Southside ReLeaf Impact Report

Celebrating

Southside ReLeaf Our Impact Report: 2019-2023

SOUTHSIDE ReLEAF

Table of contents Letter from our Co-founders Letter from our Board Chair A Timeline of Growth Changing the Physical Landscape Connecting with Our Neighbors Community Engagement Advocating for Richmond’s Southside Our Policy Wins In the News Community Partners & Collaborators Financial Highlights

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Introduction Five years ago, we participated in the Richmond 300 master planning process as working group members — one of us focused on economic development, while the other focused on environmental issues. To help us prepare for our work, we were given an Insights Report filled with data related to each of the city’s nine districts covering many categories like housing, economic security, and educational attainment. As we went through the report, we were disheartened and frankly outraged to see how the Southside fell behind in every category.

As Southside residents, it really affected us to see the areas of town where we lived suffered the most across the board.

What stood out the most is that the life expectancy is up to 20 years shorter in the Southside. Not everyone lives within a 10-minute walk to a park or playground, and it’s attributed to decades of disinvestment, racist policies, and a lack of equitable funding in budget planning.

This is what led us to create Southside ReLeaf, an environmental justice organization focused on improving the quality of life in South Richmond through greening, education, and advocacy.

Since our inception in 2019, we’ve grown in many ways — from the size of our team and scale of projects to becoming a well-known nonprofit across the state. Without you, our many supporters and partners, none of this would be possible.

We’re so proud of our journey and happy to share our many accomplishments from 2019 to 2023 in our first impact report.

Join us as we celebrate our 5-year anniversary in 2024!

Amy Wentz & Sheri Shannon Co-founders, Southside ReLeaf

Southside ReLeaf 2019-2023 Impact Report

Board Chair Letter It’s been an honor and privilege collaborating with Amy and Sheri on Southside ReLeaf’s first Board of Directors. As a resident of Southside Richmond, I share many of their concerns regarding the historic impacts of institutional racism and the systemic racism Southside Richmonders face today. While I am still relatively new to the Southside ReLeaf team, I hope that my professional background in reforestation and green infrastructure will facilitate the mission of Southside ReLeaf as we continue to see exceptional growth in the organization and improvements in our community.

The addition of new greenspaces to Southside Richmond is long overdue and I’m delighted to see Southside ReLeaf is making it happen in conjunction with building connections with our neighbors to increase canopy coverage in residential areas through tree giveaways.

This is truly an incredible organization that is getting attention across the state as many communities see the accomplishments of Southside ReLeaf and hope to replicate Southside ReLeaf’s advocacy for more tree canopy and greenspaces in their own localities.

The future looks bright for Southside ReLeaf, so please join me in celebration of the achievements of this wonderful organization as we continue to grow greenspace in our community. I’m excited to see what Southside ReLeaf can accomplish in the years to come!

Derick Winn Board Chair, Southside ReLeaf

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FALL 2019

FALL 2020

SPRING 2021

We hosted our first tree planting at Blackwell Elementary School.

More than 30 volunteers, Blackwell residents and school administrators — including the principal — joined us in planting 10 native trees provided by the Richmond Tree Stewards.

The city announced the creation of five new green spaces, the first since the 1970s, in communities of color in South Richmond thanks in part to our advocacy.

Southside ReLeaf is the environmental justice representative for the Virginia Tree Conservation Workgroup commissioned by the General Assembly, providing recommendations to the Secretariats of Agriculture and Forestry and Natural Resources.

A Timeline of Growth

SUMMER 2021 After receiving fiscal sponsorship under the Enrichmond Foundation, Southside ReLeaf becomes an official 501(c)(3) organization.

FALL 2021 The organization is featured in PBS’ Virginia Home Grown highlighting our efforts to plant trees and empower the community through volunteerism, education, and advocacy.

Southside ReLeaf 2019-2023 Impact Report

SPRING 2022

SPRING 2023

Southside ReLeaf is invited to present its work at the Choose Clean Water Coalition alongside the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, one of a dozen presentations and panel discussions for the organization in 2022.

We hired our first paid staff members to provide support for programs and community reach.

FALL 2022

FALL 2023 In partnership with the City of Richmond, Southside ReLeaf is one of the awardees of a $6 million grant for the city.

We planted 60 street trees in the Davee Gardens neighborhood, the first planting event focused on reducing flooding to generate more long-term green infrastructure improvements.

In our original proposal for partnership with organizations across the city, we set the following goal for what we wanted to accomplish at Southside ReLeaf: Southside ReLeaf will start changing the physical landscape of South Richmond within the next 3 to 5 years. Whether it’s with watering bags and street trees or new community gardens and park benches, our work will provide a healthier, cleaner, and safer environment for residents in the Southside.

Beyond the physical landscape, we will advocate for environmental policies and ordinances that keep Southside beautiful. This may include participating in working groups or advisory councils, supporting legislation that align with our objectives, and speaking publicly on behalf of residents. We hope to be a recognizable organization in Richmond.

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Changing the Physical Landscape Greening projects are a key component of Southside ReLeaf’s programming. Tree plantings, maintenance days for tree care, and tree giveaways are not just one-off acts of environmental stewardship — they are critical steps towards a sustainable, green future for Southside.

Parks, playgrounds, and green spaces are community assets in the city, offering numerous benefits that improve the health and overall wellbeing of residents. Trees enhance the beauty of our urban landscapes, cool temperatures to reduce the urban heat island effect, lower energy costs, minimize flooding, and improve air quality by sequestering carbon dioxide and other pollutants.

Through volunteer tree plantings and work days for tree care, we reinforce the connection between people and their local green spaces to encourage long-term, healthy tree canopy growth. Our tree giveaways encourage individuals to become active participants in greening areas with the least amount

Melissa Spencer (left) and Sheri Shannon (right) partner up to plant trees at Hickory Hill

Southside ReLeaf 2019-2023 Impact Report

of canopy cover, becoming environmental stewards and ambassadors for South Richmond.

Additionally, our advocacy has led more organizations to plant trees and develop community gardens in the Southside because of the growing community buy-in to green and maintain these spaces.

From 2019 to 2023, Southside ReLeaf hosted and volunteered for a variety of greening projects, with a focus on mitigating heat in South Richmond.

We’ve planted more than 500 trees, given away more than 450 trees to Southside residents, and partnered with numerous organizations — such as Groundwork RVA, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Richmond Tree Stewards, and the City of Richmond — to plant, monitor, and care for hundreds of trees across South Richmond. In 2020 alone, Southside ReLeaf partnered with Reforest Richmond to help distribute 10,000 eastern redbuds across the city, including the Southside.

We’ve hosted numerous work days, prioritizing weeding, mulching, and watering the trees we’ve planted in prior years so they grow to be useful and beautiful features in Southside. In 2023, our greening projects focused on maintaining previous planting projects in South Richmond. We hosted and co-hosted five community workdays and provided critical maintenance to 57 trees. These on-the-ground and in-the-dirt projects are the perfect opportunity to plant the seeds of environmental justice and stewardship, and since 2019, our greening projects have engaged 250-plus volunteers.

The impact of Southside ReLeaf is far greater than the numbers we are reporting. We are inspiring others to invest in the Southside.

Our Greening Projects 2019

2020

Reforesting School Campuses: Blackwell Elementary

Reforesting School Campuses: J.L. Francis Elementary, G.H. Reid, and Swansboro Elementary

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2022

Greening Southside Richmond Project: Swansboro Playground

Community Work Day: Swansboro Playground

Greening Southside Richmond Project: Hickory Hill Tree Giveaway: Hickory Hill

2023 Earth Day Cleanup: Broad Rock corridor

Southside Tree Giveaway: Southside Community Center Residential Tree Planting: Davee Gardens

Young Riley helping out at a community workday

Community Work Day: Hickory Hill Community Work Days: Davee Gardens

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Connecting with our Neighbors Showing up for the community wholeheartedly and being a champion for the Southside — its people, culture, and future — is at the heart of everything that we do.

We know that our efforts must close the life expectancy gap for South Richmond residents. The climate crisis is disproportionately causing harm to impacted communities because of existing social inequities. For greater participation, we focus on building the brain trust of our neighbors around environmental issues so they are civically engaged and can enact the change they want to see.

In 2021 and 2022, Southside ReLeaf co-hosted listening sessions with Virginia Community Voice to hear the concerns and ideas Southside residents had for green spaces. Because of the overwhelming interest, we created the Greening Working Group (GWG), a cohort of 18 Southside residents to act as ambassadors for green spaces that prioritizes the community’s vision for greening. Members are majority Black and Latino, multigenerational, and represent various interests and professions.

The GWG spent one year learning about environmental topics like climate change, urban heat islands, green infrastructure, urban agriculture, and urban forests in English, Spanish, and ASL. We centered the history of Richmond and its racial inequities into curriculum so community members will advocate for systemic changes as well. Through the GWG, Southside ReLeaf developed a model to educate, mobilize, and compensate neighbors for their time and expertise to design Broad Rock Creek Park and onboard other new parks for the City of Richmond.

Community education is a lifelong endeavor that inspires innovative solutions and leads to positive change. We’re in the business of educating our neighbors about environmental justice, greening solutions, and how to be a proactive climate champion.

Southside ReLeaf 2019-2023 Impact Report

Swansboro West residents Steve Marzolf and Denise Payne at TESA training

I continue to learn, grow and get involved with projects thanks to the information and education that Southside ReLeaf continues to provide me.

Denise Payne

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Community Engagement

From 2019 to 2023, Southside ReLeaf engaged with Southside residents through presentations, classroom learning, tree plantings, hands-on activities, civic association meetings, and community events — even during the height of COVID-19. While our programming shifted because of the pandemic, our work didn’t stop.

Southside ReLeaf 2019-2023 Impact Report

Our engagement from 2019 to 2023 includes:

35 in-person and virtual community events

5 listening sessions

and 40 presentations s panel discussion

WHAT OUR COMMUNITY IS SAYING Southside ReLeaf’s focus on trees and green spaces in the Southside of Richmond has been an outstanding resource for our civic association. Swansboro West is a neighborhood in the Southside between Hull Street and Midlothian Turnpike. While there are a few remaining old growth trees, most have been lost and not replaced. As a result, our community is a heat island with many of the ill effects that causes. We also do not have any parks or open green space in our neighborhood of about 1,000 dwelling units.

We have been working with Southside ReLeaf staff on how to begin to address this. They have partnered with us and the Richmond Tree Stewards on a project to bring 100 new street trees to our community using a grant from the City. That is almost one-third more trees than exist today.

They have also sponsored training for us on the use of the Tree Equity Score Analyzer (TESA) application, which allows us to show the impact not only of the planting of these 100 trees, but also to help justify future plantings. We have 1,992

planting sites identified in the City’s tree database and only about 375 actually have trees in them. We have a long way to go, but with help from organizations like Southside ReLeaf, we have hope we can get there. How can we not with the enthusiasm and dedication of Southside ReLeaf as partners?

Swansboro West Civic Association

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WORDS FROM A VOLUNTEER Living in the Southside and being a big supporter of the environment, I was thrilled to learn there was an organization focused on tree and green spaces in our part of Richmond.

I had never heard of “heat islands” and their impact on the health and well-being of our communities. Only when we understand what they are and, as importantly, how they came to be can we work toward environmental justice and equity. This caused my wife and I to get more active in our civic association to work at the local, grassroots level to effect change that our community so desperately needs.

The work is rewarding both in the sense of having an impact and as an investment for the future of our city.

Steve Marzolf

Southside residents at City Hall advocating to save green space at Hickory Hill

Southside ReLeaf 2019-2023 Impact Report

Advocating for Richmond’s Southside Greening neighborhoods provides a direct benefit to improve the quality of life for Southside residents. But the long-term health and wellbeing of our neighbors depends on systemic change. Our approach to environmental justice empowers people to advocate for themselves and ensure the needs of people are met through policies and investments.

Since 2019, Southside ReLeaf has represented the interests of Southside residents by serving on several city and statewide workgroups, including the Richmond 300: A Guide for Growth Master Plan, RVAgreen 2050 Climate Equity Action Plan, and Chesapeake Bay policy roundtable.

Additionally, our coalition efforts led to Richmond City Council declaring

a climate emergency and establishing a new urban forester position for the city.

Since the establishment of Southside ReLeaf, there has been a greater effort to secure additional funding, build new parks, and prioritize greening projects in South Richmond. More importantly, we amplify the concerns and interests of Southside residents so decisionmakers, the local media, organizations, and other city residents pay attention to what’s happening on the ground in our communities.

We advocate for sound policies that preserve our natural environment, strengthen climate resiliency, and provide opportunities for communities to thrive.

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Our Policy Wins Five New Parks in Southside In 2020, the city announced the creation of five new park spaces in Southside Richmond. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney attributed the work of Southside ReLeaf in the city’s initiative to create those new spaces. Mayor Stoney said, “With the help of outstanding community experts, we’ve made an intentional effort to designate the first new parks space since the 1970s in communities of color. And we’re asking the community what they want to see in those spaces thanks to organizations like Southside ReLeaf.”

Broad Rock Creek Park, one of five new parks coming to the Southside

Declaring a Climate Emergency

Creation of the City’s First Urban Forester Position

In 2021, Richmond City Council passed a Climate and Ecological Emergency Resolution recognizing the disproportionate impact climate change will have on Southside residents and the consequences inaction will have on frontline communities. The objectives in the resolution are now used as a roadmap to building a climate resilient city.

Richmond’s Climate and Ecological Emergency Resolution calls for the creation of a new urban forester to lead the creation of an urban forestry master plan. Southside ReLeaf played a key role in Richmond City Council allocating funding in the FY2023 budget to hire the city’s first-ever urban forester to maintain and enhance tree populations.

Southside ReLeaf 2019-2023 Impact Report

Environmental Justice at the General Assembly

Protected Hickory Hill Community Center

Working with coalition partners, Southside ReLeaf successfully advocated for passage of legislation (SB 537) at the 2022 General Assembly to authorize localities to enact tree canopy programs to protect tree populations. We also served as the environmental justice representative in the Tree Conservation Workgroup for a legislative study that provided recommendations to state lawmakers for the preservation of trees during cluster development.

In 2021, Southside ReLeaf planted 100 trees along with partners at Hickory Hill Community Center, a historically significant community center and local park in a predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood. Just a year later, the city of Richmond proposed to pave over two acres of green space at the community center to build a burn tower for a fire training facility — bringing fires, smoke, and more concrete to a renewed community park in a formerly redlined neighborhood.

Sheri attends climate policy roundtable at the Science Museum of Virginia hosted by Rep. Jennifer McClellan and NASA

We worked alongside community members to reverse the city’s decision to build a burn tower at Hickory Hill Community Center. Our advocacy included public comments, action alerts, and leveraging the news media to persuade the city to protect green space. By summer 2023, the city reversed its decision to pave over the park thanks to activism and advocacy by neighbors and community groups.

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In the News There are more than 105 media hits with syndicated stories featuring Southside ReLeaf, including international news outlets.

Here are some of our favorite headlines:

Taking R o

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n, e e r g the HEAT h t i w Out WITH THE IN

Chesape ak green spe Bay Foundatio aces in R n ichmond, partners create ’s South Side

Can U clim .S. citi e a raci te plans s use st le gaci to ‘und es? o’

n ond o Richm

Fire

Southside ReLeaf 2019-2023 Impact Report

Gree Sout ning hside Rich mo

nd

Thr ow in t ing s he le ome com ss for shade mu tuna nitie te s

Community Partners and Collaborators We’re only successful in this work because of the many organizations who have worked with us to improve health outcomes and the quality of life for Southside residents through greening and people-centered policy. This list is not all-encompassing, but rather a glimpse into the many supporters we have in this work. We appreciate you.

Nonprofit Partners

Coalitions and Campaigns

Alliance for Chesapeake Bay Arbor Day Foundation Biggs Road Community Garden Capital Region Land Conservancy Capital Trees Chesapeake Bay Foundation Friends of Swansboro Playground Groundwork RVA Happily Natural Day James River Association Richmond Tree Stewards Richmond ToolBank RVA Thrives Seeds of Change Organization Sierra Club Falls of James Group Virginia Clinicians for Climate Change Virginia Community Voice (VACV) We R Me

Choose Clean Water Coalition (CWC) Reforest Richmond Virginia Conservation Network (VCN)

Community Collaborators RideFinders Second Baptist Church Southside Southside Joint Civic Association Swansboro West Civic Association

Academic and Cultural Institutions Science Museum of Virginia (SMVA) University of Richmond Virginia Commonwealth University

Local and State Government City of Richmond • Department of Public Utilities • Department of Public Works • Office of Sustainability • Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities • Richmond Grows Gardens • Urban Forestry Division Richmond Public Schools Virginia Department of Forestry

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Financial Highlights Since 2019, Southside ReLeaf has experienced steady financial growth, enabling the organization to grow in capacity and in impact with each year.

For the first three years of Southside ReLeaf’s existence, our fiscal agent was the Enrichmond Foundation. We transitioned to independent financial management when we were granted 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2021.

Southside ReLeaf 2019-2023 Impact Report

2021 Donors

2023 Donors

Southside ReLeaf had one organizational donor and 14 individual donors for a total contribution of $7,530.

We continued to grow in 2023 with six organizations and 31 individual donors - including our first recurring monthly individual donors! We are very thankful for the $21,523.54 we received from our community.

2022 Donors

$250 - $749

Southside ReLeaf had four organizational donors and 20 individual donors for a total contribution of $9,164.44.

Veil Norfolk, LLC Tuckahoe Garden Club of Westhampton Community Foundation

$250– $749

$750 - $1999

Tuckahoe Garden Club of Westhampton Cybergrants SPV, LLC

1st Unitarian Universalist Church

$750–$1,999

Good Shepherd Fund Arts & Letters

Tom DiLiberto

$5,000+

$2,000–$4,999

Richmond Jewish Foundation

$5,000+

More than 40 volunteers planted trees at Davee Gardens thanks to funding from Arbor Day Foundation and Capital One

Benevity

Thank you, Donors.

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Grant Highlights Funder:

Richmond Tree Stewards Project:

Richmond Public Schools Tree Planting Our first grant came from the Richmond Tree Stewards, and provided 20 trees that we used in our first-ever tree planting at Blackwell Elementary School on October 19, 2019.

Funder:

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Project:

Greening Southside Richmond Project In 2021, Southside ReLeaf partnered with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to complete work on the Greening Southside Richmond Project awarded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

We conducted community outreach and engagement in the Swansboro and Hickory Hill neighborhoods, supported site planning, and recruited volunteers to support a residential tree giveaway and planting effort benefitting members of the South Richmond community.

Southside ReLeaf 2019-2023 Impact Report

Funder:

Partners for Places, Virginia Outdoors Foundation, ConseRVAtion Fund Project:

Community-Rooted Greening Southside Plan We have participated in two Partner for Places (P4P) grants, the first funded by P4P and The Funders Network and the second funded by P4P, Virginia Outdoor Foundation, and the ConseRVAtion Fund.

The grants supported work between December 2020 and March 2023, and focused on building a collaborative partnership with the City of Richmond to create and implement a CommunityRooted Greening Southside Plan that centers and is led by neighbors directly impacted by climate change. Southside ReLeaf conducted significant community engagement work through this grant, including the formation and management of the South Richmond Greening Collaborative.

Grants from generous community partners, foundations, and government sources have been an essential part of Southside ReLeaf’s impact since 2019.

This highlight recognizes some of the most impactful grants we’ve been a part of between 2019–2023.

Funder:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association Project:

Climate Resilience and Community-Driven Action In 2021, work began on a grant awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) in partnership with the Science Museum of Virginia, with work continuing into 2023. The grant was part of NOAA’s Environmental Literacy Program with the goal of giving voice to Southside residents while building collective resilience to extreme heat and flooding through urban greening projects that are informed by community vision and are in alignment with the City’s master plan and climate action plan. Southside ReLeaf supported this work by coordinating with community residents to engage them on the subject of climate resilience, and helped facilitate community forums as the grant work continued in 2023.

Funder:

Arbor Day Foundation, Capital One, Virginia Department of Forestry Project:

Davee Gardens Tree Planting Davee Gardens is one of many neighborhoods in Richmond’s Southside that experiences severe flooding due to outdated stormwater systems, a lack of green spaces, and wetter seasons due to climate change. This neighborhood is located in a district that receives little funding for infrastructure and maintenance.

Thanks to a grant received from the Arbor Day Foundation and Capital One, with additional funding from the Virginia Department of Forestry, we planted 60 native trees in Davee Gardens. The trees planted not only provide environmental benefits but demonstrate to residents they are not forgotten. Now, there is a commitment to this neighborhood by the City of Richmond and additional dollars will be invested to address other needs in the community.

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Grant Highlights continued Funder:

US Forest Service • Urban & Community Forestry (U&CF) Grant Program Project:

Outreach Support & Website Upgrade For years, Southside ReLeaf functioned at the capacity of a full-time organization with only four volunteers who also have demanding full-time careers and family lives. All operational, strategic, policy, and community outreach activities — including administrative and financial accounting, social media management, community outreach, and event coordination — was done with this core group of volunteers.

In 2022, funding from the Virginia Department of Forestry allowed us to hire a part-time program manager and outreach coordinator to keep pace with the organization’s rapid growth. With additional paid staff support, our team is able to commit more hours for program work, increase the efficiency of how we work, and connect with more neighbors.

Southside ReLeaf 2019-2023 Impact Report

Funder:

USDA • Urban and Community Forestry Inflation Reduction Act Grants Project:

Black- and Brown-Led, Coalition-Based Urban Greening in Richmond, VA Southside ReLeaf is part of the joint $6 million grant that was announced in September 2023. Over the course of five years, we will engage thousands of local residents with various education and outreach programs, tree plantings, giveaways, and work days while running a multimedia Cool the City Campaign “to educate Richmond city residents about the importance of planting trees, creating and maintaining green spaces, establishing and supporting community gardens, and advocating for green infrastructure and safe public access to new and improved park spaces.”

We’re also appreciative of grant funding received from: Anonymous funders Arbor Day Foundation Community Foundation National Fish and Wildlife Foundation National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Richmond Memorial Health Foundation Robins Foundation

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Southside ReLeaf Team

Lisa Aikins-Afful Outreach & Engagement Coordinator

Melissa Spencer

Sheri Shannon

Co-founder | Programs & Policy

Amy Wentz

Administrative and Operations Coordinator

Sarah Wilkinson

Co-founder | Outreach & Education

Communications Coordinator

Board of Directors

Derick Winn

Rodney Gaines

Callie Houghland

Southside ReLeaf 2019-2023 Impact Report

Andrew Murray

Meredith Byrd

About Us Southside ReLeaf is a community-based organization committed to environmental justice in South Richmond. Our goal is to improve the life expectancy and quality of life for Southside residents by increasing green spaces, reducing pollution and improving infrastructure. We believe in uplifting voices that are often unheard and people-powered advocacy to build climate resilient neighborhoods.

Get involved at southsidereleaf.org.

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SOUTHSIDE ReLEAF PO BOX 24066 Richmond, VA 23224 hello@southsidereleaf.org www.southsidereleaf.org