Harrowgate Park

Justin Oriente
Last saturday I complted my service hours by doing a service event at Harrowgate Park in Philadelphia near Kensignton. I was orignally supposed to go to the Wissahickion but since it got rained out I decided to do this event at the park that was scheduled for later on in the day. I found the event through the Philadelphia Cares volunteer website. I ended up calling the person as soon as I found out on Friday that the Wissahickion was canceled and they said they were doing their event starting at 12 when the weather was supposed to clear up. Lucky for us the weather did clear up in time and we were able to help clean up the park. While we were there we did some tree tending, and also helped to clean up the park. This was my second time planting both trees and doing clean up so I was expereienced enuogh to actually know what I was doing. One thing that I found interesting was that when we were planting the trees all of the soils were a good color but many of the trees that were already in the park looked worn out and tired. Also most of the trash in the park were bottles and other wrappers even though there were many
recyable and trash cans in the area. I believe that it is a more a problem of people simply not wanting to throw their trash away but more of an issue of people just not caring. Overall this was a very good experience that I learned a lot from.

Time 3 hours
Total time 10 hours :)

After reading about New York City's community garden program, I believe that Philly should as well adopt this program. All thoughout the city of New York, in areas such as the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, there were over 114 abandoned lots up for public auction. Upon hearing this the New York Restoration Program decided to take charge and instead of allowing these vacant lots to be built upon with useless infrastructure, they would turn them into valuable green spaces that would highly benefit the community. Thanks to the NYRP, New York City is home to 55 community gardens. The gardens function as mini farms by producing vegetables, herbs, and flowers. These gardens add to the overall health of the surrounding area because they promote community interaction and economic development. What makes this program much more benefitial is that it is personally run by the community. From barbeques to educational events, these gardens serve as a venue for several activities for the neighbors. Philedelphia, like New York, could highly benefit by adopting this program. Philly is full of hundreds of vacant lots that are not being used to there full potential. Looking at all of the positives that came out of the NYRP, the city of Philly should want to immediately implement a community garden program that has the same objectives as the NYRP.

Community garden in East Harlem

Communtity garden in South Bronx

Alli Kobylinski

Sources: http://www.nyrp.org/

Case Study Baltimore

Justin Oriente Case Study: Baltimore One of the cities that I was able to research and look at was Baltimore, Maryland and their community garden system. I choose to look at Baltimore because it is an urban city along the east coast that is very similar to our city. The city of Baltimore offers over twenty two community gardens along with many more ways to maximise their urban landscape. The community garden programs also has a large affiliation with the University Of Maryland. Together both the school and the state work together to make sure that community gardens are available and that they produce fresh food that the locals can use to eat that they would normally not have access to because they are in the city. Also the community garden program looks to provide financial assistance and community outreach to all of the Baltimore residents that take part in this. Baltimore also works with the Baltimore City Master Gardner Community Garden Program which last year alone saved the city of Baltimore $137,800 dollars. Another thing that the community gardens do is that they take advantage of their land and offer programs that teach the residents how to use their land to plant food and also to use it for activities that can get kids involved and keep them from doing bad things. Philadelphia can learn from Baltimore because they have done a great job and look to be doing well in the future as well.

http://mastergardener.umd.edu/Success%20Stories%20with%20Impacts/Community%20Gardens%20of%20Baltimore%20City.cfm

Case Study: Portland

Tara

Case Study: Portland

Our group decided to do our grant project on community gardens in Philadelphia. I researched some of the top cities that had community gardens and Portland Oregon is one of the best. The city of Portland offers more than 30 different community gardens dispersed throughout the city. When building new gardens they try to fill in the gaps between the other gardens and place them in locations that lack parks and community gardens nearby. It started out with only three community gardens in 1975 and has increased since. Their programs try to build at least 1 or 2 new gardens a year depending on the funding they receive. The gardens are funded by private donors, local residents, government grants, and capital funding. Citizens find community gardens beneficial because they are able to grow food cheaply by only paying 45 dollars a month for a plot. They also offer school programs to children to learn how to garden and are pleasing to the eyes. “You can view a small fruit demonstration at the Brentwood Community Garden site, a compost demonstration at the Fulton Community Garden site, and some gardens also give you the chance to view local wildlife.” (yahoo) They also offer workshops like "Intense Vegetable Gardening", "Bee Handling Workshop", and "Sausage Making Workshop". There are waiting lists to apply to be able to garden in a plot and may take years until you are able to receive a plot but since they are building more gardens it is more likely to receive a plot. There is a request form you fill out on their website Portland Parks and Recreation website and wait and see to start gardening. Philadelphia could learn alot from Portland by placing more community gardens around the city and offer diverse programs to the community, not just the plot users.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/443954/community_gardens_in_portland_oregon_pg2.html?cat=32

Community Gardens In Portland

Community Garden in Portland

Philly Tree People

Tara

On April 17th I went with SEA (Students for Environmental Action) to help plant trees with Philly Tree People. All of the volunteers were assigned different blocks to plant trees. My group was assigned the corner of Coral and Susquehanna. Our small group planted 9 trees in total on the block. Each tree had a designated plot to be planted in and we dug the soil out so we could place the trees. Since we live in Philadelphia we ran into a couple problems when shoveling out the soil including coal, bricks, cobblestone, and concrete beneath the initial soil. We just ice picks and (strong men) to break up the difficult layers and then cleared the problem and continued to dig. Once we thought the hole was deep enough we placed the tree in and measured it and then mounted it with some soil. Then we filled in the hole around the roots and stepped on the soil to get out the air pockets. After that we watered the soil and layed down mulch and spread it out. We did all of this for each tree plot and then cleaned up. The nice thing to see was we were in a real community doing something for the block and several neighbors came out and offered water and thanked us for our work. The surprising thing was a couple neighbors even helped us shovel and use the ice picks to plant the trees. You can tell that the neighborhood is going to appreciate the trees. After all the work we headed to the Philadelphia Brewery and enjoyed a nice free lunch. Overall it was a good day with some awesome people!

Our First Tree Planted

Amelia and I standing by our Tree

Hours: 4 hrs

Total hours: 10 1/2 hrs!

St. Malachy's Flower Planting

Tara

On April 15th I participated at St. Malachy's flower planting of additional bulbs around the parish center. Last time we were there we had laid new soil and mulch around the trees and planted a few flowers but this time we had more supplies.

In this one particular section another girl and I planted 20 Crocosmias and 36 Acidanthera. We dug a hole for each bulb and made sure there was room for it's roots and then covered it back up and watered the area.
In another section we planted lillies, strawberries, and a rose bush. There was over ten different areas that we planted a mixture of bulbs. It was also nice to see the other flowers we had previously planted about two weeks ago in bloom.

Lillies

Planting bulbs in soil

Previous Flowers in bloom

Hours: 2 1/2 hrs

Total hours: 6 1/2 hrs

Alli Kobylinski - Volunteering at Citizens Bank Park

On April 7, I was chosen to work at Citizens Bank Park during the Phillies game collecting recyclables. I, along with about 30 other volunteers, were sent to designated areas in the stadium to walk up and down the aisles after each inning collecting plastic and glass bottles and aluminum cans. At first, we were having a little trouble getting the fans to give up their recyclables but as the game went on, we received more and more bottles! We seemed to grow on the fans in our designated aisles because each time we ran down they cheered and eagerly gave us there recyclables.

There are 43,647 seats in Citizens Bank Park. The April 7th game was sold out. As I collected these recyclables, I thought about the impact we could have if each person recycled their bottles and cans. The impact would be huge! Even though the volunteers only collected about 20 trash bags full, we still made that much of a difference in our world.

I thoroughly enjoyed being able to experience such a wonderful sport and at the same time, make and good impact on our precious environment. I would gladly volunteer at the Citizens Bank Park again to collect recyclables. It was an experience I'll never forget!

Me and my trashbag full of recyclables!

All of the volunteers trashbags full of recyclables!

Urban communities deal with many environmental issues such including high amounts of pollution, urban heat island effect, and the excess of stormwater run-off. Stormwater run-off is a growing problem that urban communities must deal with immediately. Stormwater run-off is the remnants of rain water that are collected of roofs, streets, and gutters in cities that are not properly returned back into the hydologic cycle. From the creation of rain gardens to the produciing of green roofs, cities are trying different methods for the containment and restoration of stormwater. Since urban areas are made up of mostly impervious surfaces, rain water remains on streets and in gutters and eventually becomes stagnant. The garbage and waste that collects pollutes the run-off and ultimately makes it unusable. Philadelphia is a great example when it comes to properly dealing with stormwater run-off. For the past couple of years, Mayor Nutter has been attempting to green the city of Phildelphia. This greening of the city includes maintaining stormwater. Mayor Nutter along with the municipal government of Philadelphia believes that our water needs extreme improvement. They have implemented many new policies to help boost the quality of our water. Many new gutter systems replaced old one that were not as innovative and effective as the new ones. These new gutters maintained water to help eep it fresh and reusable. Along with new gutter systems, new garden areas were created. The gardens allowed for the absorption of rain water back into the Earth. New permeable surfaces replaced impervious surfaces. Permeable surfaces, or surfaces that were able to be penetrated, like grass and soil, let rain water enter back into the Earth. Like Mayor Nutter, many other cities' lawmakers are implementing new policies to improve the quality of not just our water, but of our Earth. Nutter is doing a good job of boosting the quality of our waters, and overall our environment. http://www.phila.gov/green/greenworks/pdf/GreenworksExecSummary.pdf

Rain gutter system

Common Tree Pests

TARA

Planting trees in an urban environment is extremely helpful because it reduces the heat island effect, it provides shade, habits, cuts down on CO2, and they are relaxing. Although they are beneficial they endure a lot of things in order to grow in the city including: water, weather, and insect stresses.

 One of the invasive insects that trees have to deal with is the Asian longhorned beetle. It is known to cause considerable ecological damages in urban, recreational, and forested landscapes of eastern North America (Thompson, Mar 2008). SEE Figure 1. They become a problem when the “early instar larvae of the beetle destroy cambial tissue of trees by feeding under the bark, and later instar larvae cause further damage by tunneling and feeding in sapwood and hardwood” (Thompson, Mar 2008). It is complicated to combat the Asian longhorned beetle because they are most damaging during the phloem-feeding larvae phase where they burrow under the bark and can not be controlled by normal topical and foliar insecticides (Thompson, Mar 2008). A chloro-neonicotinyl insecticide has been effective in combating the Asian longhorned beetle by blocking the nicotinergic neuronal pathway for the insects (Thompson, Mar 2008). It is inserted into the trees through stem or soil injections (Thompson, Mar 2008).

There are a couple categories of tree pests: Defoliators, Leafminers, Borers, Root feeders, and Galls (Meeks, April 2002). Tent caterpillars are examples of Defoliators which feed upon foliage and leafminers feed upon foliage also but within (Meeks, April 2002). Tent caterpillars are a problem because when they populate they lay about  150 to 300 eggs ( Meeks, April 2002).  “Galls result when certain insects- some adelgids for example- convey compounds into the host plant, which alter its growth pattern in a localized area, such as in an oak or maple leaf” (Meeks, April 2002). Root feeders like black vine weevils cause declines in host plants and are hard to tell because they are underground (Meeks, April 2002). The first step in protecting trees from pests is by proper watering, fertilization, and smart planning of the placement (Meeks, April 2002).In order to protect trees in urban environments there must also be diversity in order to prevent wiping out the whole section of trees in the city (Santamour, 2002). Planting trees of different species is important because there are native insects that prey on certain trees and if the majority of trees are the same and an insect infects a tree it will spread quickly.  Insects like borers take advantage of trees that are weakened by other circumstances like by drought and trimmer damage (Meeks, April 2002). When a tree is infected by insects they can be saved but it is very difficult depending on the host and insect and how long they have been there (Meeks, April 2002). Special tools to help get rid of these pests can be predatory nematodes, horticultural oils, and chemical sprays and systemic insecticides (Meeks, April 2002).

Urban greening is an important part of cultivating the city but without proper care pests can ruin a tree’s life. There are several types of pests that need different kinds of treatment in order to try to save it. The only way to ensure an insect from infecting a tree is from prevention but with early detection a tree can be saved through different chemical treatments. In the greater good of things having trees in the city is very important and with proper management it can be beneficial for the whole city. 

Figure 1: 

Asian Longhorned Beetle

Bibliography: 

Meeks, P. 2002. Insects of urban trees: Pests, the trees they impact, and methods of control. A  Arbor Age 22(4):30.

Chartrand, D., Scarr, T. and D. Thompson. 2008. Are Leaves that Fall from Imidacloprid-Treated Maple Trees to Control Asian Longhorned Beetles Toxic to Non-target Decomposer Organisms? J  Environment Quality 37(2): 639-646.

Santamour F (1990) Trees for urban planting: Diversity, uniformity and common sense. Proceedings, Metro Tree Improvement Alliance. METRIA 7: 57–65.

Chinatown Clean Up April 2nd

On April 2nd I did a Chinatown cleanup with the Chinatown Development Corporation. This was a very intresting cleanup because not only did we help to clean up parts of Chinatown but we also learned the history of Chinatown and why it is the way it is. After this we then split up and started to clean up sections of Chinatown. I was on a section that was on Race street near the Convention Center. There wasan't any tree planting that was going on because there were not many spaces available in Chinatown to plant new trees. To combat the problem we were performing tree resparation acts. This made me feel good because I knew that the trees would be there to help future generations for years to come. Like I said previously what we did do was a cleanup where we picked up trash and other objects from the streets. They provided us with lunch which was a nice thing as well. It was a long day starting from 9AM and going to 1PM of hard work but it was worth it. Hours Spent: 4 Hours Total Hours: 7 Hours

Weather Temperture related urban stress

Justin Oriente Weather plays a big role regarding plant life in any part of the country and also the world. It can determine if a plant will be able to grow or not and if it will get the things that it needs to succeed as the plant matures. However, if the weather is not kind to plants in many places the people that live near to the plant and help to plant them will look out for them by giving them what the natural weather doesn’t. One place that this seldom happens in though is urban areas. Most of the time the trees and other plants that we see in urban areas are planted by the local municipal board so the residents don’t feel like it is their job to help the plant prosper. It is important for parks to prosper in urban areas for a number of reasons. One of them is that parks are a way to bring brightness to a bleak city. (Gabriel) This is important because of the fact that parks allow people to come together and also allow for kids to have fun and experience nature in some way that they normally don’t while in their houses. Another reason why it is important that parks prosper is because of the fact that parks are another revenue source for many of these urban cities. (Gabriel) This is important because it allows money to come into the community through the rental of these parks and also by allowing others to experience the park to its fullest. One problem that urban parks face in regards to weather is that most face extreme conditions varying from summer to fall. One example that I was able to find was of Stanley Park in Vancouver, Canada. The people there did a study of all the types of weather that the park faced ranging from heavy snow during the winter to incredible heat during the summer. One of the most important facts that they took from this survey was that a park needs extra help and it can’t brave through the elements by itself. (Kheraj) This was an important fact to take away from it because it shows that clean up groups and also sustainability groups are so important to a parks life. I found this to be an interesting fact because it shows that our volunteer hours are going to a good use because parks need extra care since there are severe weather storms that occur to parks. Another problem that urban parks face is the range of temperatures that they face during a year. This is an important factor to consider because of the extra care that plants now need due to widening temperatures that they have to react to throughout the year. An example of this is how in the summer time it would be a good idea to water your plants a lot because the need is there for them to grow. Another example for the winter time would be to dust the snow off your trees to make sure the snow doesn’t accumulate and break the branches. Overall these are all very important factors that contribute to the aspect of parks and trees in relation to weather and temperature. Bibliography Gabriel, N. (2011). The work that parks do: towards an urban environment. Social & Cultural Geography, 12(2), 123-141. doi:10.1080/14649365.2011.545139 Kheraj, S. (2007). Restoring Nature: Ecology, Memory, and the Storm History of Vancouver's Stanley Park. Canadian Historical Review, 88(4), 577-612. doi:10.3138/chr.88.4.577