ELIZABETH RIVER of New Jersey and New York, an exciting new community-based effort is taking shape under the leadership of Michelle Doran McBean and the Elizabeth River/ Arthur Kill Watershed Association/ Future City Inc. Water quality and urban heat islands are the initial focus, a bilingual Spanish and English Green Map is the goal. You can see the outcomes of the first Phase online now here, and the results of Summer 2006 workshops with local youth have added facinating new perspective to this terrific Green Map!

Used as a planning project, two different Green Opportunity Green Maps includes SOAR program youth drawings for waterfront parks, outdoor classrooms and cafeterias, as well as sites that youth found to be good opportunities for wider sidewalks, new trees, bike paths, recycling drop-offs, better use of natural resources, etc. Landscape architecture professor, David Tulloch of the Somerset Green Map project, has been an invaluable resource, contributing GIS and design skills to the maps. Congratulation to all involved - and good luck with upcoming projects focused on environmental justice issues in the are