Vacant Lot Cleaning
In the spring of 2005, Wanda Staples, a block captain in West Philadelphia, was looking for help to clean up a large vacant lot in her neighborhood. More than just a one-time cleanup, she had a vision of transforming the lot into a park that would permanently enhance her neighborhood.
Project NEAT staffers began working with Ms. Staples to coordinate the project, as well as to educate her about the importance of incorporating stormwater management components into her plan. She, in turn, organized and passed this information on to a large number of community volunteers.
After nearly a year of planning, Project NEAT staff recruited neighborhood workers and volunteers to collect and bag for city removal 3,600 pounds of debris, cleared overgrowth, and cut the grass on the 1.5-acre lot. After the lot was cleared, it was possible to evaluate storm water runoff patterns and clear blocked storm drain inlets. Since then, NEAT has been working with neighbors on developing plans for the park and above-ground containment and bio-infiltration of excess runoff.
We’ve done similar projects across Philadelphia over the past two years. For 2007, we plan to organize neighbors to clean and maintain a number of vacant lots.
Tree Planting
Certain trees have the capacity after reaching maturity to absorb 2,380 gallons of water a year. It is easy to see why promoting tree planting is such an important part of our efforts. In 2006, we worked with neighborhood-based groups and planted 480 trees, accounting for 1,142,400 gallons of water potentially not going into the sewer system.
Our tree planting partners include: Tree Vitalize, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources “DCNR,” U.C. Green,he Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and our Community Task Force Members.
We need to add one example of the 3rd component---Environmentally sound Physical Improvement