Immediately following the forum, families with children are invited to participate in fun, educational activities designed to help them learn about their health and environment. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about asthma triggers, auto emissions, climate change, energy use, lead-based paint hazards, recycling and sun safety, among other topics.

WHO:

Gwendolyn-Keyes Flemming, EPA Region 4, Regional Administrator
Ebenezer Gujjarlapudi, Director
Environment and Compliance Department, City of Jacksonville
Jon Heymann, Chief Executive Officer, Communities in Schools
Councilman John Gaffney, City of Jacksonville
Councilman Warren Jones, City of Jacksonville
Wynetta Wright, Chairwoman, Eastside Environmental Council
Jackie Lattimore, President, Destined For A Change, Inc.

WHAT:

Reclaiming a Healthy Environment forum and environmental education activities for kids

WHEN:           Saturday, October 23, 2010, 11 a.m.

WHERE:         Jacksonville’s Children Commission

1095 A. Phillip Randolph Blvd.
Jacksonville, Florida 32206

The Jacksonville Environmental Justice Showcase Community Pilot is a collaborative effort joining residents, community-based and non-profit organizations, and federal, state and local agencies to address public health and environmental concerns in Health Zone 1 (zip codes 32202, 32204, 32206, 32208, 32209, and 32254).

More information about the Jacksonville Environmental Justice Showcase pilot is available online at:

www.epa.gov/compliance/ej/grants/ej-showcase.html

The EPA has several online resources available:

1) Updated data and other information on the BP oil spill site:

• Get air quality and water data
• Find answers to common questions
• Submit technology solutions

2) Connect with the EPA via social media sites:

• Administrator Jackson’s personal account of the response to the oil spill: Facebook and Twitter
• EPA’s announcements: Facebook and Twitter

3) Subscribe to EPA oil spill updates

You can also visit the coordinated government response site for:

• Information about the spill and efforts to stop the oil from flowing
• Hotlines to report oil on land or injured wildlife
• Details of how you can volunteer

Jacksonville is one of just 10 communities selected from across the nation to receive a portion of the $1 million in funding being provided through the EPA’s EJ Showcase program. The agency is providing $100,000 per community to fund projects over the next two years to help alleviate the environmental and human health challenges they face.

As part of the press conference, EPA will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Communities in Schools, an organization that strives to address children’s unmet needs, to work collaboratively throughout the Showcase project on improving children’s environmental health in Jacksonville’s Health Zone 1.

Attending the kick off on Friday, April 30, 2010 at 1 p.m. at the Beaver Street Enterprise Center:   Stan Meiburg, EPA Acting Regional Administrator; Kent Benjamin, Associate Director, EPA Office of Environmental Justice; Mayor John Peyton, City of Jacksonville; Greg Strong, Director, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Northeast District; Jon Heymann, Chief Executive Officer, Communities in Schools; and Representatives from Eastside Environmental Council and Destined for a Change.

Also on Friday, as part of the kick-off, EPA will host the first of a series of Community Information Exchanges from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Beaver Street Enterprise Center. EPA will provide residents with additional information about the EJ Showcase pilot and answer questions. Participants will also gain insight about the ongoing programs, resources and the efforts of federal, state and local agencies to improve human health and environmental conditions.

On Saturday, May 1, EPA and the City of Jacksonville have organized a community cleanup of the area surrounding Richard L. Brown Elementary School (1535 Milnor Street) from 8:30 to noon. The cleanup will be conducted along Deer Creek in order to bring attention to an area with suspected contamination. To sign up: www.handsonjacksonville.org or 904-630-2489.