Cleanup and Tree Planting at Sattle River County Park

The first activity that I did was a clean up and tree planting at Sattle River County park in Sattle Brook New Jersey. I found out about this through my cousin who is a boyscout down there and I participated with his group. I completed this on March 12th. The first thing that we did there was meet the director of parks and recreation and they taught us the proper way to plant trees and also the proper way to remove objects from the ground without affecting the natural landscape. After this discussion we then started getting into groups and planting trees and also cleaning up. We started planting trees that are now supposed to be there for the next fifty years. This made me feel good about myself because I know that it is their for future generations. This task required a lot of manual labor because the trees had to be rooted and planted however I was up for the challenge. After this we helped clean up the park. It was a good day and a great learning experience. Hours Spent: 3 hours Hours Total: 3 hours

Mill Creek Farm

Tara
On March 26th I went to the Mill Creek Farm along with SEA (students for environmental action) members to volunteer in anyway necessary. The first thing that they had us do was turn a long patch of bed so we could later on plant onions in it. We used pick forks and turned the soil over and then pulled out any weeds including: mugwort, grass, and rhizome roots. After we turned the whole bed and got out the weeds, which we put to the side, we then went to collect compost to spread on top of the bed. We went to the compost pile and shovel it in the wheel barrel and then bring it back to the bed and dump it. We dumped the compost every 3 feet or so until the whole bed had compost on it. Then we took rakes and raked the bed until the whole bed was covered with compost and was decently leveled. After that we took onion bulbs and sporadically planted the onions in a formation of 3 then 2 until we had no more left. After that we collected asparagus dead weeds and put it in the compost.

This was the first time I had done real physical labor and after I got home I took a 3hr nap! I can't believe Joe and Jade who run the Mill Creek Farm do this about 4-7 days a week, I do not know how they do it!

Hours spent: 3
Total hours: 4

 

Shoveling compost

The fruits of our labor! After turning the soil and spreading compost then we planted onions!



St. Malachy's Tree Tending

Tara
On March 25th I went with SEA (Students for Environmental Action) to St. Malachy's Church on 11th street to help tend some trees. We got to the church and there was two trees right in front of the church that needed top soil and mulch spread. So we got the top soil and cut it and spread it around the tree and the same with the mulch on top. We made sure to leave some room around the tree from the mulch and make more of a donut shape. Then we spread more mulch on a couple more trees. Then we planted three flowers in each of the main tree plots.

Digging the holes for the flowers

A group picture after all our hard work inside the church

Hours spent: 1
Total hours: 1

Stewardship Schedule

Justin
Has already:

1. Cleanup and tree plating at Sattle River County Park (3 hours)

He plans on doing:

1. Sustainable Development Myerson Hall April 4 (2 hours)
2. Van Jones Lecture March 29th (2 hours)
3. Warwick Township parks cleanup somtime in April (3 hours)

Tara

She plans on doing:

1. Working with trees at St. Malachy's parish March 25th (? hrs) Contact SEA or Jaclyn Boone
2. Mill Creek Farm March 26th (3 hours) Contact SEA or Jaclyn Boone
3. Philly Spring Cleanup Collaboration (? hrs) Contact SEA or Jaclyn Boone
4. Northeast Tree Tenders  April 16th (4 hrs) Contact Cindy Abdel

Alli

She plans on doing:

1. Northeast Tree Tenders april 16th, 17th (4 hrs)
2. Beach grass planting March 25th (?hrs)

Andrew Light's Blog Post 1

1a) Where do you like to go to find nature in a city (like Philadelphia or your hometown)? Why here?
1b) Who do you think developed and cares for these areas / pieces of nature?

We all agreed that we enjoy going to community parks like the Fairmount Park, Rittenhouse Square, and Logan Square to find a peaceful getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city. It is nice to take in the picturesque view, go for a walk or run, or enjoy a nice picnic. The person who most likely developed the idea of these parks would be Ulmstead or people who were like minded like him, who believed in including nature in the cities. We believe that since these areas are so valuable to everyone in the city most likely community members take care of the parks in addition to maintenance organizations.

2) Is there any motivation for you to help care for the existing nature found in Philadelphia (or in your hometown if you would prefer to use it as a place of reference..?)
If there are any motivating factors, what are they?
If not, what would help motivate you to participate in the development and care of these spaces?

We feel that it is necessary to care for the existing nature found in Philadelphia because we want to preserve it for future generations. We enjoy the parks like Fairmount and take advantage of all of it has to offer so we feel that by protecting it from harm we are allowing others to enjoy the same benefits from the parks. Wildlife cannot really survive healthy in the city so by protecting the parks we are also protecting the wildlife because they take refuge in nature. Also the nature in the city helps combats pollution in the city which is also very important to our living.

3) Should the rights and responsibilities towards the urban environment be given more to citizens? Why or why not?

Yes, citizens should be granted more responisiblity for caring and tending to the environment. The environment is essentially our home. Citizens should feel obligated to take care of the place they call their home. The government and environmental organizations will not always be there to handle the little things within the community such as looking after community gardens and community parks; that's where the obligations of the citizens come in. Planting crops, raking leaves, and pulling weeds are the tiny things that citizens are capable of handling. In additiong, the citizens are the people who know the environment around them the best. They know the ins and outs of the area around them, making it easier for them to care for the land.

4.) Do you agree with Andrew Light's suggestions and his call for hands-on ecological citizenship? Why or why not?

We do agree with Andrew Light's suggestions. Light believed that ecological citizenship was what our environment needed. Citizens should feel obligated to improve the environment through their own actions. Over the past couple of years, ecological citizenship has declined. However, it still strives and remains a major aspect of other cultures which could have a huge effect on the American culture. Cities such as Los Angeles, Houston, and Atlanta are a "huge burden to the global possibility of sustainability" (Light 7). Light explains cities are the center for pollution because of the high density in population and infrastructure. However, cities are also full of ecological improvement opportunities because of the citizens and their want to improve their surroundings. In all, Light is right in his belief that hands-on ecological citizenship is the best solution and will set us on the right path towards sustainability.

5) How can ecological features such as parks or waterways serve as the glue to binding the community together?

Community gardens and community parks serve as the glue to binding a community together because they require some maintenance that the community provides. This maintenance brings the citizens together and creates a bond between the environment and the citizens and an even stronger bond between each citizen. They also provide a common meeting place for the community. Nature allows people to come together and enjoy each other and their surroundings. Without parks or gardens, ties between citizens would not be as strong and it would be even harder to get to know one another. The environment provides an outlet for all people to gather and enjoy land around them.