EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Highlights | Mashapaug Maps | Oral Histories | Indigenous Culture | Water | Huntington Industrial Park | Gorham Site Clean-Up | Partners & Related Projects
News from recent Gorham stakeholders meeting
Many students, teachers and others turned out to a Gorham stakeholders meeting held at Alvarez High School on November 4, 2015. Greg Simpson, Textron’s project manager for the site, presented a wrap-up report of the cleaning of the cove and areas west and north of the school. On Parcel C (the land next to the school near the intersection of Crescent Street and Adelaide Avenue), Textron’s contractor graded the land, cleared the large debris pile and some trees, and brought in 12,000 cubic feet of clean soil as a protective cap. They also removed 2 feet of contaminated sediment from the bottom of the pond cove. Wetlands-friendly, mostly native plants were planted along the cove within the first 50 feet from the pond’s edge to provide a vegetated buffer for the pond. The work at the cove was completed 2 weeks ago and final remediation for the whole site will be completed the first week of December, though the grass will be re-seeded in the spring to ensure survival after the winter.
Bob Azar of the City Planning Department explained that the Providence Redevelopment Agency (PRA) owns the land. Once the remediation is complete, ownership of the park land behind the school and along the pond will transfer to the Parks Department and the portion next to the school that is slated for athletic fields will become the property of the City’s Department of Public Property. The Parks Department will ensure maintenance of the park property while the Department of Public Properties will be in charge of maintenance (e.g., mowing, litter pickup) for the athletic fields. Alvarez students and faculty agreed that a student group could also help with litter pickup, like a “Friends” group for this new park. Textron will continue to pump and treat the groundwater on the site for many years to come.
Bob also explained that once the grass is established on Parcel C (athletic fields) and the Park Parcel (future park along the pond), these areas will be safe for public use, for walking, playing sports on, etc. Whether all or most of the fences will be removed is still under discussion, but there will be a joint use agreement for the athletic fields so that community members can use the fields when school is not in session.
A student asked whether Textron would be able to pay for future athletic fields, sponsor Alvarez’s athletic teams, etc. Greg Simpson replied that he would be happy to put the school in touch with Textron’s charitable foundation. Wendy Nilsson, Superintendent of Parks, advised that there is a $40,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) that can be used for this future park, if design plans are developed by May 1, 2016.
Both students and residents will brainstorm ideas and plans for the future park. Student groups that have shown interest in helping are: Young Voices, Moving Mountains, an Art in Community class and an Environmental Science class at Alvarez High School.
Some ideas for future organizing and community engagement that also came out of the meeting include:
We hope that you are interested in joining these conversations. Meetings of the residents will take place at Knight Memorial Library (275 Elmwood Ave, Providence) on the following dates:
If you want to receive emails about the new park planning, please contact Amelia Rose at arose@groundworkprovidence.org.
More detailed documentation on the Gorham/Textron site can be found on the RI DEM website.
Many students, teachers and others turned out to a Gorham stakeholders meeting held at Alvarez High School on November 4, 2015. Greg Simpson, Textron’s project manager for the site, presented a wrap-up report of the cleaning of the cove and areas west and north of the school. On Parcel C (the land next to the school near the intersection of Crescent Street and Adelaide Avenue), Textron’s contractor graded the land, cleared the large debris pile and some trees, and brought in 12,000 cubic feet of clean soil as a protective cap. They also removed 2 feet of contaminated sediment from the bottom of the pond cove. Wetlands-friendly, mostly native plants were planted along the cove within the first 50 feet from the pond’s edge to provide a vegetated buffer for the pond. The work at the cove was completed 2 weeks ago and final remediation for the whole site will be completed the first week of December, though the grass will be re-seeded in the spring to ensure survival after the winter.
Bob Azar of the City Planning Department explained that the Providence Redevelopment Agency (PRA) owns the land. Once the remediation is complete, ownership of the park land behind the school and along the pond will transfer to the Parks Department and the portion next to the school that is slated for athletic fields will become the property of the City’s Department of Public Property. The Parks Department will ensure maintenance of the park property while the Department of Public Properties will be in charge of maintenance (e.g., mowing, litter pickup) for the athletic fields. Alvarez students and faculty agreed that a student group could also help with litter pickup, like a “Friends” group for this new park. Textron will continue to pump and treat the groundwater on the site for many years to come.
Bob also explained that once the grass is established on Parcel C (athletic fields) and the Park Parcel (future park along the pond), these areas will be safe for public use, for walking, playing sports on, etc. Whether all or most of the fences will be removed is still under discussion, but there will be a joint use agreement for the athletic fields so that community members can use the fields when school is not in session.
A student asked whether Textron would be able to pay for future athletic fields, sponsor Alvarez’s athletic teams, etc. Greg Simpson replied that he would be happy to put the school in touch with Textron’s charitable foundation. Wendy Nilsson, Superintendent of Parks, advised that there is a $40,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) that can be used for this future park, if design plans are developed by May 1, 2016.
Both students and residents will brainstorm ideas and plans for the future park. Student groups that have shown interest in helping are: Young Voices, Moving Mountains, an Art in Community class and an Environmental Science class at Alvarez High School.
Some ideas for future organizing and community engagement that also came out of the meeting include:
- Doing tree plantings at Crescent Street and Adelaide Avenue where some trees had to be removed during the remediation, as well as tree plantings and other types of plantings on other parts of the site (Amelia Rose from Groundwork Providence will be applying for a grant to do this)
- Celebrating the completion of the cleanup at Alvarez High School’s Spring Fling event in 2016
- Having students and residents develop design ideas for the future park and athletic fields, and then come back together to compare ideas and create a final proposal (the City Parks Department loves this idea and looks forward to working with us)
- Creating a student group – and encouraging resident involvement as well – to be a Friends group for this new park and help with maintenance and cleanups
- Having the students and residents involved in building the future park as well
We hope that you are interested in joining these conversations. Meetings of the residents will take place at Knight Memorial Library (275 Elmwood Ave, Providence) on the following dates:
- Saturday, November 21, 12:15-2:15 pm
- Monday, November 30, 5:30-7:30 pm
- Saturday, December 12, 12:15-2:15 pm
If you want to receive emails about the new park planning, please contact Amelia Rose at arose@groundworkprovidence.org.
More detailed documentation on the Gorham/Textron site can be found on the RI DEM website.