Harvard’s Kennedy School Honors LandCare Program

PHILADELPHIA (March 2011) –  The Philadelphia LandCare Program, coordinated by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and funded by the city’s Office of Housing and Community Development, was honored March 29 as one of 36 “Bright Ideas” across the country that address pressing public issues with creative and innovative programming.

The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, recognizes the Bright Ideas recipients, which focus on issues such as health care, education, performance management, civic engagement and service delivery, and represent programming of school districts, county, city, state, and federal agencies, as well as programs that demonstrate the value of partnership among nonprofit, public and private sectors in improving the lives of citizens. The programs were selected by an evaluation team of policy experts comprised of both academics and practitioners. 

The Philadelphia LandCare Program developed and administered by PHS has transformed thousands of trash-strewn, idle parcels of land into neighborhood assets by adding trees, wood fences, and well-maintained lawns as a strategic interim precursor to development.

“The LandCare Program contributes to the economic progress and quality of life of neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia,” said PHS President Drew Becher. “We are very proud to be recognized for our work by the Ash Center of Harvard University’s Kennedy School.”

“The improvements undertaken through the LandCare Program are often the first step toward revitalizing a neighborhood,” said Deborah McColloch, Director of OHCD. “LandCare is lifting up some of Philadelphia’s most distressed communities and providing jobs for neighborhood residents.”
The Bright Ideas program is part of a broader initiative of the Innovations in American Government Awards program, which spotlights exemplary models of government innovation and advances efforts to address the nation’s most pressing public concerns.

“Government is struggling to deliver quality services with strapped resources and diminishing budgets,” said Anthony Saich, director of the Ash Center. “These 36 government programs demonstrate that creative solutions to some of our nation’s most intractable problems can be generated and succeed in even in the most challenging of environments.”

PHS, a nonprofit organization founded in 1827, is dedicated to improving the quality of life through horticulture and is considered the nation’s leading authority on transforming communities through greening.