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annamearajamesblog · 6 years ago

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Meara’s Blog Post

What course concepts did you see in action?

The first stewardship event I participated in was a watershed clean-up in NE Philly. This event consisted of walking along and near a large creek and making sure no trash was susceptible of polluting it or its surrounding areas. This highlighted the aspects urban ecology and even biodiversity. In order to ensure healthy and safe conditions for any species of the creek or surrounding forest areas, the trash had to be removed and properly disposed. This was a really impactful course concept to see in action. The conditions of the watershed were horrible upon arrival, however, after spending a few hours there the difference was eye-opening.

The second event I participated in was a community garden clean-up. This event worked with Philly Orchard Project in order to remove invasive species and begin planting new pollinator species. This event related to course content mostly regarding trees and soils. I spent the majority of my time there working with the Head Gardener and pulling out invasive weeds from the flowerbeds. From doing this I was able to get a hands-on feel on the different types of soil quality. She also talked to us about what kinds of plants she intended putting in the area in order to promote different insects entering the garden. I learned a lot of from her insight and she told us that we made a huge difference in helping her manage all of the work!

What did you do? – be very specific – include plant names, soil types, names of groups and individuals.

At the first event I mostly picked up trash. This really ranged in types of trash. Most people immediately began picking up the largest pieces of trash they could find. However, Anna, James, and I spent a decent amount of time picking up microplastics, small pieces of glass, and other small items we could find. This was important to us because those microplastics can often be mistaken as food to many species which then enters the food chain. Shattered glass is also very dangerous to animals and people. A bird could easily land on class and cut there wing or foot just as a child could accidently step on glass and impale themselves. We did not really work with any types of plants at this event since it was a clean-up, however, we did have to maneuver around all various sorts of weeds and leaves in order to find hidden trash. Many plastic bags, soda bottles, liquor bottles, old clothes, as well as many other items were found tucked under piles or leaves or hidden under tree branches. All the trash was placed in garbage bags and after the event weighed. We later learned that we collected over 1,000lbs of trash!

At the second event I participated in I also picked up trash as well as weeding several flowerbeds. This event took place at a community garden about 5 minutes away from Temple’s main campus. James, who was with me at this event, even planted a Juneberry tree! However, I stayed with the members of the Philly Orchard Project, the Head Gardener, and Anna. The people from Philly Orchard Project worked to cut down branches of different trees that were beginning to look crowded in the area. They tended to refer to this as “giving the trees haircuts”. One of the trees they were trying to trim up was a mulberry tree. Also, there was a lot of mint in the garden. Jasmine, the Head Gardener, informed us that they were intending to keep the mint, so we were told to not pull any of that out. The community garden was composed of 5 flowerbeds, 4 of which were completely overgrown with weeds. Anna and I spent the majority of our time pulling all the weeds out. At first, I thought this was going to be really simple. However, some of the weeds were so far in the grown that they were pretty tough to remove fully. This event was a lot of fun and super impacting. It was really awesome to be able to see the changes that we were all able to make in just a few short hours.

How does this project or agency address community needs?

Both of the stewardship projects I participated in were very impacting to the community needs of the surrounding communities. Particularly, the community garden event. This event was located in a low-income neighborhood in North Philadelphia. Upon arrival, Peter and Gene, members of Historic Fair Hill, gave us some background information about the location. They informed us that the area used to be entirely ran by drug cartels. The poverty rate, drug rate, as well as crime rates were all extremely high. The city of Philadelphia has stepped in and imposed government-assisted housing in the area now as well as other aspects in order to try to eliminate the poverty and crime. One of those efforts was implementing several community gardens throughout the area. The community garden I worked in was directly across from a newly built government-assisted complex. The Head Gardener informed us that it was going to be challenging to initiate the local community to become involved with the garden. She also said that once the community begins to get engaged with the garden, she can show them how to maintain different food crops in hopes of building better community relations and saving people some money. This event was very impactful in the community and I hope many people get involved with the garden and make sure it flourishes!

Did anything happen that made you feel uncomfortable? If so, explain why you felt this way.

The first event I participated in which was the watershed clean-up had one particular event that made me uncomfortable. After about an hour of being there, it became apparent that someone has discovered a gun in the woods, specifically an older rifle. Upon discovery, the police had to come and obtain the gun. This made me feel uncomfortable because it was scary. It was scary to realize that even when doing something good for the community and local environment, such crazy things can be discarded. Many people seemed shook up about this event. Luckily, it was handled as appropriately as possible and nobody was hurt.

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annamearajamesblog · 6 years ago

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Anna’s Blog Post

What course concepts did you see in action?

One of the concepts from class I saw in action was when we were working with the Philly Orchard Project. The techniques used to add trees in urban areas that we learned in class were used, but there was limited space for the trees. The process of how someone can apply to have a tree planted in front of their house was explained to us. I was concerned that the tree James helped plant would suffer from common urban stressers, but the people we were working with were incredibly experienced, and knew how to care for urban trees. The people from Philly Orchard Project were also using the trimming techniques we looked at in class for existing and new trees to make sure that they continued to grow healthily.

I saw the dangers of invasive species in action when working in the flower beds. The overgrown area left no room for the desired plants to properly grow, so we had to remove everything from all but one of the flower beds. What could have been established and growing plants for the community had all been harmed.

The one woman working with us in removing invasive species talked to us about her work on Native American reservations, and her explanation of symbolism in the land hit into our first topic of the course about the connections between people and the land. The ideas of stewardship in indigenous communities influenced her work and her organization of events in Philadelphia.

The soil and its connection to any organic material left on the surface was apparent when there was cardboard and other trash left out. Sometimes the garbage was filled with bugs and had interfered with soil filtration. The garbage also was impacting the creek in the park and the organisms the creek supports.

2. What did you do? – be very specific– include plant names, soil types, names of groups and individuals.

At the watershed pickup, we arrived and were broken up into groups to focus on different areas of the park. The Temple students, including the Fencing Team, were sent to work along the road while the tee-ball teams were sent to clean up around the fields. There was such an overwhelming turnout that some of the Temple students had to wait for the organizer to go get more supplies like trash bags, orange vests, and gloves. Once we were able to begin we moved along the sidewalk around the park picking up litter that was an eyesore for groups who use the park, and was harmful to the watershed. There were probably around 50 people there picking up trash which included small things like plastic cups and bags up to tires, shopping carts, and mattresses. After 2 hours of picking up trash, the group had collected over 1000 lbs of trash.

At the project organized by the Philly Orchard Project, there were not nearly as many people. James, Meara, and I showed up at the location and had a hard time finding anyone until we saw Peter who told us that him and his wife, Jean, were some of the organizers for the event. They took us to a small area that had been completely overgrown. The trees were being trimmed and cared for by Michael were mulberry trees that they were trying to preserve. The head gardener who Meara and I worked closely with was named Jasmine, and she explained to us that Historic Fair Hill was responsible for the area, and that they want to clean it up and make it into a community garden and put in in the hands of the community since Jasmine already cares for 6 other gardens in the city. The first flower bed in the space was filled with mint which was able to be salvaged, so we didn’t have to do much there, but the other flower beds were filled with invasive species, and Jasmine made sure that we were removing them by their roots so they didn’t return. We also cleaned up trash that had been thrown into the area. During this time was when James was planting a Juneberry tree with Jean and Peter.

3. What expectations did you have about your urban greening stewardship experience?

I was expecting more people at the second event like with the first event. The first event was packed and they had a lot of help, but at the second one they were so excited to have three extra people. There are probably a lot of similar events in the area that are in desperate need of more help. I was also expecting the processes to move faster. The work was very tedious at both events. It took a while, but by the end there was a noticeable difference which was very exciting.

4. How does this project or agency address community needs?

The event with the Philly Orchard Project understood the history of the community we were in which helped them address their needs. The area had been run by drug lords for years and was incredibly dangerous, but a neighborhood woman was able to help the community and they pushed out the drugs, but the area still has poverty and housing issues. The community gardens were an aim to help have a safe community space and provide produce in a food desert. There was also a historic cemetery that is at the community which is being kept beautiful which helps with tourism and economic activity in the area.

The watershed project wanted the tee-ball teams to have a clean field to play on and wanted the park to be a welcoming area for the rec center to be able to use.

5. How can you educate others or raise awareness about this urban greening stewardship issue?

We had a great experience at the second event, and actually got the contact information for the head gardener so that we can share events with Historic Fair Hill with the Office of Sustainability and other Temple students. I would suggest working with these people again to anyone looking for volunteer activities, and we could also get a group of Temple students concerned about the environment together to work with Historic Fair Hill and the Philly Orchard Project.

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