Earth Day: Sunset Potluck and Walk

From the Sierra Club’s Austin Environmental Justice Team (ATXEJ) –

On Earth Day 2017, the Springdale-Airport Neighborhood Association (SANA) and Sierra Club’s ATXEJ (Environmental Justice) team invite you to a sunset potluck, walk, and discussion about Red Bluff, dubbed “East Austin’s Mt. Bonnell.”

For more than 50 years, East Austin’s Red Bluff vista was neglected and forgotten. Once a playground for neighborhood children looking to climb cliffs and hunt rabbits, the vista became home to dumped chemicals, trash, and oil waste.

Working together in 2015-2017, neighborhood residents won a major victory for open space in East Austin: an agreement from Austin’s Environmental Commission and City Council to pursue permanent protection of Red Bluff.

Join us on April 22nd for a potluck, short evening walk (about half a mile), and Earth Day discussion, as we sit atop Red Bluff and watch the sunset across downtown Austin. We’ll hear directly from longtime residents of the neighborhood about their relationship with this land, and from other community activists and organizers about the history of Environmental Racism and injustice in East Austin.

This picnic is open to all, as a space for education and community organizing. Neighborhood residents have won a major victory with Red Bluff, but there are still major questions about how the land will be managed and protected; there’s still a lot of work to be done. We’re working to build a long-term campaign centered on supporting the demands and vision of residents in the Springdale-Airport neighborhood.

WE’LL LEARN ABOUT:

• The history of environmental racism in East Austin

• Gentrification and displacement of people of color in one of Austin’s oldest neighborhoods

• Safe trails and walking paths for students at Eastside Memorial High School

• How to be an ally in the fight for environmental and racial justice in communities of color

MORE INFORMATION

• To learn more about SANA visit www.springdaleairport.org

• To learn more about ATXEJ visit http://www.facebook.com/atxej

• Watch a short video “Red Bluff: 50 years of dumping on East Austin’s Mt. Bonnell”  https://vimeo.com/158287794

WHAT TO BRING

• Closed toe shoes and long pants – VERY IMPORTANT for bugs and occasional poison ivy!

• Bug spray (useful for springtime evenings in the woods around Austin!)

• Water, dinner or snack – please consider bringing food to share, potluck-style

• Blanket or folding chair

• Camera for photos

• Flashlight, headlamp, and/or lantern

DIRECTIONS

Harold Court isn’t a through street, so make sure you follow the map link to the correct side (off 183/Ed Bluestein). If you’re on a mobile device and can’t access the Meetup map, this Google Maps link also works:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Red+Bluff+Park/@30.2697622,-97.6779568,18z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x6846ea783eaa2f4d!8m2!3d30.269389!4d-97.67588?hl=en