In 2023 hundreds of people visited the base of High Falls during a special event organized by the Genesee River Alliance - a Land Trust initiative - to give people a sense of what the park might be. Photo by Elliotte Bowerman.

State Park outreach focuses on Edgerton and El Camino

City residents and Genesee Land staff gathered in September for an Edgerton community dinner at Lake Avenue Baptist Church in Rochester.

“Our mission is to get people to learn about the state park [at High Falls] and feed them,” says host Rev. Dr. Michael J. Form, Senior Minister. He hopes to see community picnics and local kids climbing in trees when the park’s ready.

For now, Michael just wants his neighbors to know about the project and have a say in what happens to their community.

“It’s too often look what the city’s doing to us rather than with us,” Michael says.

Learn more about the state park

Gathering diverse feedback

In collaboration with partners Greentopia and TourBlend, for most of 2023 we have been surveying people about the park – 1,300+ by mid October.

But two communities of color highly impacted by the park had minimal survey responses: Edgerton and El Camino.

In August Genesee Land Trust hired Mckenna Erwell, an AmeriCorps Vista Rochester Youth Year, to build a community engagement tool kit. She started contacting local organizations and leaders like Michael to go beyond surveys.

Protecting the neighborhood

Across the river Eugenio Marlin, Executive Director of IBERO American Development Corp., likes the park project but wants to avoid El Camino residents getting displaced.

“It could be a plus for the city in general, and particularly for the area we serve if we can get people to develop a sense of ownership and welcome participation,” he says. “If people are not informed… you wake up one morning and your neighborhood has changed.”

“I go to the river whenever I need to process my feelings. It’s always there for me.”

— Perry McKnight, lifelong Rochesterian and current Edgerton resident