explaining how attending will help you lift your community and/or continue to pursue your journey in support of EJ;
  • a resume; and
  • at least one letter of support or reference. 

The scholarship will be provided on a reimbursement basis for the following expenses: 

  • airfare;
  • hotel; and
  • meals on a per diem basis. 

Please submit your information for consideration no later than Friday, July 21, 2023.  If you have any questions, please call contact Michael R. Goldstein at [email protected]

The mission of The Goldstein Brownfields Foundation is to exhibit, promote, and support leadership in pollution remediation based land revitalization for purposes of restoring and protecting public health; eradicating contamination driven neighborhood disinvestment; incorporating climate stewardship into redevelopment design; creating and expanding economic opportunity on an equitable basis; empowering communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms and risks; and increasing the diversity of students, teachers, professionals, and technicians in the global environmental arena.   

PS- Please distribute this email to others who may be interested.

 

The Florida Brownfields Association Honors Four with Excellence Awards

June 20, 2023 at the Annual Florida Brownfields Conference in Orlando, the Florida Brownfields Association recognized excellence in brownfields redevelopment and environmental justice with four awards.

The Sunrise Award for excellence in redeveloping Florida’s brownfields was presented to the City of Palmetto Community Redevelopment Agency. This award aims to promote, recognize, and celebrate innovative and impactful brownfields redevelopment projects in the state of Florida. Awardees leverage the power of multi-stakeholder partnerships to bring about positive change to brownfield communities, where redevelopment efforts serve as catalysts for social equity, economic growth, and environmental protection. This year, the award recognizes Connor Park.  The park includes a 500,000-gallon reservoir to contain the stormwater, and then nature takes over as a variety of plants are utilized to filter the water and “pre-clean” it before it enters the Manatee River.  The reservoir itself is now home to aquatic plants such as the American lotus, water shield, cattails, duck potatoes and pickerelweed. These plants, each remarkable unto its own, will provide a natural food source to Palmetto’s bird population - as well as the fish that will reside in the reservoir.

Ed Johnson, City of Palmetto, accepting award for Connor Park with Krystal Hepburn, FBA President

The Willa Carson Award for excellence in promoting brownfields-to-healthfields redevelopment was presented to University Area CDC . This award is named in honor of Willa Carson, a retired nurse from St. Petersburg, Florida, who helped redevelop a brownfield site into a not-for-profit clinic that provides culturally sensitive quality healthcare for un-insured and underserved children and families. Awardees contribute to environmental and community health, as Ms. Carson has done, by turning Florida’s brownfields into healthfields. This year, the award recognizes The University Area CDC named the redeveloped brownfield site “Harvest Hope Park” and has constructed a vegetable garden in 33 raised beds on the property. A small building onsite has been redesigned to serve as a model kitchen and is used to teach area residents how to prepare healthy meals using produce from the garden.

Belinda Williams-Collins accepting award for University Area CDC with FBA President Dr. Krystal Hepburn

(photo by Cynthia Peurifoy)

The Environmental Justice Spirit of Excellence Award for excellence in supporting environmental justice and health equity was presented to Dr. E. Christian Wells, University of South Florida and Miles Ballogg, Ensafe. This award recognizes an individual, organization, or brownfields redevelopment project that collaborates with communities experiencing environmental justice and public health challenges. Awardees demonstrate a strong commitment to equitable community revitalization and to building sustainable partnerships with stakeholders to aid underserved and under-resourced communities in Florida. 

Dr. Wells is a Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Brownfields Research & Redevelopment at the University of South Florida. He is an applied environmental anthropologist with an interdisciplinary background in the social and natural sciences. He maintains a diverse portfolio of research projects aimed at improving human and environmental health outcomes of re/development efforts in underserved communities. 

Miles Ballogg is a strong advocate for Environmental Justice and has been recognized as a National Leader of the "Healthfields Movement" by utilizing Brownfields and other leveraged resources to improve access to health and health care for underserved communities to reduce health disparities.  Miles received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Brotherhood Award for his project support of the Willa Carson Community Health Resource Center in Clearwater.
Miles Ballogg & Dr. Christian Wells
(photo by Cynthia Peurifoy)

From left to right: Dr. Krystal Hepburn, Travis Hearne, Miles Ballogg, Ed Johnson, Dr. E. Christian Wells, Belinda Williams-Collins, Frank Hearne (sponsor of awards) and Dan Nedvidek

 

Environmental Justice Film Festival
Tuesday, June 20 ● 5:30-7:00 PM ● Sanibel Ballroom
organized by the Center for Brownfields Research & Redevelopment, University of South Florida

 

Lake Apopka (Orange County)
Pesticide Lake (7:23)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA2WiQwJ3xI

Tallevast (Manatee County)
Tallevast—An Environmental Divide Pits Residents Against Industry, State (7:34)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bjkPVW8IuE

Environmental Justice from the Ground(water) Up (10:58)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5TbNXKtHBw

East Tampa (Hillsborough County)
WeRISE (5:51)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REnL2Xeye0g

Environmental Justice in East Tampa (10:54)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y53eNpENvp0

University Area Community (Hillsborough County)
New Efforts to “Fight the Blight” (1:51)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2QTve__0o4

Hundreds of Tampa Residents Possibly Exposed to Contaminated Water (2:29)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-EDzrClWoI

DeLand (Volusia County)
Deland Brownfield Redevelopment: The Delco Site (1:47)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUzQ752zB_8

North Port St. Joe (Gulf County)
Conducting Oral History Interviews to Learn About (Environmental) Injustice (1:29)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXSsWS8nsaY

North Port St. Joe: An LID Approach to Securing Basic Infrastructure before Redevelopment (5:48)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPxmIwhO8ok

Childs Park (Pinellas County)
The Right to Clean Air, Part 1 (7:33)
https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2023/05/23/what-s-that-smell-that-s-lingered-for-decades-in-st--pete-s-childs-park-neighborhood-

The Right to Clean Air, Part 2 (5:46)
https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2023/05/23/is-the-concerning-smell-in-childs-park-a-health-hazard-

The Right to Clean Air, Part 3 (7:03)
https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2023/05/23/air-quality-officials-discuss-odor-concerns-in-childs-park

 The Florida Brownfields Association Honors Three with Excellence Awards

October 26, 2022 at the 25th annual Florida Brownfields Conference in Sarasota, the Florida Brownfields Association recognized excellence in brownfields redevelopment and environmental justice with three awards.

The Sunrise Award for excellence in redeveloping Florida’s brownfields was presented to Mosaic Development. This award aims to promote, recognize, and celebrate innovative and impactful brownfields redevelopment projects in the state of Florida. Awardees leverage the power of multi-stakeholder partnerships to bring about positive change to brownfield communities, where redevelopment efforts serve as catalysts for social equity, economic growth, and environmental protection. This year, the award recognizes Mosaic Development’s project “Gallery 3100” in St. Petersburg, a nearly 2-acre brownfield in an opportunity zone that was transformed into a 122-unit, class “A” apartment building that includes 17 income-restricted workforce housing units.

 Roxanne Amoroso (center), Lead Principle of Mosaic Development, accepts the Sunrise Award.. (Photo by Cynthia Peurifoy)

 

The Willa Carson Award for excellence in promoting brownfields-to-healthfields redevelopment was presented to Advent Health. This award is named in honor of Willa Carson, a retired nurse from St. Petersburg, Florida, who helped redevelop a brownfield site into a not-for-profit clinic that provides culturally sensitive quality healthcare for un-insured and underserved children and families. Awardees contribute to environmental and community health, as Ms. Carson has done, by turning Florida’s brownfields into healthfields. This year, the award recognizes Advent Health’s project “Advent Health 24-hour ER” in Port Orange, a 7-acre brownfield that was transformed into an 18,400-square-foot, 24-bed emergency department with medical plaza that generated approximately 40 full-time positions.

Greg Schultz (right) from Cardno now Stantec accepts the Willa Carson Award on behalf of the awardee, Advent Health. (Photo by Cynthia Peurifoy)

 

The Environmental Justice Spirit of Excellence Award for excellence in supporting environmental justice and health equity was presented to Donna Gray-Banks. This award recognizes an individual, organization, or brownfields redevelopment project that collaborates with communities experiencing environmental justice and public health challenges. Awardees demonstrate a strong commitment to equitable community revitalization and to building sustainable partnerships with stakeholders to aid underserved and under-resourced communities in Florida. Donna Gray-Banks, this year’s awardee, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Midtown Community Development Corporation in Daytona Beach and founder and director of the F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival, one of the largest book festivals for minority self-published authors in Florida. Donna served previously as the chair of the FBA’s environmental justice and public health committee, transforming the committee’s reach across the state, and creating a lasting legacy of positive change in many communities.

Belinda Williams-Collins (left) from the City of Deland accepts the Environmental Justice Spirit of Excellence Award on behalf of the awardee, Donna Gray-Banks. (Photo by Cynthia Peurifoy)

 

 

 

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