|
2007 Annual Report
Philadelphia Green 
Since 1974, Philadelphia Green has furthered PHS’s mission to improve the quality of life and create a sense of community through horticulture. This year, Philadelphia Green strengthened and expanded ongoing initiatives and worked with partners to develop a strategy to help shape Philadelphia’s open space policies.
THE POWER OF PEOPLE
With roots in Philadelphia Green’s long-standing community gardening initiative, the City Harvest project produced more than 7,800 pounds of fresh vegetables during its first growing season and is expanding its network of supporters and participants. Through City Harvest, inmates of the Philadelphia Prison System start vegetable seedlings in a greenhouse that are grown to maturity in community gardens throughout the city. The nonprofit organization SHARE facilitates distribution of the produce to food cupboards, while the Health Promotion Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania provides nutrition education. Funded by The Albert M. Greenfield Foundation and other generous donors, City Harvest not only provides fresh, healthful food for Philadelphians in need, but also helps prepare incarcerated people for reentry into society by teaching them valuable skills.
A second project gaining momentum is City Hall in Bloom, a day of greening held each May in Center City. Thanks to the corporate sponsorship of KPMG LLP, the 2007 event was the largest and most successful in City Hall in Bloom’s 16-year history. PHS and Fairmount Park staff led 300 KPMG employees and 40 fourth graders from Bache-Martin School in the planting of more than 6,600 annuals. This year’s effort expanded beyond the grounds of City Hall to encompass JFK Plaza and Logan Square.
KPMG’s Philadelphia office managing partner Jerry Maginnis says, “At KPMG we all want to do more for Philadelphia than just come to work and pay our taxes. We want to be part of something that leaves a powerful impression; that’s what we like about sponsoring City Hall in Bloom.”
THE URBAN LANDSCAPE 
In cooperation with partners including the Fairmount Park Commission, Philadelphia Green continues to maintain important civic landscapes such as Logan Square, the Azalea Garden, the grounds of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the landscapes along 26th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard.
The new pathway along the Schuylkill River, known as Schuylkill Banks, has become a popular destination for city dwellers. Philadelphia Green participated in the renovation of the riverfront by removing dozens of invasive trees, creating beautiful vistas of the river. The Fairmount Park Commission and the Schuylkill River Development Corporation spearheaded the revitalization effort, and the William Penn Foundation and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided financial backing.
Philadelphia Green has long provided landscape management and technical support to Special Services Districts, business improvement districts operating in commercial areas such as Center City. This year, Philadelphia Green initiated new partnerships with the City Avenue Special Services District and the Sports Complex Special Services District in South Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Green’s presence in city parks is evident year-round through the Parks Revitalization Project. In fall 2006 the Project and its partners hosted Fall For Your Park at Ferko Playground and Tacony Creek Park in the Juniata neighborhood, drawing more than 350 volunteers from across the city who worked alongside neighborhood residents. In April 2007, 2,000-plus volunteers in 60 parks across Philadelphia participated in the eighth annual Spring Into Your Park.
Through a partnership with the Philadelphia Water Department Office of Watersheds, Philadelphia Green promotes the use of open space as an innovative and cost-effective stormwater management practice. Such efforts use green infrastructure to mitigate flooding and help reduce pollution of rivers and streams.
Parks were one focus of recent stormwater management projects. Working with the Philadelphia Department of Recreation, Philadelphia Green staff designed and installed a tree trench at the West Mill Creek Recreation Center that both diverts and absorbs runoff from the street. Stormwater projects were also put into motion at Jefferson Square in South Philadelphia, Cliveden Park in Germantown, and West Philadelphia’s Clark Park.
Philadelphia Green teamed with the East Falls Development Corporation, the Water Department, and the Philadelphia University Department of Landscape Architecture to craft a Stormwater Management Plan for the East Falls neighborhood, located along the Schuylkill River. Philadelphia Green planned and conducted community “charrettes” (collaborative meetings) to engage residents and gather input for designing innovative stormwater solutions for the neighborhood. The team selected key locations for demonstration projects and produced designs for aesthetic rain barrels, flowering planters, and green strips to absorb runoff.
Philadelphia Green’s Vacant Land Stabilization Program, funded by Mayor John Street’s Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (NTI), transforms abandoned urban land into “clean & green” spaces, dramatically improving the appearance of struggling neighborhoods. The process involves cleaning and mowing the lots, laying topsoil, planting trees, and installing wooden fencing. During Fiscal Year 2007, the program “stabilized” 1.2 million square feet of land. The results are inspiring, as formerly derelict land becomes a welcoming place for the community and attracts new investment. In addition, nearly 2,500 parcels of land are kept clean through Philadelphia Green’s Community LandCare project, which contracts with neighborhood organizations to mow and remove trash from abandoned land.
Also through NTI, Philadelphia Green planted more than 400 trees on city streets in the past year. By planting in barren-looking areas along busy commercial corridors, the trees make a major visual impact and help boost the local economy as well.
PLANNING A GREENER FUTURE
As part of an advocacy campaign to promote the many benefits of a green urban environment to city government and the business community, PHS assembled a Green City Strategy Committee made up of local business leaders, civic leaders, and PHS Council members. Among other initiatives, the group helped organize a Democratic Mayoral Candidates’ Forum on March 5 at the 2007 Philadelphia Flower Show. More than 1,000 people heard the major Democratic candidates comment on such matters as protecting open space, restoring parks, protecting the local environment, and investing in neighborhood revitalization.
Philadelphia Green is a major partner in creating GreenPlan Philadelphia, a comprehensive municipal open space plan for all existing and future green spaces, led by the city’s Managing Director’s Office. As a consultant on the Civic Engagement Strategy, Philadelphia Green held meetings throughout the city and gathered input from more than 1,600 individuals, community groups, and stakeholders. When complete, GreenPlan Philadelphia will guide decision-making about the city’s open spaces, including their use, acquisition, development, funding, and management.
PHS continued an effort to bring Philadelphia Green’s community engagement and greening expertise beyond the city limits to the wider region. Through a partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (DCNR) TreeVitalize, PHS has helped citizen volunteers plant more than 12,000 trees in the region (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties, as well as Philadelphia). Through its Tree Tenders basic training classes, PHS also taught nearly 400 volunteers last year to plant and care for trees. PHS continues to promote tree planting through its membership programs and at the Philadelphia Flower Show.
PHS is also involved in a statewide greening effort in partnership with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful (KPB). In 2007 PHS trained 35 college students through KPB’s summer internship program. Applying classroom lessons to real-life situations, the students devised and implemented neighborhood greening projects in 13 cities across the commonwealth.
RECENT AWARDS
PHS recently received two prestigious environmental awards for Philadelphia Green’s accomplishments. The first came from the Home Depot Foundation, which presented Philadelphia Green and the City of Philadelphia with the Award of Excellence for Community Trees for their work with TreeVitalize. The award was presented at the US Conference of Mayors in Los Angeles.
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission presented PHS with its Regional Environmental Program of the Year Award. Philadelphia Green was recognized for its transformation of vacant lots. PHS executive vice president Blaine Bonham says, “It’s extremely gratifying to have the work of PHS recognized with significant regional and national awards like these. It helps spread the message that greening is a powerful strategy for transforming the urban environment.”♦ |
