Laura's May Update

The transition from April to May was almost imperceptible, as many of my projects rolled over into this past month. Within the first two weeks of May I finished researching crime and river access issues along the Mon. I also finished compiling the Business Directories and Town Profiles for both Greensboro and Rices Landing. The team met to discuss some ideas for our follow-up GTECH meeting at the end of the month, which was helpful in thinking about community engagement and project timelines for the rest of the year.

I’ve also been busy working with e-media related projects. Ashley and I learned how to use Constant Contact, an online newsletter and email distribution program, and I have been looking into different formats for us to use when we launch our River Towns monthly newsletter. I set up a River Towns Facebook profile, which will be launched in the near future. We’ve also been discussing ideas for a River Towns smart-phone app, which would highlight access points along the river, fun things to do in the region, and specific things to do and see in each of our towns.

In the field, I spent several days working out of the Greensboro borough building, as part of a weekly commitment I made to spending time meeting and working with residents of the town. I also volunteered at Greensboro’s first Farmers’ Market in the beginning of the month. After a successful start, I’m looking forward to continuing to offer my support for the event on a weekly basis. We also scheduled a meeting with some of the council members in Rices Landing, which will allow us to introduce the River Towns program to them and enable me to begin working on projects with members of the town. I was also lucky enough to receive a scholarship to attend the National Scenic and Historic Trails Conference in Abingdon, Virginia. It proved to be a valuable opportunity, not only to network with other young adults working on similar projects as ours, but also to discover the extensive network of trail groups that covers much of the US. I attended several workshops at the conference regarding Human Health as it relates to preserving and utilizing trail systems, and participated in a working dinner, where participants discussed issues that trail systems across the nation are facing and ways to overcome them.