Stewards VISTA: Groundwork Hudson Valley - Watershed Year 1

Through an array of capacity building support services, the new AmeriCorps VISTA Steward for Groundwork Hudson Valley will play an instrumental role in moving this project forward in the community of Southwest Yonkers. Activities will involve organizing and refining project outreach efforts, organizing volunteer stewardship initiatives to increase and broaden their impact, and helping raise critically needed resources to sustain these programs over time.

This project involves the restoration of the Saw Mill River, an impaired tributary to the Hudson River flowing through the center of Southwest Yonkers around which are major public parks and commercial districts. Groundwork Hudson Valley engages volunteers from the community along the entire stretch of the Saw Mill River watershed to steward the river. Community engagement is particularly important in the Yonkers portion of the river, where trash and increased fecal content accumulate from upstream sources as the river runs through Southwest Yonkers to empty into the Hudson River.

This project is tied to the renewal of Southwest Yonkers and their success and sustainability will promote long-term poverty alleviation, jobs, and educational opportunity across the entire community. In joining us, the VISTA will make significant contributions to developing the long-term capacity and sustainability of both of these projects.