sustainADELPHIA

Join Us for a Garden Tending Event at Herron Playground

BUILDING BLOX will be at South Philly's popular Herron Playground for an event on Thur. Aug. 5th from 5:30-7:30. Herron, located at 2nd & Reed streets, is a recently rehabbed playground, with sustainable design features, including a water reuse system, a storm-water capture garden, and a porous synthetic asphalt basketball court. Come out and join the fun, as we'll be working with the Phila. Dept. of Parks & Rec, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and park neighbors to help care for the trees, shrubs and plants surrounding the playground. For more details, e-mail sustainadelphia@gmail.com.

 

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Kids Rule the Roost at Mifflin Square Park Cleanup & Picnic

 

 

 BUILDING BLOX supported a July 17 cleanup/picnic at Mifflin Square Park -- the second of three youth-oriented events planned for Mifflin this summer. Following on the success of the first youth event on June 12, kids from around the area and park patrons were out again in force to help beautify one of South Philly's parks in need. More than 50 volunteers joined forces to make this wonderful event a success. All told, we gathered 24 bags of trash and nine bags of recycling. Volunteers also helped to paint some graffiti-ravaged park benches in fun and festive colors. And when the work was done, the youth were rewarded with a hula-hooping activity, basketball tournament, and some healthy eats in the form of turkey burgers and turkey dogs and fresh fruit salad. Supporting organizations included: Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia, Southeast Philadelphia Collaborative, Philadelphia Urban Food & Fitness Alliance, Lower Moyamensing Civic Association, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia Department of Parks & Rec, and Whitman Council. A good time was had by all, and we'll be back at Mifflin for our final youth cleanup of the summer on Aug. 21. If you would like more information about upcoming events at Mifflin, e-mail sustainadelphia@gmail.com. 

 

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Garden Tending & Street Cleanup @ Olivet Baptist

 

BUILDING BLOX organized a cleanup and garden tending in partnership with Olivet Baptist Church on June 26. Area children and our loyal volunteers came out in force to help gather trash and recycling from the streets surrounding the church in the Logan neighborhood of North Philly and to prep a plot of land at the church for a community garden. All told, we gathered eight bags of trash and five bags of recycling and tilled the soil in the church's yard for upcoming plantings. The event was followed by a bbq for all of the participating volunteers.  sustainADELPHIA will be working in partnership with Greater Philadelphia Cares and the Olivet Baptist Summer Youth Enrichment program to help build a community garden at the church through the summer months. For more details about this gardening project, e-mail sustainadelphia@gmail.com. We'll be at Olivet Baptist every Wed. evening from 6-7:30.

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Getting the Party Started at Mifflin Square

 

BUILDING BLOX worked with Southeast Philadelphia Collaborative, the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia, Lower Moyamensing Civic Association, Whitman Council, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and the Philadelphia Department of Parks & Rec to sponsor a youth-oriented cleanup and funfest at Mifflin Square on June 12. More than 60 area children showed up to help clear litter from the park and paint the park's benches in bright and welcoming colors. And after the work was done, the kids stuck around for a bbq, games, and a dance jam!!! A few lucky volunteers even got a lesson from our resident DJ (see photo on the right). The event was a huge success for Mifflin Square, and thanks go out to all of the volunteers and the folks who helped organize this wonderful event!!! If you would like to join the fun, we will be supporting similar events at Mifflin on July 17 and Aug 21. E-mail us at sustainadelphia@gmail.com for more details. 

 

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More than 50 volunteers showed up to support the May 8 "Love Your Park" festivities at Mifflin Square & Weinberg Park in South Philly. BUILDING BLOX worked with the Lower Moyamensing Civic Association, Whitman Council, Cambodian Association of Greater Phila., Greater Phila. Cares and, of course, the Phila. Dept. of Parks & Rec and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to put on a wonderful cleanup event at Mifflin & Weinberg. 

City Year's Young Heroes joined sustainADELPHIA and the Friends of Triangle Park for a garden-tending event at Triangle Park, a wonderful lot transformation on the border of the Bella Vista and Queen Village neighborhoods.

We were out supporting the Friends of Triangle Park for their April 10th spring 2010 kickoff event, and by all accounts, the event was a huge success. 

The park is looking so good!!! Thanks to all of the volunteers who came out help transform Triangle Park from version 1.0 to version 2.0. All told, we weeded the entire park, built walking paths, organized planting beds, and planted 300-plus plantlings of at least 10 different types. We're happy to be a part of this vacant-lot transformation initiative, which is now entering its second year. Want to help? ... Contact us at sustainadelphia@gmail.com.

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Heroes at HERRON PLAYGROUND

It was the first day of spring, and 20-plus volunteers showed up at Herron Playground to join Building Blox for a garden tending/cleanup event. We spent the majority of our time weeding, pruning plants and shrubs, and cutting back the ornamental grasses in the stormwater catch garden and on the periphery of the playground. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the Philadelphia Department of Parks & Recreation joined the effort as well, providing much-needed tools and demonstration of proper pruning techniques. The event was a big success, as we were able to get all of the garden areas at the playground into good shape for the growing season.

Herron Playground, which was refurbished in the summer of 2008, was designed with sustainability in mind. It features a a stormwater capture system, a porous recycled rubber basketball court, and a sprayground powered by a water reuse system. It's definitely one of the cooler community spaces in the city, so we're glad so many people turned out to help care for the grounds. 

Building Blox will be at Herron on regular basis, so please look for our next dates at this site to be announced soon.

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SPRING-ING Into Action ...

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Old Man Winter Hold Us Back??? SNOW WAY JOSÉ!!!

BUILDING BLOX and the LoMo Civic Association joined forces on Feb. 27th for a kick-butt cleanup event at Mifflin & Weinberg parks in South Philly. All told, 30-plus volunteers came out on a snowy Saturday morning to help gather 13 bags of trash, 8 bags of recycling, and 1 sofa. Oh, and we also cleared snow from the basketball court, playground, and center circle at Mifflin.

Enough about the snow though ... Spring is on its way, and we have a number of upcoming projects to get the season off to the right start. We'll be at Herron Play- ground on Mar. 20th, back to Mifflin & Weinberg on Mar. 27th, and Triangle Park on Apr. 10 for Philly's first city-wide cleanup day of 2010. We're always looking for more cool kids to join the  movement, so shoot us a line if you want to help out with any of our upcoming events.

For more info and details about our upcoming cleanups,  check out the sustainEVENT LOG or shoot  us  a line at sustainadelphia@gmail.com.