Photo by Nick Buzzelli

Erin Tobin of the Allegheny Commons Initiative speaks during an event at the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society Wednesday, Sept. 10.

By Nick Buzzelli 

The Allegheny Commons Initiative (ACI) in conjunction with the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society held a public meet-and-greet Sept. 10, in an effort to promote the work both Northside organizations are doing around the area.

“The off-leash region is a special thing unique to our park, so why not work with an organization that can take advantage of this? I told [the humane society] a little bit about us and meet and greets and they were like, “Oh, we’d love to host a meet and greet,’” said Tobin, who is the project administrator for the ACI.

The informal event was equally important for both institutions as a way to spread awareness and promote upcoming events and initiatives.

“I think events [like this] are vital because we are such a small organization,” Tobin said. “I think it’s really important for us to get our faces and our names out there to the public because, like I said, we’re a really small park, but we’re a park full of history and full of problems that need attention.

“I think it’s been difficult for us to get as much done as we’d like to, but it’s good to have these events so that people can see that there are people working on those things.”

For more information about the ACI and humane society visit the official websites.

Nick Buzzelli is a contributing writer.