Brown Faces Green Spaces

07/30/2026

Reel in a fun, screen-free day outdoors! Saturday, August 22nd beginning at 1pm, join us for a FREE, family-friendly Community Fishing Derby – open to all experience levels.

Whether you’re trying it for the first time or you're a seasoned angler, come cast a line, bait a hook, and discover the native fish living in our local waterways! ♻️🌳💚🌍

Free bait & limited loaner rods available - or feel free to bring your own!
No fishing license required at Oak Ridge Prairie County Park!
FREE parking & entry — just mention "Fishing Derby" at the gate!

Register today: https://forms.gle/cxgMpi9R7oDQrMT86

07/27/2026

This highlights a critical environmental justice issue -- scientists now say chemicals and microscopic plastics present in our everyday household use could be harming Black men’s fertility.

Ditching single-use plastics and stopping the use of plastic in microwaves are simple steps to protect our health and families.

Plastics are causing everything from hormone disruption and a fertility crisis, to increased rates of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

07/27/2026

For decades, the public image of the environmental movement was narrowly white and male — a picture that erased the long history of Black, Indigenous and other communities of color that organized around environmental harm.

As an environmental sociologist, Dr. Dorceta Taylor has dedicated her career to reframing and expanding representation in the environmental justice movement and is one of the earliest pioneers in the field earning her doctoral degree from the Yale School of Environment.

Today, Dr. Taylor releases a landmark project — the world’s first environmental justice encyclopedia documenting key events, institutions and people of color in the environmental justice movement from all over the world.

Dorceta Taylor spent decades pushing back on the idea that environmentalism ‘wasn't a Black thing.’ Now she's rewritten its history.

07/27/2026

Join Just Transition NWI for "Measuring Legacy Pollution's Burden on Northwest Indiana Communities" this Thursday, July 30th from 6:00p to 8:30p at the Gary Aquatorium -- 6918 Oak Avenue.

Explore the cumulative impacts of industrial pollution across the NW Indiana region and what we can do to advocate for meaningful change. Free and open to the public - meal provided for those who register: https://www.jtnwi.org/events/cumulative-impacts-report

07/11/2026

Ready to dip your toes into Lake Michigan?
Before you jump in, it’s always a good idea to know before you go! Water quality can shift fast, especially after a good storm pushes runoff, wildlife waste, and algal blooms into the surf. Before you pack the cooler and hit the sand, click the link below to check the grid for the latest, real-time advisories, alerts and water quality reports for your local beach access points.

Stay safe out there! ♻️🌳💚🌍

For information on the U.S. Steel Shoreline Sampling Project, please visit: https://www.in.gov/idem/resources/lake-michigan-sites-of-interest/u.s.-steel-lake-michigan-shoreline-sampling-project/ .

07/09/2026

Plastic-Free July is about far more than swapping straws -- it is a vital fight for public health.

The average American generates 310 pounds of plastic waste annually, yet only 5% is recycled. The rest clogs landfills and oceans, with a single bottle taking 450 years to degrade. For Black and brown communities, this crisis is profoundly systemic. Petrochemical facilities are disproportionately placed in these neighborhoods, creating toxic corridors where residents pay for corporate profits with their health.

This environmental racism follows us into our homes. Microplastics degrade into our food and water, causing the average person to ingest a credit card’s worth of plastic every single week.

This month, let’s look beyond individual guilt and collectively swap out household plastics to protect our immediate health while demanding systemic accountability for marginalized communities.♻️🌳💚🌍

Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., president and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, has spent more than two decades advocating for environmental justice in Black communities.  Featured in the Netflix documentary “The Plastic Detox,” Yearwood argues that microplastics and the petrochemical industry have become c...

07/08/2026

The intersection of rising energy bills and data center development has become a major talking point across Indiana, with local residents expressing growing frustration over utility rate hikes and grid capacity.

This will be the focus of a public forum in Gary next week on Monday, July 13th at 6:00p at the Gary Public Safety Facility
​in the Community Room -- 555 Polk Street.

Residents are strongly encouraged to attend to voice their complaints directly to state regulators.

07/08/2026

After Trump approved the Nippon Steel acquisition of U.S. Steel last year, the Tokyo-based company said it planned to invest $3.1 billion in Gary.

Activists and residents say they hope these investments include cleaner steelmaking methods that can lead to job creation and health improvements. Specifically, they want direct reduction, which emits fewer pollutants as it removes impurities from iron ore without fully melting it.

Now, U.S. Steel is spending $1.9 billion for a new direct reduction facility in Osceola, Arkansas — but not in Gary.

Direct reduction furnaces operate at lower temperatures and burn natural gas. U.S. Steel is building one of these facilities in Arkansas but says it is too costly for Gary.

07/02/2026

These so-called "snitch signs" are located on kiosks throughout the Indiana Dunes National Park -- even offering a QR code for easy reporting.

But reviews of more than 35,000 public comments submitted as part of the nationwide effort by the Trump administration to rid park properties of "woke ideology" show the approach has backfired.

Read more here: https://nwitimes.com/news/local/government-politics/article_d006f56c-81cb-4e7a-8fd9-5ef3001d4f4b.html