GREEN VS. GREY STEWARDSHIP @templestewards-blog - Tumblr Blog

Conclusion

Looking back to before this project was assigned, I have never seeked volunteer opportunities in Philly or even really thought about it. Even back home in Moscow, I didn’t do things like these and didn’t even think about the importance of them. I have to note that immediately after getting done with volunteering (whether it was a block clean up or Love Your Park Day) I felt so much better about myself (a little selfish, yes). I started to analyze that feeling and where was it coming from. I just felt great that I could finally do something, make a difference and connect with the community all at the same time. I cannot promise to volunteer weekly or even bi-weekly, however, anybody who is reading this can have my word that I will definitely do my best in spreading awareness about the significance of volunteer/greening events in Philadelphia. Philly is a city of brotherly love, and now, the city needs more of our love than ever. I really hope I can persuade my friends to go out and do something, make an impact and help. I think it was an amazing idea to include this project in this course as I really didn’t expect for it to be so impactful and motivational for me, especially since I wasn’t particularly interested in saving Philly’s environment prior to this course. To conclude, I think it is very important to go and unite with your community (wherever you live) and come together to solve a common issue that affects all residents, whether it’s pollution, crime, unjust regulations and anything and everything in between. It is our job as citizens to come together and protect our city and the communities within it.

---------- Margo

Photos from TSG Block Clean Up 12/03

------------ Margo

TSG Block Clean Up 12/03

When I saw that one of my friend’s put “going” on Facebook for that Block Clean Up day, I realized that it would be a perfect opportunity for to fulfill my project hours and get involved at Temple community all at once! The initial meet up place was a short 10 minute walk from my apartment, so I could just walk there and get in the positive and motivated mindset meanwhile.

As soon as I arrived I was greeted by Samantha who gave me a huge black trash bag and told me to team up with others, so less bags would be used, meaning less harm for the environment! How thoughtful. Luckily, Jenna and Lia arrived at the same time with me so decided to start working together. I got along with girls right away and we were having fun and joking throughout the whole time (you do need to crack a few jokes while picking up empty beer bottles and used condoms). Both of the girls were in the Tourism and Hospitality School (and I am from Media and Communications), so it was really cool to talk to different people, who I usually don’t get a chance to meet in my major-specific classes. Moreover, Jenna was from the Bronx, New York and Lia was from China so we had a pretty diverse group there (also counting the fact that I’m from Russia)!

As you can imagine, it wasn’t really pleasant to pick up all sorts of garbage, but it did feel good to see how much a single block can transform when it’s litter-free. I cannot tell you the exact route that we went by, we were just walking around the area a few blocks that way, a few blocks that way… Me and other girls wanted to collect as much trash as we possibly could in those short 2 hours and we did!!! We were able to collect 4 big bags full of garbage, yay!

Moreover, when I was collecting litter I had a few flash-backs to our class time and what have been discussed during those hours. My first thought were that the urban wildlife (squirrels, raccoons, opossums etc) must be directly affected by this litter problem! Those poor animals may eat a piece of glass (we found too many of those just on sidewalks…) and die, just because someone decided to throw a bottle and refused to clean up when it broke. Or what about children who may step or pick up a piece?! This may have terrifying consequences.

Another topic that I thought about was just the issue of pollution in urban area. Ever since I moved to Philadelphia, I couldn’t help but constantly thing about how dirty the city is. When I was doing my research for the Green Grant Proposal, I found out that Philadelphia is #3 on the list of the dirtiest cities in the US, and I wasn’t really surprised by it. I remember from our class that Philadelphia is trying to do a lot of good environmental projects to make the overall situation better (like Clean Water Act, CSO Control Policy etc), however it still remain quite polluted. It would definitely help if every resident of the city would try and decrease his/hers ecological footprint in order to help the place they live in.

Those two hours flew by so quickly, probably thanks to my great team that distracted me with joke while I had to pick up nasty things from the curb. Me and girls exchanged phone numbers and promised to meet up after finals are over. So after that it was time for me to head back, and as you know from my previous post, walking home is my time to reflect on what was happening and what have I gained/learned from it. First of all, I was just thinking again about how dirty the city is and that maybe it would help to have some educational programs at schools about the effect of littering (not sure if they already exist here). Brining awareness to such crucial issue has to be done since the younger age, so it can kind of soak into kids’ brains and they won’t continue to pollute their own city as they grow up and maybe they can even teach their own kids the same values!! Personally, after attending that event I immediately talked to my roommate and tried to convince her to partake in similar project because the littering issue is huge here!! She promised to at least look into it, and I will continue to persuade my friends to come out and help, at least once. If they won’t like it, they don’t have to do it ever again, but that one time will already help Philadelphia a lot. It’s all about making a difference, even a small one.

-------------- Margo

The Take Away

After moving to Philadelphia from New York City to attend Temple University, I was a bit shocked by the amount of trash I would see lining the sidewalks and streets. I remember thinking that this garbage seemed to go unnoticed and untouched. By my junior year, I had grown accustomed to seeing candy wrappers and food containers among other forms of litter strewn everywhere. For me, it was just a part of the scenery in Philadelphia. Not once had I thought about doing my part to clean the streets.

Green vs. Grey: Sustaining Urban Ecosystems was a wake-up call for me. It allowed me to truly understand my role and responsibility as an inhabitant of Earth and a part of nature. Of course we, as humans, have done irreconcilable damage to this planet but that does not mean that we cannot make a change starting today. I viewed these stewardship opportunities as my way of making a change while constantly reminding myself this is only the beginning. I plan on using my experiences and the information I have learned this semester regarding urban ecosystems to educate my peers and ensure that we are all taking opportunities to get involved in sustaining our environment.

My stewardship will not end here. In the future I plan on gaining experience in tree planting, engaging in more clean ups (whether it be Philly, NYC, or anywhere else), and volunteering whenever possible. I will be forever grateful for my stewardship experiences this semester. Through these experiences, I have grown into a person that feels more connected to the world around me. In the past, I was under the impression that one person’s efforts cannot make a difference but I know now that I was mistaken. Any effort taken to reduce our negative impacts on this planet is a step in the right direction.

-Rheana P.

One more video of my painting project from the Love Your Park Day !

----------- Margo

Just to show you guys how many people were there and how the whole thing looked like/ was organized. (Love Your Park Day)

------------------ Margo

For the rest of the hours that I had to complete for this project, I decided to join TSG & TU Office of Sustainability for a nice 2 hours block clean up last Sunday.

------------ Margo

What I’ve been working on during Love Your Park Day!!! I am so proud of my painting job, so I dedicated an entire different post for it. I’m sure the kids will love it!!

--------- Margo

Photos from Love Your Park event (Part 2)

--------- Margo

Photos from the Love Your Park event (Part 1)

---------- Margo

Ensuring that we kept our garbage bag use down to a minimum. - Rheana P.

Love Your Park: Norris Square Park

I was a little nervous that morning of November 4th, as I had no idea what to expect and, frankly, I’ve never volunteered in the park before in my life. I decided to walk to the park from my apartment by Cecil B Moore, so I could clear my head out and calm myself down while enjoying the beautiful sunny morning. Before I knew it, 20 minutes have passed and I was standing in front of Norris Square Park. By the time I got there, all my anxiety and worries went away so I confidently approached the registration desk and signed my name. People at the desk were extremely friendly, thanked me for coming and even gifted me a free t-shirt, which definitely made me smile and start to feel more comfortable. They even provided free breakfast (all kinds of delicious baked goods), water, juice, and coffee for the volunteers!! (the best part of the whole experience, just kidding). After eating and having a chat with some other girl seemingly my age, the whole event started to begin. First, we heard speeches from members of Philadelphia Parks and Recreation and Jim Kenney (the mayor of Philadelphia, and funny enough I had no idea who he was before that moment since I am not from around here). Then the organizers let us know what tasks were available for us to do and we all divided into teams. I felt like being creative (yes on a Saturday early morning, surprisingly) so I figured the most creative option was to paint the kids’ playground and I did that! There were about 10 other people who were painting with me, and I was sharing a bucket of paint with Dan, who was working for a recycling company, and had to come in and volunteer on his day off because his boss told him to. We kept chatting throughout the whole work time and it made the time fly even faster! We stopped for a break at around 11:30 and I decided to walk around the whole park and see what others were doing and hope to meet even more new people. I saw people cleaning up leaves into piles, so I actually joined them for maybe 20 minutes and had a chance to talk to Ashley and Bryan, who were a newly married couple, lived in the area and decided to come out and help that day. After finishing up with the leaves, I walked towards those people, who were picking up litter and offered help. I was given a black trash bag and I was able to fill it in under 10 minutes (yes, that’s how polluted the area was) and finally decided to just sit under the tree and take a break. After 15-20 minutes of rest, I figured I should go back to my painting project. The event came to an end at around 1 pm and I was a pretty tired by that time. I got to say “goodbye” to everybody in my group and start walking towards the exit. I got a lot of “thank you’s” from the organizers on my way out, and promised them to come back next year. I decided to walk home by foot again, so I could give myself some time to calmly reflect on the past 4 hours and what I have been during those, and most importantly, what have I learned. The first thought that popped up in my head is why haven’t I done this before?! I honestly felt very good, because I think I was finally able to give the community, that welcomed me so dearly (back in 2015 when I first arrived in Philly), something back. While painting the kids’ playground I kept thinking about how all children (no matter how rich, smart, bad, good etc) deserve a place to safely play and just be kids. I really think that the parents of kids in this community will appreciate what I and my teammates have done that day and it just warmed my heart. Next, I started thinking about why such projects even existed and what kind of community needs might have contributed to its creation. The neighborhood around the park seemed quite dirty, undeveloped and definitely poor. Maybe it all happened because there’s not enough jobs around, so people cannot support themselves and their families, maybe there is not enough educational resources that would teach people to strike for better things, there must be a million of different factors that led this neighborhood to become what it is today. It was absolutely saddening to see the park’s condition when I first arrived, and by the time I was leaving the whole thing transformed unbelievably, which made me feel like a part of something big, that does make a difference. As I was approaching my apartment building, I just couldn’t stop smiling. I felt like something I did that day definitely made a difference and I promised myself to try and go out to similar events. It was wonderful to meet other members of the community and work together, to make the environment we all live in better.

------------- Margo

Our progress halfway through the clean up. - Rheana P.

The start of our block cleanup on 12/3. - Rheana P.

Glass bottles we found in an empty lot on 15th and Fontain. - Rheana P.

-Rheana P.

15th and Fontain Block Cleanup (12/03/17) - Rheana Panton

On the morning of December 3rd, I woke up feeling like an expert on all things green (lol I wish!). Those jitters I had back in October had all vanished because this time I knew what to expect. On this day, I threw on my sweatpants and Ugg boots with confidence and even excitement as I prepared for my second day of stewardship.

As I left the house, a cold gust of wind hit my face and I realized that the weather would not be as kind as it was during my first block clean up, but I was excited nonetheless. As I approached Fontain and 15th Street, I noticed that much more people were participating this time around. So much so that, by the time I arrived, all of the gloves had been taken and only a few garbage bags remained. The leader of that day’s cleanup instructed me to join a group and then ask someone with two gloves to share one. I found a group that had some familiar faces and we were off to work.

We began by cleaning up an empty lot that was riddled with food wrappers and empty glass bottles. After about 20 minutes of doing so, we were informed that cleaning up that empty lot may actually be considered trespassing and so we decided that it would not be the best idea to continue at that location. In that time however, we found so many glass bottles that one of my group members began collecting them in a blue basin and let all the other groups know to separate all glass items that they found.

After exiting the empty lot, my group members decided that we should not feel confined to 15th and Fontain so we decided to walk towards Cecil B. Moore avenue, picking up all the trash we could find. On our journey, we found items that shocked us. We questioned how anyone would feel comfortable just throwing some of these items down and leaving them there. We collected full size pizza boxes, an extra-large Dunkin’ Donuts bag, liquor bottles, a full cup of jungle juice, and a chip bag that seemed to be filled with urine (YUCK!). Unfortunately, we also found a squirrel that had passed away behind some bushes and were told to call the Philadelphia Department of Streets for its removal .

This day in particular was pretty memorable for me because as we cleaned up the area surrounding 15th and Fontain, many of the residents were singing our praises. One man told us “We can always count on you Temple students to help us take care of these streets.” That put a huge smile on my face and further assured me that what we were doing was worthwhile.

By the end of the cleanup, there were over 25 garbage bags filled to the brim with litter that all the groups had collected around 15th and Fontain. Once again, I was proud of the work we had done and was especially happy to witness the appreciation for our efforts first-hand.

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