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By 2015, residents desiring to take in a summertime dose of nature may no longer feel the need to travel beyond the city limits.
Mayor Michael A. Nutter’s Greenworks Philadelphia campaign aims to plant 300,000 new trees within the next five years. Saturday morning, local groups will participate in a variety of projects designed to enrich and improve Philadelphia’s urban park system in the city’s annual Love Your Park Day.
Last year, approximately 1,200 Philadelphians contributed to park cleanup efforts in neighborhoods that spanned the city. Organizers hope to see the attendance rate reach 2,000 volunteers in this rain-or-shine event.
In South Philadelphia, the Lower Moyamensing Civic Association will contribute to several neighborhood park cleanups from 9 a.m. to noon. At Mifflin Square Park, Sixth and Wolf streets, and at Weinberg Park, Sixth and Jackson streets, the civic association’s volunteers will sweep walkways, clear away debris, and remove graffiti, among other things.
Additionally, volunteers at Marconi Plaza — the signature site for the cleanup at Broad Street and Oregon Avenue — will contribute to garden maintenance, weeding and mulching, and planting trees and perennials. Nutter, along with Parks and Recreation Commissioner Michael DiBerardinis and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) President-elect Drew Becher, will be in attendance as part of a morning press conference.
“Locals can get involved by going on the Greater Philadelphia Cares website and signing up online or calling them. Or they can just show up on the day of the event,” said Lower Moyamensing President Kim Massare.
Supplies will be provided on-site at park cleanups throughout Philadelphia while SEPTA and recycling advocates will be on hand to staff information tables at Marconi Plaza.
Furthermore, volunteers at Marconi can look forward to an appearance by the Mummers, who will perform before and after the press conference. Around noon, Pop’s Water Ice and other local vendors will donate revitalizing refreshments to the participants.
“Apart from the obvious benefits of beautifying parks, Love Your Park Day is a great way to bring neighbors together as one,” Massare said.
“It’s also important for local residents to come out on May 8 so that they can learn how they can get involved with the Friends of Marconi Plaza. Whether it’s planning family friendly events like movie nights and concerts or taking part in regular cleanups, volunteering with a park Friends group has something for everyone,” added Jennifer Mahar, of PHS.
The new Department of Parks and Recreation, a result of the combination of the Fairmount Park Commission and the Recreation Department as of July 2010, will be in charge of managing the tree planting campaign that launched on April 24 in North Philadelphia’s Francisville neighborhood. The Department hopes to foster partnerships with local businesses and nonprofit organizations that will actively contribute to tree-planting efforts within Philadelphia.
“This kick-off event with Francisville exemplifies the ‘new tree planting model,’ which leverages community partnerships to increase the number of trees planted,” Nutter said at the launch. “With the help of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, corporate citizens, local nonprofit organizations, and other institutions, I have no doubt that Philadelphia will become the greenest big city in America.”
PHS will remain a crucial participant in the undertaking. As of April 24, community groups trained by PHS’s Tree Tenders program will be responsible for planting up to 1,000 trees, expected to go up in neighborhoods throughout the city by the end of May.
Tree Tenders’ training consists of a nine-hour-total course that includes hands-on tree care. Programs are offered in locations throughout the Greater Philadelphia area, on weekday evenings or Saturday trainings.
“Tree Tenders is free and open to the public,” Mahar said. “We have trained thousands of residents how to plant and care for urban trees and there are Tree Tenders groups in nearly every community in Philadelphia.”
The upcoming local efforts of the Greenworks Philadelphia tree planting campaign will be possible due to a $1.65 million grant from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, which is, in turn, aided by funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The first major citywide contribution to the campaign will be this Saturday’s event, which was preceded in previous years by two park cleanup events: Spring into Your Park and Greater Philadelphia Cares about Fairmount Park Day. PHS will partner with the Department of Parks and Recreation and Greater Philadelphia Cares in a cleanup effort that will span more than 90 parks within the city.
“The purpose of the day is to focus public awareness on the tremendous asset and resources that we all share in Philadelphia’s park system, to accomplish much needed park beautification projects, and to strengthen and expand community support for the parks,” Mahar said.
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