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Urban Tree Connection 5125 Woodbine Avenue

Philadelphia, PA 19131-2404

Skip Wiener, Executive Director Office: 215.877.7203 Cell: 215.900.6758

Email: skip@urbantreeconnection.org Website: www.urbantreeconnection.org

Urban Tree Connection Activities Report

2010

Urban Tree Connection 2010 Activities Report Page 1

2010 Urban Tree Connection Programs Data Urban Tree Connection: 2010 New Initiatives

2010 has been pivotal growth year for Urban Tree Connection. Since 1997, when UTC was incorporated as a nonprofit, our staff and the Haddington community revitalized its abandoned, open spaces based on the desire to gain control of crime-ridden lots without paying attention to land control.

In 2010, UTC decided to attempt gaining control of a 2/3rds of an acre parcel that would allow the community to move forward with the development of a food co-op.

CSA site 2009

CSA site 2010

Using a new 2008 industrial blight law, UTC petitioned the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and was appointed Conservator of this land. UTC staff had been testing production on this site and developing neighborhood distribution systems through the 2010 growing season. With the court appointment, we moved into a higher gear focusing our staff and community efforts on the central production site, creating a CSA founder’s group which developed a business plan and geared up to launch Neighborhood Foods, through the sale of shares.

In addition to UTC’s expansion in Haddington, several requests were made from other neighborhoods/ nonprofits interested in replicating our model. To date, UTC is incubating a farm project with Project H.O.M.E. in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood, and discussing the development of a three-year spiraling urban farming curriculum at the new platinum LEEDS certified Kensington CAPA high school. We will report on these activities as they develop.

In addition to the weekly children’s garden programs, Urban Tree Connection expanded our Growing

Healthy activities with the help of Whole Foods Markets. Initially, Whole Foods conducted cooking demos that were well-attended but not child oriented. We have now selected ten children who are cooking on a monthly basis with Whole Foods staff, and we have identified several college students who will be shadowing Whole Foods staff learning how to work with children on the weeks between Whole Foods sessions.

UTC has been aware that, with the speed of program expansion, we have not fully understood the tracking of

outcome data critical to describing what we anecdotally know is happening inside Haddington. Data collection and evaluation has become a critical 2010 issue leading us to an in-depth dialogue with the Barra Foundation who has agreed to discuss the funding of an evaluation system that captures baseline and longitudinal information regarding health outcomes, as well as critical social cohesion information.

Soils testing and land clearing activities

Urban Tree Connection 2010 Activities Report Page 2

2010 Urban Tree Connection Report of Clients Served Children’s Garden Programs

Urban Tree Connection served a total of 202 children in 2010. 177 of those children participated in UTC’s ongoing children’s programs in Haddington, West Philadelphia (112), and Uber Street / Montgomery, North Central Philadelphia (65). Programs meet two days a week for two hours each day in North Central Philadelphia, and three days a week for two hours each day in West Philadelphia.

Kalib at Pearl Street prepping for planting.

Pearl Street children planting perennials.

Jasmine and the girls managing compost at Pearl Street.

Walik's tomato harvest at Pearl Street.

Kalib's first eggplant

Wawa takes a reflective breather.

Dylil’s bounty

Latif carefully patting the earth around his seeds.

Urban Tree Connection 2010 Activities Report Page 3

Growing Healthy

Ruth Harp from Whole Foods Markets makes collard slurpees at

St Philip Lutheran Church.

Lauren and AJ make bread at Whole Foods Market.

Chef Mu-min prepares a salad AND the garnish AND the dressing at Whole Foods Market cooking lessons for teens.

Eva, Richard and Nordia

learn how to cook with fresh, nutritious

ingredients.

Lauren & Coco eat healthfully.

Urban Tree Connection 2010 Activities Report Page 4

Urban Tree Connection’s teen programs served a total of 76 teens in 2010. Teens-Go-Green (5), have been maintaining lawns and gardens for 36 clients since March, and on almost a daily basis from June through November. This summer, UTC mentored teens from the Philadelphia Youth Network WorkReady Program, helping them to earn a wage and credit for school. PYN teens from the Gray’s Avenue E3 Center (14), met four days a week, five hours each day for six weeks of training with UTC staff to begin to learn the landscaping trade, while the GPUAC PYN teens (11) worked side by side with UTC staff and community members to maintain our neighborhood gardens, meeting four days a week, five hours each day for six weeks. UTC has been asked to deliver classes for young adults (6) in Landscape Design and Horticulture for the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Technology (PCAT).

Finally, the VeggieKids (35) have been growing, harvesting, washing, packaging and distributing 34 varieties of produce; 1783 lbs to 46 families in two neighborhoods. Children in the VeggieKids program met two days a week for two hours each day. In Haddington, the residents paid $1 per family-sized bag, and in North-Central, youth distributed the produce for no charge, but earned tips. The Haddington VeggieKids live and work in close proximity to the farm co-op being developed by Urban Tree Connection (see CSA Report below), and will be a key component to that low-income neighborhood CSA as it matures. To that end, they have participated in many of our CSA activities, (see CSA Report below for descriptions), and the data cited above incorporates the data in the CSA Report as a comprehensive compilation of all VeggieKids activities and data to date.

Going Forward: Urban Tree Connection has formed a team consisting of the Alliance for Progress Charter

School (19th & Cecil B. Moore), Whole Foods Markets (Callowhill), Messiah College (student interns) and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s Department of Public Health that will design and implement a multifaceted health and nutrition program linking the Alliance student’s school garden, kitchen and classroom work through their Health Academy and engage families through cooking demos. The farm beds are being built in March 2011 and Messiah students continue to develop lessons under the supervision of UTC staff.

Urban Tree Connection: 2010 CSA Report (Neighborhood Foods) The CSA Farm was built during the spring season establishing 4 modules, each module measuring 25

feet x 50 feet and containing 14-16 irrigated planting rows. Although the early spring growing season was partially missed, on June 14th the CSA enjoyed its first harvest. Since that date, the weekly harvest records from the farm show that 762 pounds were distributed as shares to 12 families with an average of 4 to 5 pounds per week per family. The harvest was supplemented by 101 pounds of produce from the Ursinus College students who operate a 3-acre farm in Collegeville, PA. Whole Foods delivered 5 monthly cooking and canning demonstrations for the CSA share members and community at large with 82 residents. These demonstrations used produce grown on the CSA, and the 21 recipes for healthful preparation were distributed to all attendees in an effort to address the diet-related conditions (obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure) which occur in a large number of Haddington residents.

Going Forward: The Farm is 2/3rds built out with plans to complete additional modules during the late

spring and winter of 2010-2011. The rain water harvest system has been designed and funding obtained. The Founder’s Group is meeting monthly to recruit trainees, share members and manage the daily business of Neighborhood Foods that projects a 300 pound per week harvest in the 2011 growing season.

Urban Tree Connection Teen Programs

UTC staffer Awinda teaches a class in Horticulture to Philadelphia Center for Arts

and Technology (PCAT) students.

UTC in the Classroom

Teens-Go-Green

Urban Tree Connection 2010 Activities Report Page 5

Teen Programs:

The VeggieKids Neighborhood Foods Philadelphia Youth Network

GPUAC PYN teens

worked side by side with UTC staff and community members to maintain our neighborhood gardens,

including the Neighborhood Foods

CSA farm.

Some of our VeggieKids also participated in this

PYN Program

Jean-Claude weighs tomatoes.

Bryant’s perfect eggplant

Ibrahim’s tomato harvest

Donyia needs a bag to carry all of her

cucumbers. Jamir weighs carrots.

UTC staffer, Annie with some of her crew.

Harvesting at the CSA

Urban Tree Connection 2010 Activities Report Page 6

The Harvest Festival 2010

Events

A Surprise Reception

The Residents of Haddington celebrate Skip for his work and commitment to their

neighborhood by honoring him with a surprise reception and a commemorative plaque.

Bank of America Local Hero Awards

Skip was honored to be named one of Bank of America’s Local Heroes.

Urban Tree Connection 2010 Activities Report Page 7

Urban Tree Connection: 2010 Volunteer Report

Urban Tree Connection was the beneficiary of 6,665 hours of service performed by 811 volunteers in 2010. Volunteers participating in service days and special events include Mission Philadelphia, Trinity Youth Group (133), Camp Galil (78), Messiah College (61), City Year & City Year Young Heroes (167), Whole Foods Markets (14), Recyclebank (15), Drexel University (14), Lutheran Inter-Parish Youth of Central Massachusetts (12), Starbucks (12), Crefeld School (10), Accenture (United Way Days of Caring) (10), Grace Presbyterian Church (8), the University of Pennsylvania (7), Temple University (71), Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church (10), Villanova University (37), The Vanguard Group (43) and Cigna (8). University student volunteers contributing to program development to date:

Jefferson University’s Bridging the Gap (9), and Ursinus College (45). Resident Volunteers number 36, and contributed to our service days, events and programs support. The monetary value of all volunteer hours to date is $138,298.75 according to the 2010 Bureau of Labor Statistics standard of $20.75 / hour.

Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Choir volunteers spruced up the Pearl Street walkway.

The kids from Camp Galil break up the work with a little fun.

A first encounter with fresh, crushed

mint leaves.

City Year supervisory corps show up to work at the Neighborhood Foods farm.

Camp Galil after a job well done at the Uber Street farm

We keep our gloves clean and ready!

Urban Tree Connection 2010 Activities Report Page 8

More Volunteers

McDonald’s spreads chips and thins out the mint at the Uber Street farm.

City Year volunteer works with Pennsgrove residents

Mission Philadelphia spreads leaves at the Neighborhood Foods CSA

The Vanguard Group builds new raised beds at Pearl Street.

A Vanguard volunteer

helps a helper.

The Vanguard Group on Pearl Street

Vanguard paints garden signs for us on the Martin Luther King Day of Service.

Urban Tree Connection 2010 Activities Report Page 9

University of Pennsylvania student Lily lending a helpful hand.

Some of our Exuberant University Volunteers

Drexel University foreign exchange student volunteers.

Ursinus students Travis and Molly cart away the debris.

Temple University student volunteers helped out at our Neighborhood Foods CSA farm.

Gifts of Materials, Time and Talent

Messiah College Students with Uber Street Resident and block captain Agnes Domocase.

Rainbow Lawn Care was a very reliable source for leaf cover.

Rachel Bowen’s Senior Project from Lower Merion High School identifies and really brightens up our Uber Street garden.

Lindsay Mann created a mini-documentary which was instrumental in winning Conservatorship of the Neighborhood Foods CSA farm site.

Link to this video via You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp5jILLKFBU

Urban Tree Connection 2010 Activities Report Page 10

2010 Technical Support provided by Urban Tree Connection Since January 2010, Urban Tree Connection has given site tours and provided expertise in creating

farms/gardens on vacant lots with active neighborhood involvement as requested by: Catie Cavanaugh Wolfgang, Chief Service Officer, City of Philadelphia Eli Ali, State Senator Hardy Williams office Virginia Clarke, Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Funders Jorge Santana, State Representative Tony J Payton’s office Diane Poff, Please Touch Museum Jean Hunt, Philadelphia Department of Recreation Tiffany Spraggins, PUFFA Sheila Washington, Friends of the Free Library, Haddington branch Walnut Hill Neighborhood Association Marcus Allen, Achieveability Kate Laepple-Hertzog, United Way Southeastern PA Tom Snell, Congresso Sandra Andino, Taller Portorriquenos Carey Davis & Seth Dorrell, Southwest CDC Mitch Little, Diversified Community Services Kensington CAPA High School Norris Square Neighborhood Projects South West CDC PUFFA

Urban Tree Connection’s expertise in community development has prompted the following to incorporate

its model into their curriculum, research, or college project: Elise Schadler, Graduate Student, The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, The University of Vermont Jennifer Gilbert, Villanova University Dr. Laura Guertin, Penn State University Jeanne Anderson, Kasey Watson & students, OTR Inc Jonathan Stutzman, Messiah College – school mini-documentary, Blip TV - http://blip.tv/file/1509843/ Kris Vann, Urban Farming in Philadelphia - You Tube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVSXvlMjg-s Katie Breiter, Messiah College – school mini-documentary

Urban Tree Connection Media Coverage Report: 2010 January 2010 – 23 August 2010, Urban Tree Connection activities have been featured in several local

interest news spots: February 1: The Philadelphia Inquirer, Urban Tree Connection Board Members Announced for 2010 reaching approximately 300,000; it was also posted on www.philly.com (5 million unique visitors, 60 million page views/month) June Issue: GRID Magazine, New Community-Supported Agriculture Farm in West Philadelphia, reaching approximately 42,000 with an ad rate of $700 June 21, 22: New Community-Supported Agriculture Farm in West Philadelphia: Mission Philadelphia: This farm-construction event with 58 volunteers was covered three times by two stations: WPVI-ABC Action News at 5 p.m., June 21, 2010 reaching 210,148 with a 30-second ad equivalency of $3,800 WTXF-FOX Television 10 p.m. News, June 21, 2010, reaching 214,575, with a 30-second ad equivalency of $3,500 WTXF-FOX Television Good Day Philadelphia (morning news) at 5 a.m., June 22, 2010, reaching 21,431, with a 30-second ad equivalency of $280 August 13: 6ABC, CBS3, FOX29, KYW 1060AM, PYN’s WorkReady and Urban Tree Connection: CSA This summer harvesting event was aired four times by three television stations and several times by one radio station: WPVI-ABC Television 6 p.m. Action News, reaching 278,164, with a 30-second ad equivalency of $3,800 WTXF-FOX News at 6 p.m., reaching 47,722, with a 30-second ad equivalency of $4,500 KYW-CBS Television 4 p.m. Eyewitness News, reaching 75,696, with a 30-second ad equivalency of $1,800 KYW-CBS Television 6 p.m. Eyewitness

News, reaching 123,982 with a 30-second ad equivalency of $2,100 KYW-AM 1060 Radio - piece replayed at various times, reaching an estimated audience: 1.2 million. November 4: The Philadelphia Inquirer, the front page article on the CSA conservatorship reached approximately 776,000 and www.philly.com reached 5 million visitors November 5: GRID Magazine story about conserve-atorship , readership unknown Philadelphia Business Journal: Lincoln Financial Foundation grant to Urban Tree Connection reached 20,000 November 6: Scranton Times-Tribune Editorial supporting conservatorship petition reaching 43,000 November 10: Philadelphia Daily News about grant to Urban Tree Connection from the Citizens Bank Foundation reaching 411,000 November 23: Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction about conservatorship, readership unknown Farm to Philly blog about conservatorship, readership unknown December Issue: GRID Magazine about grant to Urban Tree Connection from Lincoln Financial Foundation reaching 42,000 (ad value: $700) December 3: Philadelphia Business Journal, Skip Wiener featured in CEO File reaching 20,000.

Total media impressions for 2010: approximately 10.8 million (based on approximately 4.3 million readers/viewers of press, above)

News coverage at the Neighborhood Foods farm