Valley Residents Go Green

Valley Residents Go Green

800 people attend second annual festival in Wick Park

“It is my belief that everybody, regardless of their economic means, should have access to the same healthy, safe, and affordable food that is grown naturally,” said Will Allen, founder of Growing Power and 2009 McArthur Fellow. “The new generation of farmers are not going to come from rural communities… these new farmers are going to come from folks in the city.” Allen was the keynote speaker at the second annual Gray to Green Festival that drew 800 people from across the region to Youngstown’s Wick Park.

The event raised awareness of the “grey-to-green” model of the internationally recognized Youngstown 2010 plan. While focusing on environmentally sustainable presentations and organizations, the festival also placed emphasis on the Wick Park Revitalization project, an effort initiated and organized by Youngstown Cityscape and Defend Youngstown, with support from the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative (MVOC).

“The overall goal of the festival is to increase awareness of environmental issues, but the festival is also about community building,” emphasizes event chair Deb Weaver. “It is about relationships between people and organizations that care deeply about the place where they live. It is about sharing the joy that comes from working together to improve our city.”

Weaver went on to say that the festival seeks to accentuate vision-driven solutions – rather than problem-driven solutions – as the fundamental approach towards transforming the local economy.

For more information, visit www.greytogreen.org.

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