By: Liz Smith-Incer, Field Office Director serving Mississippi, Alabama & Puerto Rico
The National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program continues to support MCTSAA in developing the Africatown Connections Blueway. In addition to planning on the ground development for each proposed point of interest for the blueway, we are coming close to finalizing our working base map for the project, which includes 14 proposed points of interest so far. In May, the City of Prichard hosted the planning team and we enjoyed meeting the Delegation from Benin and hearing about the exciting future of Africatown USA State Park.
At a planning team meeting on July 19, we talked through each point of interest and shared ideas about how to begin our on-the-ground work for the points. This summer we explored how points of interest within the City of Chickasaw that include Chickasaw Historical Docks, Off the Hook Marina and Grill, William Brooks Park and the Ron Jones Paddle Trail will connect to the Blueway.
I personally enjoyed the honor of being a part of the Clotilda Discovery Celebration on May 30 and the planning for the Day of Healing on August 25. The National Park Service will continue to assist communities find ways to nourish themselves through nature and the natural world.