The inaugural VyStar Emerald Trail 5K presented by JTC Running and 1st Place Sports will be Sat., Nov. 21, 2020 and give runners, walkers and cyclists an up-close look at multiple points of interest along a portion of what will become the Emerald Trail. All proceeds benefit Groundwork Jacksonville in designing the Emerald Trail, the…

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Groundwork Jacksonville (GWJax) is pleased to welcome Ann-Marie Knight and Steve Swann to its volunteer Board of Directors. Knight is Vice President, Community Engagement and Chief Diversity Officer for University of Florida (UF) Health Jacksonville and Swann is City Engineer for the City of Atlantic Beach, Fla. According to Groundwork Jacksonville Board Chair Kristina Nelson,…

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JTC Running, Northeast Florida’s preeminent promoter of healthy lifestyles through running, fitness, and fellowship, donated $50,000 to GWJax to help fund the design of the Emerald Trail S-Line Connector which completes an unfinished 1.3-mile section of the existing S-Line Rail Link from 12th St. and Boulevard near Andrew Robinson Elementary School, to E. 21st St.…

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The Groundwork Jacksonville Green Team Youth Corps joined Timucuan Parks Foundation recently for a day of outdoor fun. TPF hosted 22 teens from the group at Dutton Island Preserve where they participated in a nature hike, fishing and outdoor cooking. The event marked the partial resumption of outdoor programming for TPF who modified the day’s…

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Groundwork Jacksonville unveiled the design of the Emerald Trail Model Project — the first segment of the Emerald Trail linking Brooklyn to the S-Line Rail Link through LaVilla. Construction of the project, named the “LaVilla Link,” will begin this fall and take a year to complete at an estimated construction cost of $3.9 million. According…

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Who would have predicted that unsettling phrases like COVID-19, social distancing and self-quarantine would become part of our everyday conversations? It is certainly not business-as-usual for our team at Groundwork Jacksonville (GWJax), but we are working diligently to adapt to these unprecedented circumstances and to keep moving forward in accomplishing our mission of Changing Places…

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Groundwork Jacksonville is one of just six recipients nationwide, of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) 2020 Doppelt Family Trail Development Fund grants that support regional and community trail-development goals. Groundwork was awarded $30,000 for the construction of the Model Project, the first segment of the 30-mile Emerald Trail urban pedestrian/bicycle trail in Jacksonville. The 1.3-mile Model…

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Groundwork Jacksonville (GWJax) is pleased to welcome two familiar faces to its growing Board of Directors, former Mayor John Delaney and urban planner/historian Ennis Davis. Ennis Davis has been a valued volunteer for GWJax, sharing the stories of Jacksonville’s historic Emerald Trail neighborhoods. Davis is senior planner with Alfred Benesch & Company, serving as in-house…

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Retired from a 41-year career in global transportation and logistics with Sea-Land and CSX, Larry Roberts now devotes much of his time to transportation issues on a more personal level through JTC Running and other volunteer efforts. Soon after moving to Jacksonville in 1992, Larry joined the Board of JTC Running (JTC), the nonprofit responsible…

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