GreenWorks
GreenWorks is a year-round environmental youth employment and community development initiative created by Joe’s Movement Emporium to provide young adults with entry-level environmental jobs in their own community.
Our GreenWorkers clean local waterways through our GreenWorks Stream Team, plant trees and remove invasive species through our GreenWorks Tree Team, create art-based educational content, and host events to promote the protection of our watershed and urban tree canopy. GreenWorks strives for all Prince George’s County residents to have equitable access to quality ecosystem services in their communities.
To date, we have active project sites in Cheverly, Colmar Manor, Cottage City, Bladensburg, Capitol Heights, College Park, and Mount Rainier. We are always looking to partner and expand our reach, please email greenworksjoes@gmail.com. We can help!
For updates and more, follow us on instagram and check out our Impact Report!
ABOUT
OUR MISSION
We want to provide free or subsidized green infrastructure solutions to environmental justice communities in Prince George’s County. We also strive to create stable entry-level employment opportunities in the environmental profession.
OUR VISION
We fill in the gaps, providing support to municipalities, residents, and local environmental organizations, while also maintaining our own unique identity and programming.
WHO WE SERVE?
Low-income and majority BIPOC neighborhoods in Prince George’s County have for decades experienced rapid deforestation, concentrated development of heavy industry, and a lack of investment in green infrastructure for residents. With all our programs, we aim to serve these environmental justice communities.
OUR PROGRAMS
Artwork of a tree SAVED from invasive English Ivy, submitted by Xander Jake De Los Santos
Are vines strangling your trees?
Do you want to restore natural habitats?
Are you curious if you have invasive plants in your yard?
GreenWorks can help! Our Invasives Removal programs help protect the Prince George’s County tree canopy and biodiversity.
We do this in 3 easy steps:
Learn: Follow us on social media and for quick facts and tips about invasive plants.
Practice: Come to one of our events and receive training about how to identify, remove, and dispose of invasives once the removal is complete.
Take Action: Share your knowledge with your neighbors, and remove invasives in your own community. Send us pictures of your successes and invasives art, and we’ll post on our social media! Send to greenworksjoes@gmail.com
Click to download
Upcoming Events
Invasive Vine Removal at Cottage City: Register Here
Sun, Feb 23, 10:00am-1:00pm
Join Meredith from CCAN to canvass and remove Invasive Vines around the Cottage City neighborhood.
Invasive Vine Removal in Cottage City: Register Here
Sun, March 9, 9:00am-12:00pm EST
Join Meredith from CCAN to canvass and remove Invasive Vines around the Cottage City neighborhood.
Recommended Guidebook
Plant Invaders of the Mid-Atlantic, By: Jil Swearingen; National Park Service National Capital Region Center for Urban Ecology, 2010
Why is this work important? Local articles for you/friends/family.
Local Forests Are Failing to Produce The Next Generation of Trees; By: Jacob Fenston & Tyrone Turner; dcist.com; 2023.
Five Things You Can Do To Help Save Local Forests; By: Jacob Fenston & Tyrone Turner; dcist.com; 2023.
For more resources on identifying/removing invasives & planting/buying natives, check out our resource page.
The GreenWorks Stream Team, created in June 2018, manages 3 Bandalong litter traps within the Anacostia River watershed. Each week, GreenWorkers remove, sort, and report litter waste for our funder, Anacostia Riverkeeper, to help with their watershed monitoring and pollution mitigation efforts. We work with the City of Mount Rainier, Maryland National-Capital Park and Planning Commission, the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and Prince George’s Department of Environment.
With our GreenWorks Tree Team, we protect our local urban tree canopy by providing free and low-cost green infrastructure services to environmental justice communities in Prince George’s County.
Our goal is to plant 500 trees between October 2024 — April 2025 at no cost to PG County residents. Our efforts, funded by Chesapeake Bay Trust, support the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ 5 Million Trees Initiative.
To prevent the destruction of the urban tree canopy, we also remove invasive vines and shrubs, create art-based educational materials, and host events to promote community awareness about the steps residents can take in their own community.
Register below to be on our waitlist to receive a free tree planted at your home!
