Grid Magazine October 2024 [#185]

LEV parent Richardson Thomas and his daughter Madison

publisher Alex Mulcahy

managing editor

Bernard Brown

associate editor & distribution

Timothy Mulcahy

tim@gridphilly.com

deputy editor

Katherine Rapin

art director

Michael Wohlberg

writers

Kyle Bagenstose

Bernard Brown

Siani Colón

Nic Esposito

Constance Garcia-Barrio

Kristen Harrison

Rebecca McCarthy

Alex Mulcahy

Jenny Roberts

Bryan Satalino

Ben Seal

photographers

Chris Baker Evens

Troy Bynum

Kristen Harrison

Linette Messina

illustrators

Bryan Satalino

published by

Red Flag Media

1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107

215.625.9850

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Hold Your Applause

Imade the mistake of watching the presidential debate between Vice President Harris and former President Trump on September 10. I had earlier decided that watching it was pointless; there is no question who I am voting for. And I am an early-to-bed kind of guy, so the next day I paid a price for staying up late. But I was lured downstairs by the sound of the television and, once there, was trapped by a voyeuristic inertia: an object on a sofa watching a performance that would be funny if it weren’t deadly serious tends to stay on that sofa. When I finally achieved escape velocity during a commercial break, I trudged upstairs tired and disheartened.

You probably think I’m talking about Trump’s performance, but I was actually more depressed by Harris’. Out of the two major party options, the better choice for the environment actually hyped the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) opening of new fracking leases, as if the only problem with fossil fuel extraction is that we’re not doing enough of it.

The Biden administration usually cites the act as proof that it is doing something about global warming, so I went back just now and checked the debate transcript , since I wasn’t sure if the IRA came up anywhere else. It did not. And climate change was barely mentioned at all. When one of the moderators asked about global warming, Harris acknowledged its existence … and then bragged about record-level oil and gas production.

Obviously these two positions (global warming bad, fossil fuel production good) are not compatible, and we should refrain from congratulating any politician for supporting efficiency and renewable energy if the net result isn’t a swift drop in emissions

and fossil fuels left in the ground. The atmosphere awards no points for effort and we shouldn’t applaud half-measures.

That’s true at any scale, from the global — our planet in dire straits — to the local, where meager funding and half-measures endanger the health of our children and the people who educate them. In this issue, Kyle Bagenstose revisits the health hazards of working and studying in our decaying schools. Decades of low budgets that have kept the School District of Philadelphia from renovating and fixing what it should (“deferred maintenance”) have added up to a roughly $7 billion repair bill.

Along with the indignities of attending schools that are falling apart around them, our kids have been subjected to high temperatures in buildings that lack air conditioning, and, in rare but scary cases, to lead and asbestos pollution. Asbestos, in particular, has forced school buildings to close suddenly, disrupting students’ education as they get shuffled to and from backup locations.

The underlying reality hasn’t changed in the past year, but this time around we found Governor Shapiro’s administration touting a win of sorts, with a $1.1 billion increase in total statewide school funding coming from Harrisburg — $100 million of which was dedicated to school repairs — for the entire commonwealth. It’s better than nothing, but it’s nothing to celebrate. Schoolchildren and educators don’t simply deserve more funding. They deserve an environment that won’t make them sick. Anything short of that is inadequate.

bernard brown , Managing Editor

Offering a holistic, experiential, and academically-rich approach to education that integrates the arts and the natural world every day.

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Burning Up

Land managers in the suburbs use fire to maintain healthy ecosystems. Why not in the city?

by bernard brown

Last summer, someone set fire to one of the Whitby Meadows in Cobbs Creek Park. The blaze didn’t damage property or injure anyone, and it didn’t cause any permanent damage. I disapprove of arson or carelessly-set fires, but in this case, I found myself wishing our parks would burn more often. Done safely, our park ecosystems could benefit. So I set off to find out why, in Philadelphia, we can’t have more fire.

This time of year, news of fire usually comes from out West. So far 7.9 million acres have burned in 2024, almost all of them in the Great Plains and Mountain

West. In California the Park fire scorched 429,603 acres (about four and a half times the land area of the city of Philadelphia). Closer to home, wildfires routinely strike the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

The media coverage often describes how decades of fire suppression has left forests with thick growth ready to ignite. The wildfire news cycle also includes stories of land managers setting smaller “prescribed” burns to keep that kind of tinder from accumulating to the point that it can fuel larger conflagrations.

Healthy, intentional fires are nothing new. For most of human history and pre-

history, fire has been an essential tool for managing the landscape. Before European colonization, Indigenous peoples such as the Lenape in what is now eastern Pennsylvania regularly set fire to forest underbrush in order to keep the woods open and make it easier to hunt deer. They did the same in valleys to maintain grassy bison habitat, according to a historical account. They also used fire to clear land for agriculture. The result was ecosystems adapted to fire.

Still, prescribed fire in the Philly area has only recently come back into fashion. Darin Groff, regional manager of land stewardship and fire management coordination

A Natural Lands crew monitors a meadow burn at the Gwynedd Preserve in North Wales, Montgomery County.

Opposite: Natural Lands regional manager Darin Groff has been overseeing prescribed burns since the 1990s.

for Natural Lands, says the land trust started using fire in the mid-1990s. “Everything was geared to the West,” he says, with less awareness of how to use fire in the habitats we see in our area. “In the last 15 to 20 years much more [local] research has been done.”

Groff says fire is particularly useful in meadows, where it can keep trees and shrubs from taking over and can remove thatch — accumulated dead grass — allowing new growth to sprout from the soil. “Grass loves fire,” Groff says. Natural Lands also sets fires to maintain serpentine barrens habitat in Chester County as well as to keep oak-dominated forests healthy in the Poconos.

I had assumed Natural Lands and similar groups like The Nature Conservancy only burned land in rural areas where there were no houses nearby that could accidentally catch fire. I was wrong. “Our preserves

are pretty suburban,” Groff says, and then rattles off a list of preserves where Natural Lands uses fire, including the Hildacy Preserve in Media and the Gwynedd Preserve that straddles Blue Bell and North Wales.

I was also wrong in thinking that the risk of blazes getting out of control is what primarily limits prescribed burns. “Smoke is one of your biggest concerns when you’re doing fire in an urban area,” says Josh LaPointe, who works in the Midwest for RES, an ecological services firm. He often sets fires to maintain prairie habitat in the Chicago area. Prescribed burns entail meticulous preparation, and a fire plan will detail the weather conditions necessary to conduct a burn. These include winds that will allow smoke to quickly ascend into the atmosphere rather than blowing into nearby houses or across roads where it could cause accidents. Winds also need to keep the smoke away from taller buildings with ventilation intakes on their roofs, such as hospitals. A foggy day, which will trap smoke close to the ground, can force the burn boss, the person in charge of a prescribed fire, to call it off.

Both LaPointe and Groff emphasized the need to communicate with local fire departments and neighbors so that no one is unnecessarily alarmed. “You spend a lot of time up front building the plan, getting permits, reaching out to neighbors,” LaPointe says. “You don’t want people to freak out.”

If they can burn meadows in Chicago and in Media, why not in Fairmount Park? “Prescribed burn is a management tool that Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (PPR) has not utilized,” a City spokesperson wrote in an email. I asked why not, but I didn’t hear back.

The Fairmount Park Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that manages some City parks, was more forthcoming. “Controlled burns are generally not allowed in urban limits in PA, plus the smoke in an urban setting is also a limiting factor,” a spokesperson wrote by email.

Smoke is one of your biggest concerns when you’re doing fire in an urban area.”

— josh lapointe, RES

I am optimistic that Philadelphia could overcome these hurdles and embrace restorative fire, but in the meantime there are other options to maintain habitat. “Fire isn’t the only answer either,” Groff says. “You have to consider what fire is … whether hand pulling, herbicide, haying the field, it’s just one of the tools in the box.” ◆

Higher Ground

Cli-fi novel depicts a dystopic flooded future from the perspective of a young mother by jenny roberts

Being a mother is hard under the best of circumstances — now imagine caring for a toddler alone in the forest during an apocalypse set off by extreme flooding.

That’s the arduous task Liv Vela takes on as she tries to survive in the wilderness of a futuristic United States with her 3-year-old son Milo in the novel “Dry Lands” by Philadelphia-based author Elizabeth Anne Martins

The climate-fiction tale follows a motherand-son duo through the trials of their jour-

ney as they flee the East Coast, which has become submerged by water, in search of dry land and safety in Tennessee, where an extended family member lives.

“Dry Lands,” which came out in May, was recently chosen as a 2024 pick for Great Group Reads by the Women’s National Book Association.

Martins began writing the novel in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, she saw conspiracy theories gain traction online, including one that attributes

catastrophic flooding, extinctions and other climate events to the Earth’s shifting magnetic fields (which scientists say has no merit).

She borrowed this idea for the basis of her book, she says, adding that the reality of rising sea levels caused by climate change is “an important issue.” Martins refers to the fictional flooding event as “the Shift” throughout the novel.

In addition to the risks posed by extreme weather and wild animals, Martins raises the stakes in the novel with threats of cannibalistic gangs searching for their next meal and corrupt patrollers looking for prisoners to take to their inhumane encampments.

“Dry Lands” includes the guns and action scenes one would expect in a dystopian, apocalyptic book or film, but Martins also includes the everyday work mothers do, such as changing diapers and breastfeeding, which she says sometimes can be “more of a challenge than shooting off the bad guy.”

“In the same way that Tom Cruise in ‘Mission: Impossible’ is a superhero, I wanted a lactating mom to be a superhero also,” she adds.

Martins says the novel is “loosely” based on her own life as a mother. When she began writing the story, her own son was the same age as Milo.

“Certain things like potty training or getting your kid to eat or not having enough resources or not having a safety net or your group — that’s based on true events,” she says. Martins, who works a day job in the publishing industry, says she began imagining the story during the isolation of the pandemic as the world was shutting down. As a result, she and her son spent many days outside, walking and playing in the woods of Wissahickon Valley Park and Awbury Arboretum in Germantown.

“I was just imagining this world as the two of us were walking, ‘What if we did live outside? What if we really couldn’t get to the grocery store?’” she says.

Martins was also thinking about how difficult parenting and caretaking can be, particularly when that work is undervalued by society, she says. “I just wanted to put a spotlight on that.”

Martins’ next book, a thriller called “Opposite World,” is set to come out September 2025.◆

JO SCHOFIELD; MIKE MARTIN (INSET)

5 Reasons Why Families Choose Cyber School

A

new public school experience for K-12

every parent or guardian wants their child to thrive in school. What if the current school is not a good fit? Families in Pennsylvania have several K-12 options, with cyber charter schools growing in popularity for a wide range of students. Today, more than 60,000 students attend a public cyber charter school in the Commonwealth. Here are a few reasons why students value being able to learn a little differently at the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School (PA Cyber).

Personalized learning. Students report the ability to work ahead in some classes and take more time in others. Jonathan Smith (Class of 2023) from Greensburg enrolled at Geneva College with nearly a year’s worth of college credits as a result of taking most of the College in High School courses that PA Cyber offers through partnerships with higher education institutions. Many PA Cyber students have graduated a semester or two early once they earned the required number

1

students

of credits. The school also honors individualized education programs and 504 plans.

Quality education. Zayn Farooq from Pittsburgh said he chose to enroll at PA Cyber to pursue a higher quality of education compared to other middle school options in his locale. Zayn’s childhood friend, Elia Mikhail, followed him to the same school for the same reason. They both graduated from PA Cyber in 2022 and went on to earn full college scholarships — Zayn at Robert Morris University and Elia at Princeton University.

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Confidence. Due to bullying, some students don’t find their current school environment conducive to learning. Rhiannon Costanzo from Preston Park enrolled in a cyber charter school for this reason. Classmates and even teachers mocked Rhiannon for her speech delay. Once at PA Cyber, she made progress with a new speech therapist. She is studying bi-

ology at Penn State University after graduating from high school early in 2023 with a 4.0 GPA. Her mother said, “To watch her come into her own now and be so outgoing and confident is almost surreal.”

Flexibility. Whether taking live or asynchronous classes, PA Cyber students have extra time to commit to family, work and extracurricular activities. Madison Whitford (Class of 2023) switched to PA Cyber in fifth grade because she was bullied, and she chose to stay through graduation. She says the school prepared her well for college at Penn State Behrend, and the flexible scheduling enabled her to work in retail and on the Erie Otters’ ice crew.

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Events. PA Cyber families gather for field trips and enriching activities throughout the school year. “I enjoy going to in-person events because it allows me to meet families who are getting their children educated in the same way and sometimes for the same reasons,” said Erin Butler, a high school science teacher at PA Cyber and the parent of two PA Cyber students. “Meeting and talking with other parents is a real help in getting the most out of PA Cyber and in learning about other opportunities that the school has to offer (like clubs). With all the in-person events, there is little trade-off between cyber school and traditional education.” Additionally, PA Cyber’s regional offices serve as hubs for enrollment, orientation and events.

With 11,000 students, there are 11,000 reasons why students choose PA Cyber. Discover if PA Cyber is a perfect fit for your child by visiting pacyber.org or calling 724-643-1180. Stop by our Philadelphia location at 825 Baltimore Pike in Springfield to meet the local staff. ◆

• Zayn Farooq (left) and Elia Mikhail enrolled at PA Cyber for a higher quality education and graduated with full university scholarships.

Don’t Dump on Me

With a little political will, City Hall can curb the scourge of illegal dumping by nic esposito

On a drive through Tacony Creek Park in the spring of 2020, Lawncrest resident Dallas Herbert Sr. could barely get around illegallydumped construction debris and tires. He was appalled. An executive board member of the Lawncrest Community Association, Herbert asked his older neighbors about this particularly trashed stretch called Snake Road; many informed him that they had been regularly cleaning the area for the last 25 years.

As a veteran, Herbert is no stranger to taking on challenging missions to make a difference. Through his work with the grassroots organization 215 People’s Alliance Northeast Chapter, he began spearheading the effort to clean up Snake Road for good, as covered in the January 2024

issue of Grid (#176)

Aminata Calhoun has been waging a similar battle against illegal dumping from her home in the Belmont neighborhood of West Philadelphia. Calhoun was featured on the cover of Grid’s September 2020 (#136) issue with the apt coverline “Belmont Beauty,” given Calhoun’s penchant for style as she beautifies her neighborhood. But sadly, Calhoun’s seemingly irrepressible energy can be subdued by illegal dumpers who leave piles of trash in already underserved communities.

“ The magnitude of illegal dumping has brought me to the depth of environment distress,” Calhoun decries. “The fact that this behavior continues to surface unchecked and not dealt with stringently by the City of Philadelphia systems leads to independent

small haulers’ continuous contribution to environmental injustices.”

But it doesn’t have to be this way; several organizations in Philly, including one that I co-direct, have come up with solutions the City could implement today to end illegal dumping in communities.

Calhoun and Herbert are both part of Clean Philadelphia Now, a grassroots campaign to end illegal dumping by 2028. This initiative is a consortium of organizations and activists across the city who are working to uplift the challenges and experiences of the many frontline community members who face the uphill battle of “legacy dumping.” Many members come from areas such as North Philly, Southwest Philly, Strawberry Mansion, Fairhill and West Kensington, which the 2019 Philadelphia Litter Index Report identified as some of the most dumped-on neighborhoods. According to Clean Philadelphia Now, “legacy dumping refers to locations identified by cleanup volunteers that experience persistent dumping despite repeated cleanup efforts, sometimes over a period of years.”

This behavior persists in part because, in Philadelphia, construction and demolition recycling facilities have what’s called a ton minimum, meaning that a hauler must pay for at least one ton of material, which could cost upwards of $130, even if they don’t have that much material to dispose of. As Calhoun explains: “Due to the claim of ‘inability to afford the cost of legal centers,’ independent small haulers have resolved to dumping waste in vacant lots, on street curbs, abandon homes, alleys and, at times, in a neighborhood driveway.”

Many Philly residents are beyond fed-up. “I do not accept that my Fairhill neighborhood is a free dumpsite for anyone’s trash,” says Teea Tynes, an activist with Clean Philadelphia Now. “Scheduled cleanup of illegal dumping is not sustainable and [is] morally offensive. I want a plan that ends dumping forever by 2028.”

It’s because of these voices that the organization I co-direct, Circular Philadelphia, has invested resources in finding sustainable solutions to illegal dumping. At Circular Philadelphia, we believe that longer term solutions like waste reduction and immediate cleanup of the city are two sides of the same issue. In 2023, our Built Environment Working Group created a policy that could do both: utilize the six City-op-

Dallas Herbert Sr. and other anti-dumping activists would like to see sanitation convenience centers take smaller waste loads at affordable prices.

erated sanitation convenience centers to accept small amounts of construction and demolition debris that are otherwise being illegally dumped.

You can take a deep dive on this policy by reading our “Expanding Access For Construction Debris Recycling: A Policy Guide” which can be found on the “policy & advocacy” section of circularphiladelphia org But the gist is simple: We are asking for the City’s Department of Sanitation to secure a contract with a construction and demolition (C&D) recycler (of which we have many great choices in Philadelphia) to put a dumpster at each of the sanitation convenience centers and allow small haulers to drop off small loads no larger than a pickup truck of waste. We ran scenarios where the City could charge a $30 nominal fee for disposal or keep it completely free; in both cases it would cost less than the estimated $10 million the City is currently spending to clean up illegal dumping.

On the surface, it might seem that this plan caters to the businesses that are breaking the law and trashing our neighborhoods rather than cracking down with consequences. But many of us agree — whether it’s illegal dumping, drugs or other social ills — a City can’t arrest their way out of the problem. Instead, we can meet these haulers halfway in an effort to give them a better option, which could not only stop illegal dumping, but also further stimulate those in Philadelphia’s small hauler sector who are already doing the right thing to help grow their businesses.

As part of the Circular Philadelphia policy paper, we interviewed Taneesha Maxwell of T Maxwell Junk Removal and Cleanouts, an entrepreneur trying to make a living in the smaller scale hauling business the right,and legal, way. (Maxwell was also featured in a Grid May 2023 story, #168.) When asked about her support for this policy concept, she said, “This could actually allow me to offer better prices if these tipping fees are more reasonable. I could charge less if I was able to take a smaller load and not have to pay the ton minimum.”

But according to a source who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, the City’s Office of Clean & Green director Carlton Williams has said to Clean Philadelphia Now members that this policy is unworkable because it could take years to secure a permit that would allow the City to

The fact that this behavior continues to surface unchecked and not dealt with stringently by the City of Philadelphia systems leads to independent small haulers’ continuous contribution to environmental injustices.”

— aminata calhoun, Clean Philadelphia Now

accept this waste. I reached out to the City to give them a chance to explain the barriers to the policy, but they did not reply by the time this issue went to print.

Nevermind the fact that I think it’s totally worth it to invest a few years to address a problem that has plagued Philadelphia for decades — it actually won’t take as long as Williams says. In response to my query, a program manager at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Norristown office explained: “ The convenience centers operated by the Philadelphia Sanitation Department collect various types of material from residents and, at this time, are not required to have waste permits for various reasons for the different materials.”

This person went on to explain that a new C&D material transfer station permit would require several steps under regulations, including public notice and meetings with the DEP. Once officially submitted, this type of application would go through a full review

process in typically no more than 521 calendar days barring any unforeseen delays. I have to admit, I was a little shocked to learn that there are no permit requirements for the current sanitation convenience centers. But even if they have to go the extra mile to get a permit to transfer C&D material, it would only take about a year and a half. This seems like not long to wait to address a problem that’s decades in the making.

Clean Philadelphia Now’s position is that the City needs “proactive policies, like convenience access to small haulers and increased enforcement,” to end dumping by 2028. And even though Herbert, of Lawncrest, is thankful for the work of the Clean & Green Office to attempt and clean up Philadelphia, he is realistic about the illegal dumping problem.

“Clean one day, dumped on the next,” Herbert says. “I would like to see the places that accept waste accept smaller loads at a lower price. I think that would be very helpful in the effort to stop illegal dumping.”.◆

Taneesha Maxwell, of T Maxwell Junk Removal and Cleanouts, and other small-scale haulers could offer better prices if the City would accept small debris loads.

Striding Toward Community

Walking group traverses the changing landscapes and diverse neighborhoods along the perimeter of the city by bernard brown

On september 6, a group of 18 gathered at the Delaware River waterfront with Walk Around Philradelphia. Setting off from Cherry Street Pier, some planned to cover 10 miles on that day’s stroll while others planned to do 120 — completing a circuit of the entire city of Philadelphia. All were bound to learn something new and see their hometown in a new way.

Naima Truxon, who lives in West Philadelphia and has covered 90 miles of the city’s border on past walks, says she enjoyed visiting Glen Foerd, a park with a historic mansion in the far northeast corner of the

city. She especially appreciated experiencing it as part of the day’s segment, which took her around the neighborhood. “Let’s say I had been to Glen Foerd before, that I was going to somebody’s baby shower,” she says. “I don’t experience the whole neighborhood. All I experience is probably just the room at the place, right? Whereas, when you do something like this, it gives you an opportunity to just experience everything.”

The initiative’s first lap took place in 2016 when community organizer and artist JJ Tiziou (you might have seen his “How Philly Moves” mural at the airport) set off on a five and a half-day solo circuit as part

of an artist residency with Swim Pony Performing Arts. Tiziou turned it into a lowkey tradition, repeating the walks for the next few years by himself or with friends. In 2020, he opened it up to his mailing list for a February circuit and then developed the walk as a socially-distanced activity for Fringe Arts that September. Since then, Tiziou has guided the walks and provided community for walkers trekking the Philadelphia perimeter on their own. This September, about 300 walkers took part in at least a segment of Walk Around Philadelphia’s 16th lap around the city, for a total of more than 1,300 participants since 2016.

[Walk Around Philadelphia] is a way to think about borders and boundaries and who drew them ... It gives you a hell of a humbling perspective on the city.”

—jj

tiziou, Walk Around Philadelphia

Although the route along the boundary of Philadelphia looks simple enough on a map, on the ground it can develop new curves and loops. On the kickoff walk, the group encountered an open gate at a fencedoff pier where a large sign announced a coming apartment building. After a quick huddle, the group decided to take that open gate as an invitation. They stepped off the sidewalk and into the high grass and weeds, picking their way down to the river. With the tide out, (the water level on the Delaware in Philadelphia rises and falls by more than five feet with the tides) the group explored a patch of land that would disappear in a few hours.

Even where there are no fences, the city’s border can be tough to follow. “Sometimes it’s like this line goes through the middle of these people’s houses,” says Tiziou. In Eastwick, where the route near Cobbs

Creek follows the path of a trail planned by the City but not yet built, the walk group encountered a homeowner angry to have strangers pop up in what she considered her backyard.

Even when walkers cover the same ground, the shifting human landscape presents new experiences. Walker Pearl Raz recalls visiting the Navy Yard last year. “We had just stopped at the shipyard in front of the USS John F. Kennedy, this huge aircraft carrier,” she says. A man rolled up on a motorcycle and told the group that he had served on the ship, and that the experience had led him to become an air traffic controller. “He built his life from that experience, and he shared it with us,” Raz says.

Advisory board member Florastine Byarms lives in Eastwick and met Tiziou through her work in community outreach at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic

Left: Walk Around Philadelphia organizer JJ Tiziou prepares walkers to launch the September 2024 lap around the border. Opposite page: Following the city’s border took this group through the urban wilds.

Medicine, whose campus sits on City Avenue along the border with Montgomery County. As he explained the program to her, it sounded familiar.

“I recall seeing them in the snow. [At the time] I said, ‘What are these white folks doing walking in the woods in the snow?’” Byarms says she appreciates having a new way to get people outside exercising. She also values how it brings people from different neighborhoods together. “Philadelphia is very segmented. I think the walk gives Philadelphians opportunities to build community and see different parts of the city.”

Tiziou recognizes that it will take work to offer that opportunity to all Philadelphians. On the September 6 walk all but two of the walkers appeared to be white, not reflecting the demographics of a city that is majority Black and Brown. Tiziou says he is focusing outreach in communities of color along the walk’s route, such as Eastwick and Cobbs Creek.

Registration for a walk segment costs $20, but no one is turned away for lack of funds and Tiziou has raised money to offer $200 stipends to people who can’t afford to take a day off work. Roughly one quarter of Philadelphians live below the federal poverty line. “My goal is for one quarter of participants to be free and stipend supported,” he says.

Today, Walk Around Philadelphia includes virtual and in-person meet-ups for walkers to connect with each other and do visual art activities like printmaking. Stickers along the route help raise awareness and a sign at Penn’s Landing points the way to landmarks that are usually left off tourist itineraries but that are inescapable on the ground, such as refineries, landfills and sewage treatment plants.

“Philly’s border is huge and crazy,” Tiziou says. Walk Around Philadelphia “is a way to think about borders and boundaries and who drew them, also about nature and parks and infrastructure. It gives you a hell of a humbling perspective on the city.” ◆

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the EDUCATION issue

New School #185

AT TIMES IT FEELS LIKE only yesterday we were in school, rushing into the hallways at the sound of the bell and then slouching into desks facing the teacher at the front of the classroom. You might recall the combination to your locker, and certainly the anxiety of facing a test you hadn’t studied enough for.

If you had to do it again, knowing what you know now, how would you improve on your time in school? What would you change about the environment? How about the way that you approached learning?

The school buildings you remember are probably still there (same brick, same linoleum, same dank bathrooms), and if they’re in Philadelphia they could stand to be renovated — if only the district had the money.

In this issue we look at ways schooling hasn’t changed, but maybe it should. We cover new ideas about how to make school more fun and less stressful for kids of all backgrounds and explore programs that are already innovating the way young people are taught.

We hope this issue gets you thinking about how our approach to education can transform — both in and out of the classroom.

“THE WHOLE HOUSE”

Student-helmed docuseries investigates the systemic problems that lead to violence in their communities

by REBECCA MCCARTHY

HEN SHOOTINGS skyrocketed in Philadelphia during the pandemic, teenagers were among those most affected. In the face of this crisis, students at Dobbins Technical High School in North Philly set out to unearth the root causes of the violence sweeping the city.

W“Future Visions” is the result — an enormously affecting documentary series that follows students as they look for answers from community leaders and each other. The series traces the roots of violence and its connections to environmental injustice across the city, interviewing organizers, activists and other students at organizations like YEAH Philly, House of Umoja, Philly Peace Park, Soil Generation and The U School.

The documentary was born out of, and named for, Future Visions Lab, a grant-fund ed after-school program at Dobbins designed to teach leadership, critical thinking and me dia skills that ran from 2020 to June 2024.

“It really allows people to build a sense of community, to go deep,” Indy Shome, the Future Visions Lab faculty advisor told Grid, adding that the program aimed to turn what can be a “colonial, atomized ap proach to education into something with real-world application.” Students were paid $40 per hour, asked to identify an is sue and given free rein over how to address it creatively. Gun violence was an obvious problem facing the city, but a student named Kayla Stanton had done a fellowship with Life Do Grow Farm over the summer. Her immersive experience there had taught her how connected social issues were to environmental issues, and from there the documentary began to take shape.

rative from the news cycle, which he feels is largely propagated by people without direct experience with the issues kids are facing. Their aim in the documentary, the students explain, is to present the problems facing the city as an interconnected whole, rather than discrete issues. Food deserts lead to inadequate nutrition, which leads to ill health and attention disorders. An underfunded educational system — 60% percent of Philly schools were found to have lead in their drinking water in 2022 and many do not have adequate air condi-

tioning — lead to disaffected students and low graduation rates.

Shome helped the students start to make these connections. He says he sat down with students to figure out what activated them: what were they mad about, what scared them, what their hopes were. Soon, they were digging into property taxes. “They’re like, ‘Oh, wait — you get access to education based on your neighborhood. But if your neighborhood is violent, then your property taxes are going to be low and you won’t be able to get [access to good] education,’” Shome says. That got students “thinking on a systematic level that I think is not that common.”

Conversations with Soil Generation — a collective of Black and Brown women farmers featured in the documentary who are working to promote sustainable urban agriculture — also helped the class approach problems through a systems analysis, looking at “the whole house,” Shome explains, “not just the cracks in the floorboard.”

Borrowing a thought exercise he learned from the farmers, Shome asked students to consider the story of a hamburger. Down the

For Kameron Duckery, a former Dobbins student who joined Future Visions Lab his senior year, the documentary was a chance to bolster his résumé and take back the nar-

Future Visions Lab took Dobbins Technical High School students to visit WHYY as part of their journey to understand the root causes of violence. From left to right: Jamyra Herriott, Khasira Reed, Chidiebere “Abie” Ogbenna, Kanyon Duckery, Dashawn Hill, Shamya McTillman, WHYY staff Kim Paynter, Kayla “Lia” Stanton, James Slaughter, Taahzje Ellis and Angel Canady.

block from Dobbins is a McDonald’s. “The students work there and the students eat there,” Shome says. As he puts it, the burgers they eat there may taste alright and they may only cost a few dollars, but it’s important to explore why. McDonald’s profits off of these young people, underpays them and contributes to chronic illness in the community.

“People don’t really think about how food affects behavior,” Brother Tommy Joshua Caison of the Philly Peace Park told students in the documentary. “Food with additives, it produces health problems … Black and Brown neighborhoods are closer to toxic dumps, they have less trees, they have poor air quality. All of these things are interrelated. Oftentimes people do talk about climate change in an abstract sense, but the front line is the neighborhoods.”

A hallmark of all the organizations “Future Visions” highlights is that they’re responsive, rather than prescriptive. Their approaches inspired the students; by the end of the documentary, they had created their own outdoor peace garden and an indoor hydroponic garden at Dobbins.

For example, YEAH Philly is a West

[Philly is] a hot mess right now. I think we’re in a time when people are desperate and need a lot of things that the City is not providing.”

KENDRA VAN DE WATER, YEAH Philly

Philly-based nonprofit that provides a haven for teens, aiming to reach kids others had given up on. Co-founders Kendra Van de Water and James Aye provide legal services, counseling services and tutoring, and pay teenagers to act as mediators and run a recording studio out of their basement.

“[Philly is] a hot mess right now,” Van de Water told Future Visions in the documentary. “I think we’re in a time when people are desperate and need a lot of things that the City is not providing.” Members come to YEAH Philly to learn anger management and conflict resolution, but other times they just play video games, do laundry and have a chance to get some decent food. “No matter where you’re from, folks come here and

they feel safe,” Aye says.

Ultimately, Shome and the students involved in the project were recognized at The Philadelphia Citizen’s Citizen of the Year Awards. A few of the featured organizations organized screenings and the documentary is available to the public on YouTube. But the projects’ greatest impact may have been on the students themselves

“It kind of broadened my horizon to the area around me,” Duckery says. “Whenever I would catch the bus I would see those parks — I knew those were peace parks, but I didn’t know what a peace park was until the documentary. I didn’t even know we had a garden [at Dobbins]. I was like, ‘What?’ It’s a small one, but it’s something.” ◆

IS

FROM THE DIRECTOR → JEROME SHABAZZ

The Hard Work of Environmental Justice

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS

At the Overbrook Environmental Education Center (OEEC), we know how hard it is to run an equity-centered community-based organization.

In 2019, the acre of land on Lancaster Ave that the OEEC acquired to make into a green oasis was analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), metals and more. We knew the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could help us through their brownfields program, which was designed to ensure that any cleanup complies with federal and state laws.

Fortunately for us, we had enough experience and time on our hands to investigate cleanup requirements and to meet people who could help us navigate the programs at the EPA. After a long journey of filling out paperwork, revising our grant request and then waiting, we finally received the assistance needed to propose a cleanup and design strategy that ensured our site would transition from brown to green.

Back then, we could have benefited from a program like the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTAC) program, the recently launched federal initiative of the EPA and the Department of Energy.

The TCTAC program was formed to help community organizations who work to help their communities prevent and remediate pollution; promote workforce development tied to air pollution and greenhouse gas reductions, climate adaptation and resiliency; reduce indoor air pollution; mitigate climate- and heat-related health issues; and

facilitate engagement of disadvantaged communities in governmental processes.

If you run an EJ organization, you know the obstacles to success are significant. There is never enough time, money and expertise to tackle the problems the way you would like. The federal government recognized this when they passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the largest environmental funding in the history of the country. They knew that EJ organizations on the frontlines and fencelines are doing great work, but might not have the infrastructure in place to become a legally-recognized nonprofit, or to fill out the grant paperwork. They knew that resources were needed to get these essential organizations ready to apply for grants, and that is what inspired the TCTAC program.

The Overbrook Environmental Education Center is proud to be part of this program, and we are here to help.

So, whether your community organization is seeking to clean up potentially hazardous substances, monitor air quality in your community, or any number of energy and environmental enhancement projects, we want you to know that the TCTAC program can assist you with this work.

This publication aims to serve as a resource for technical assistance, grant opportunities and community engagement that strengthens your capacity to tackle the challenging environmental and climate issues in our communities. ●

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE REVOLUTION

New EPA program set to help under-resourced organizations build climate-resilient communities •

BY BEN SEAL

For years, the residents of Edmonston, Maryland, had needed help. Situated just outside Washington, D.C., the town of about 1,500 people, primarily Hispanic and Black, had flooded for four years in a row in the late 2000s. The issue wasn’t overflow from the Anacostia River that bisects the municipality, but rather its outdated and ineffective water management infrastructure. Residents were overwhelmed. The community wanted progress, but Edmonston had a budget of just a few hundred thousand dollars and little more than a handful of staff working with Adam Ortiz, its volunteer mayor. Even with billions in grant funding available from the Obama administration’s 2009 stimulus package, they hardly knew how to tap into the opportunity.

In stepped the Chesapeake Bay Trust, an organization dedicated to supporting communities with watershed restoration projects. The Trust aided Edmonston in applying for grants, helping the town navigate the complicated paperwork, due diligence and quality assurance processes re-

quired to succeed. In the end, it worked. The town received $1.2 million to turn its main artery, Decatur Street, into a green street, complete with bike lanes, wider sidewalks and LED lighting. Rain gardens and permeable pavement reduced flooding and improved water quality.

“It transformed the town,” Ortiz, who is now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Mid-Atlantic regional administrator, says.

As the need for environmental justice solutions becomes more urgent, a new federal program is aiming to help more communities find the type of support that allowed Edmonston to turn things around. The EPA’s Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (TCTAC) program was designed to bridge the gap between environmental justice communities and the funding they need by providing education and support on the grantmaking process.

With the help of local partners, including West Philadelphia’s Overbrook Environmental Education Center, the program will use $12 million to reach communities across the Mid-Atlantic that are ready for change but need support to make it happen. Nationally, the program features 17 centers and $177 million in total funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.

In the Philadelphia area, the TCTAC program is focused on engaging communities in Grays Ferry, Germantown, Nicetown-Tioga, Elmwood, Port Richmond and South Chester, which Ortiz says are among those with “the most exposure to environmental stressors and the least means to fight back.”

“For too long, many of the communities that have borne the brunt of environmental injustice have struggled to get the help they need,” U.S.

As mayor, Adam Ortiz oversaw a major greening project in his small town made possible by federal funding. He is now an administrator at the EPA.

Sen. Bob Casey says. “This program will empower Philly communities to combat the climate crisis and help them access the resources they need to create a cleaner future.”

The Overbrook Center is hosting a three-day symposium at the Academy of Natural Sciences, beginning October 17, to engage community members that might benefit from the new program and promote conversations about grant support and project development. Environmental and climate experts, government agencies and philanthropic funders will all be in attendance to meet with under-resourced organizations and neighbors.

“Those on the frontlines should be at the front of the line when it comes to getting dollars,” says Sacoby Wilson, director of the Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health at the University of Maryland, which is co-facilitating the Mid-Atlantic effort alongside the National Wildlife Federation, the EPA’s awardee.

Too many communities are attempting to respond to environmental and climate injustice with shoestring budgets, all while dealing with physical stressors like air, water and noise pollution, Wilson says. The TCTAC program was designed to offer technical assistance and skill development to overcome the obstacles to getting projects off the ground.

For many environmental justice communities, the barriers to progress are varied, says Jerome Shabazz, Overbrook’s executive director. Those barriers may be academic, socioeconomic, language-based or scientific. Overbrook’s role in the TCTAC program, which Shabazz describes as a “spoke and hub” configuration, is to serve as a liaison for those in Philadelphia that need a helping hand addressing such hurdles.

“How wonderful is it to work with someone who understands the science, the technology and the program, but doesn’t come across as threatening and too academic to be approached?” Shabazz says.

Similar community-based organizations are serving the TCTAC program throughout the Mid-Atlantic, including the South Baltimore Community Land Trust, Empower DC and Centro de Apoyo Familiar.

For many organizations, including those in Philadelphia built

This is really about communities that have been voiceless for too long finally getting the voice that they deserve.”

ADAM ORTIZ, Environmental Protection Agency

around neighborhood gardens and urban farms, the work of changing a community’s environmental future is so consuming that taking advantage of federal resources is an afterthought, Shabazz says. In some cases, that means they haven’t been able to take fundamental steps like registering with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) or getting established on grants gov to apply for funding. Those technical gaps may be the difference between an organization sustaining long enough to change its community for the better and falling through the cracks.

After nearly three decades promoting environmental education and organizing environmental projects around the city, Shabazz knows how much of a difference technical support can make. He’s currently working on an air quality monitoring project in West Philadelphia with help from partners at Drexel University and Villanova University. As he points out, though, those partnerships rely on financial backing that many organizations in the area struggle to access. He doesn’t want to see any more communities fall short of their environmental goals for lack of funding or institutional support.

“Having someone to talk to — to get information and advice from — is a major part of your ability to see a future in this work,” Shabazz says.

Philadelphia offers examples of the type of change possible when communities in need are met with the aid the TCTAC program aims to provide, Ortiz says. In Nicetown-Tioga, a low-income community dealing with the recent establishment of a SEPTA natural gas plant, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society helped bring in an EPA grant to turn a former brownfield into a community garden. The project brought green space into an area dominated by concrete and asphalt, and led to a broader effort to clean and green the neighborhood, train residents for green jobs, expand the tree canopy and improve access to fresh food.

In competitive grant programs, the largest and best-resourced communities are often those most capable of submitting successful applications, Ortiz says, either because they can afford the engineering and design work required or the time to understand the nuances of what grantmakers are seeking.

“There’s a historical imbalance. The communities that need [funding] the most are not always the most organized or don’t have the capacity to be competitive,” Ortiz says. “But there’s a little revolution in environmental justice and we’re just getting started.”

U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, says the TCTAC program can be “another tool in the toolbox to rebuild and make progress.” No one understands the challenges communities face after decades of environmental burdens and disinvestment better than the communities themselves, he says. The program is intended to deliver support in

finally addressing those challenges.

“This type of funding can unlock opportunities and progress for these communities, and I’m excited to see what will come from this,” Evans says.

The TCTAC program is part of a broader effort to address environmental justice issues at the federal level that has been delivering funding to the Philadelphia region, Evans says, including four related grants from the EPA last year that totaled $2.5 million; $500 million for water upgrades and lead service line removal; and a $396 million grant to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to fund community-driven solutions to climate pollution

“There’s an opportunity for capacity development that we haven’t seen in a long time,” Shabazz says.

Ortiz calls environmental restoration “an all-hands-on-deck effort.” The EPA and federal funding play an important role in that effort, but “folks in communities who see things every day they’re concerned about and want to make a difference are the most important members of the team.”

To that end, Wilson, at the University of Maryland, says he wants the Mid-Atlantic TCTAC to help at least 250 communities apply for grants over the course of the program’s fiveyear timeline — and for at least half of them to succeed. Ortiz anticipates little challenge meeting that target and making a difference in more places like Edmonston and Nicetown-Tioga.

“This is really about communities that have been voiceless for too long finally getting the voice that they deserve,” he says. ●

RESOURCES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES

Running a grassroots environmental justice organization can be difficult, but you don’t have to do it alone. Here are ten resources for groups looking to build their efforts and connect with wider networks.

The Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University offers training for students and community leaders, conducts community-based participatory research, provides information for public officials, and serves as a hub for networking and technical assistance and grantmaking for universities and communities.

The center was founded by Robert D. Bullard, a sociologist known as the “father of environmental justice” for breaking new ground researching and writing about environmental racism.

The Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health (CEEJH) at the University of Maryland School of Public Health works with community organizations, advocacy groups and policymakers at all levels of government to advance environmental justice. Their work focuses on equitable planning, zoning and sustainable community development. The center works in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast,

Deep South and Gulf Coast regions of the United States.

The Environmental Protection Network advocates for improvements to the Environmental Protection Agency’s structure and management, provides analysis and information to federal lawmakers, and provides technical assistance and training to communities of color and low-income communities. The network is made up of former EPA staff.

The Environmental Justice Mapping Screen (EJScreen), the EPA’s environmental justice screening and mapping tool, combines spatial information on community demographics and environmental indicators to help the EPA protect the environment and public health in environmental justice communities. EJScreen can be used by anyone, including community members, scientists, advocacy organizations and students.

The EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers Program (TCTAC) is designed to bridge the gap between environmental justice communities and the funding they need by providing education and support on the grantmaking process. With the help of local partners, including West Philadelphia’s Overbrook Environmental Education Center,

the program will use $12 million to reach communities across the Mid-Atlantic that are ready for change but need support to make it happen. Nationally, the program features 17 centers and $177 million in total funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Green and Healthy Homes Initiative is the Region 3 Thriving Communities’ Grantmaker and works to make homes more energy efficient as well as healthier by reducing lead exposure and asthma triggers, reducing fall hazards and providing weatherization. The Initiative advocates for government action for healthy homes and provides training and technical assistance on the topic. It also provides grants to community organizations working to make homes healthier in environmental justice communities.

The Institute for Sustainable Communities is a national Grantmaker and TCTAC who creates partnerships that support communities across the planet particularly affected by global warming. ISC provides support and training to local organizations involved with regional TCTACs.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) made funding and technical assistance for environmental justice work available for specific disadvantaged communities. The

Inflation Reduction Act Disadvantaged Communities Map helps potential applicants for IRA environmental justice federal funding and technical assistance determine whether they are operating in a geographic area that is eligible for funding and technical assistance.

The National Wildlife Federation’s Environmental Justice, Health and Community Revitalization Program supports local environmental justice initiatives. The federation is working with local TCTAC hubs, including the Overbrook Environmental Education Center, to help them deliver training and support to community-based organizations working for environmental justice.

The Renewable Thermal Collaborative is a global coalition of organizations, including manufacturers and local governments, scaling up renewable heating and cooling at their facilities in order to cut carbon emissions.

The William Penn Foundation is the largest regional private funder in the Philadelphia area. Its Environmental and Public Space funding supports efforts to reduce illegal dumping, plant more trees and improve greenspaces, improve water quality by reducing combined sewage overflows and inspire Philadelphians to spend more time outdoors.

Making the Connection

Overbrook Environmental Education Center is the local hub for organizations to secure environmental justice funding • BY

JENNY ROBERTS

As a child, Jerome Shabazz saw his father transform a vacant lot into a neighborhood garden that produced enough fresh fruit and vegetables to feed their whole North Philadelphia block. “It was just incredible,” says Shabazz, now the executive director of Overbrook Environmental Education Center, located at 6134 Lancaster Avenue in West Philly.

Through his leadership at the organization, Shabazz helps community members who have an environmental project — just like his father’s garden — connect to grant opportunities to fund their work.

The Overbrook Environmental Education Center is currently part of a national, five-year program in which local partners provide technical assistance, training and capacity-building support to community groups so they can get grants to fund their environmental justice projects. The program, launched in April 2023, is specifically focused on reaching low-income and marginalized communities.

“This is one of the programs that’s very intentional in terms of reaching the common folk,” Shabazz says.

Through the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers Program (EJ TCTAC), 17 organizations across the country have received $177 million to assist community groups and nonprofits as they apply for, receive and manage federal grants. Overbrook Environmental Education Center is one of 10 hubs under the National Wildlife Federation

From left to right, Overbrook Environmental Education Center’s leadership: Roosevelt Sanders, Kia Brown, Gloria Shabazz, Jerome Shabazz, Kearni Warren and Darien Griffin.

in Virginia, the technical assistance center for the Mid-Atlantic region.

“This gives people an opportunity to create a more sustainable approach to that work by giving them the tools to get resources, pay for staff, tools and other kinds of infrastructure to keep those initiatives going,” Shabazz says.

Overbrook Environmental Education Center offers support to the Greater Philadelphia area and part of Wilmington, Delaware. The first year of the program has been focused on building capacity to serve as a hub, Shabazz says, while reaching out to local agencies and community members to educate them about the TCTAC program.

“We think the initial period has been helpful in developing our framework and trying to get the talent and the resources and the structures necessary,” he says.

The next phase of the program will start with the Thriving Communities Symposium on October 17-19 at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University and Moore College of Art & Design.

The symposium will offer workshops, speakers, a vendor fair and a bus tour to visit two Philadelphia communities that have successfully leveraged federal resources to transform the environmental and climate conditions of their neighborhoods.

After the symposium, Overbrook Environmental Education Center will officially begin working with residents and nonprofits. That work may include providing training for writing grant proposals, navigating federal systems and effectively managing funds. It could also be connecting groups with relevant agencies or facilitating community engagement opportunities.

“We’re absolutely showing you how to build your rod so you can go out and fish,” Shabazz says. “We can’t fish for you.”

Individuals or groups interested in working with Overbrook Environmental Education Center can begin the intake process online at the National Wildlife Federation’s web portal or by calling 202-792-5350 or 1-800-757-1405.

For nonprofits, Overbrook Environmental Education Center will provide more specialized assistance, such as helping them better understand the department or agency they’re applying to for funding. With neighborhood groups, assistance may be helping them navigate the grant application process without all the registration numbers a 501(c)(3) would have.

“Traditionally, money flows to large organizations that then go in and deliver on trying to address those needs,” says Maurice Baynard, vice president of community learning at the Academy of Natural Sciences. “So this tries to empower smaller, community-led organizations to both understand the concerns, have a data-driven approach and have them involved in the process.”

Baynard says the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers Program helps deliver on President Joseph Biden’s Justice40 Initiative — a goal that 40% of benefits from certain federal climate, clean energy and other investments flow into communities that are underinvested in and overburdened by pollution.

TCTAC assistance makes it easier for money to flow directly into these communities, Baynard says.

“While expertise is needed, it has to be in conversation with communities — and that’s not simply showing up once solutions have been figured out and implementation is underway and putting up posts telling communities this is what’s happening,” he says.

Baynard says the infusion of federal funds into the region as a result of TCTAC assistance must only be the beginning for sustainable environmental justice work. Private philanthropic funding will be essential for the long run, he adds. “Resources are important, but resources alone won’t move the needle. What the region really needs is collaboration,” he says.

We’re absolutely showing you how to build your rod so you can go out and fish. We can’t fish for you.”

JEROME

SHABAZZ,

Overbrook Environmental Education Center

Roosevelt Sanders, president of Overbrook Environmental Education Center’s board of directors, says Shabazz is apt to lead an initiative focused on collaboration, calling him a “connector” who brings people and resources together.

Shabazz, who worked at the Philadelphia Water Department for two decades, founded the Overbrook Environmental Education Center in 2006 out of a partnership he formed with Overbrook High School, where he taught students about the environment through project-based learning and using the city as a classroom.

Shabazz began remediating an EPA brownfield site and continued educating students. Today, Overbrook Environmental Education Center has several environmental and educational initiatives, such as a community air monitoring project and work development program for young people. As he’s led Overbrook Environmental Education Center over the last 18 years, Shabazz has also become an environmental justice leader both locally and nationally. He’s an inaugural member of Philadelphia’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council and co-chairman of the EPA’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Board. This past summer he participated in the first White House Summit on Environmental Justice in Action

He’s become a “go-to” person for government officials or universities looking for advice on environmental strategies, Sanders says. Now, Overbrook Environmental Education Center is also a “go-to,” but for community members looking for support with their environmental justice projects.

“We are a demonstration of what it looks like to work through the process and to get some measure of success,” Sanders says. “You can get to a place where you can actually put things into action and make change.” ●

MPLAY CHANGE

Schoolyards can be a lot more inviting and engaging for kids, adults and even pollinators

written and illustrated by BRYAN SATALINO

ANY PHILLY SCHOOLS are nested in overly hardscaped neighborhoods, and their schoolyards share a lot of the same traits — edge-to-edge blacktop, a lack of shade, no vegetation and limited playground equipment. Environmentally, impermeable concrete surfaces contribute to the urban heat island effect and to combined sewer overflows into our rivers. ¶ Sara Schuh, founder of the landscape architecture firm Salt Design Studio, aims to transform these spaces to facilitate active learning, exploration and play. She has worked with the School District of Philadelphia to redesign five schoolyards and has more projects in the pipeline. “There is a lot of interest,” she says. “More and more of these schools are seeing the benefit of rethinking their outdoor spaces.” ¶ So what does revitalization include? Here are some features that can make neighborhood schoolyards so much better.

Seating Areas

It might seem basic, but seating isn’t always a given. Benches give parents and caregivers a place to rest while children play and provide community members with a place to congregate.

Turns out climbing on logs and boulders helps kids engage in creative, unstructured play. According to one study, playgrounds with natural elements like logs and flowers encouraged more active play than traditional playgrounds.

Berms & Traditional Play Equipment

Natural playscapes are made even better when augmented with traditional play structures like climbing nets and berms (small mounds) encouraging kids to be anything but sedentary.

In Philly, schoolyards are often open to the entire community. Features like basketball courts can have a variety of uses for adults and children alike.

Nature Walk

There aren’t many places to explore nature in denser urban neighborhoods. Encouraging kids to walk through natural areas can be a stimulating and educational experience.

One of the best ways to help foster a sense of connection to our environment is to help children become stakeholders in caring for nature. Garden plots are a simple way to grow food, help pollinators and get up close to the natural world.

Spending time in nature — including learning subjects traditionally taught indoors — can reduce stress, restore depleted attention and improve immune function in children, just like adults.

Rain gardens increase green space while capturing stormwater before it makes it into runoff drainage. Plants and bushes soak up rainwater and create habitat for local

Shade Trees

Planting larger, taller trees around a school can substantially cool down the entire outdoor space, helping to keep playground equipment cool to the touch and to mitigate the local heat island effect.

Rain Gardens

wildlife.

Outdoor Classroom

Pollinator and Veggie Gardens

Natural Playcapes

Hard Surface Play Areas

THE URGENCY OF JOY

A Black-led, parent-driven organization is pushing the School District of Philadelphia to make schools more joyful and less punitive

by ALEX MULCAHY

N A TREELESS SIDEWALK

Oon a day in May that feels much hotter than it’s 75 degrees, there’s an ice cream truck serving a long line of people, while several plastic machines are cranking out a flurry of bubbles. Some of the bubbles hurtle toward 440 North Broad Street, the headquarters of the School District of Philadelphia. A few dozen women clad in purple Lift Every Voice Philly t-shirts are talking amongst themselves, with assembled media, and sometimes with

curious passersby.

They are advocating for a new position within the school district: Chief Officer of Joy.

If this sounds like a frivolous request, that impression vanishes when parents and City Council members step up to a lectern and begin outlining their vision.

Lift Every Voice Philly (LEV) is described on its website as a “Black-led, multi-racial organization building parent power to transform Philly schools by advancing racial, economic and education justice.” “Joy” is the center of their current initiative, but it

encompasses much more than that.

LEV parent Susan “SuSu” McLeod speaks first. “My daughter, like so many other kids, used to love school, but now she feels like school is a prison where she can’t use the bathroom when she wants to, where she’s bullied and not given support and her recess can be taken away because of the actions of another classmate.”

She continues, “We know that all kids, but especially our poor and Black and Brown kids are suffering inside and out of school, and that has major impacts on learning.”

A second LEV parent, Julie Krug, explains that her son likes math and science and art, but he absolutely loves recess, and he thrives when he can release his energy on the playground. Yet she has seen him have recess taken away for talking in class or not finishing an assignment.

“When my child and others like him are forced to sit for 8 hours a day and cannot have something as basic as movement, they cannot learn,” says Krug.

City Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke

Members of the Lift Every Voice Philly team advocate for their kids outside of the headquarters of the School District of Philadelphia.

In the fiscal 2023-2024 budget, only $25,000 was allocated to auditing existing school climate programs, compared to the $13.5 million spent on updating security cameras.

speaks next about how boys who look like him are most at risk in this system, and then Councilmember Rue Landau tells a story of when, years ago, she witnessed the teacher in her son’s kindergarten class stop reading to students every time a kid fidgeted or “chewed on their sleeve,” and then single out the offending child, or even remove them from the group. “Your goal is to read to the kids so they can learn to read and all you’re doing is stopping and not making it happen and humiliating the children,” says Landau. “They were 3 months into kindergarten.”

These stories reveal what LEV members believe is at stake: children’s dignity, humanity and bodily autonomy.

Shanée Garner, the executive director and founder of LEV, is happy to let the parents lead the charge. Prior to her current job, she served as Councilmember Helen Gym’s director of policy and legislation for over seven years, and before that she was a teacher at John Bartram High School and Kensington High School. She had recently given birth to her first child, and in the transitional state of being a new parent, Garner began to think about what she wanted to do. She felt like the city lacked a home for parents “to come together and fight together.”

“What we had was a situation where parents were only looking out for their kids, and so I was just like, how cool would it be to have a group of parents as committed to other people’s kids as their own? Who were like, ‘We are centered on values, we care about dignity, we care about collective action. We care about public institutions.’”

While the organization prioritizes schools that serve impoverished neighborhoods, their vision includes reforming schools in the more affluent neighborhoods. They believe that everyone suffers from the same policies, which the group characterizes as anti-Black.

One parent from a well-regarded public school complained that their child was only given a 12-minute recess, which shocked Garner.

“If I was like, ‘Hey, could you babysit my

kid?’ And then you sit him down for 8 hours and give him 12 minutes of stand-up time, it would be unconscionable. And somehow, when we enter into systems, dehumanization is all of a sudden normal.”

Changing the system, changing themselves

For all the seriousness of LEV’s mission, there certainly is a lot of, well, joy at their headquarters at 3715 Market Street when they meet two weeks after their rally. At a long conference table about twenty women sit. (To date there is only one father in the group, Richardson Thomas, who did not attend the meeting. In a separate interview, he expresses how empowering being in the group has been: “You can do a lot more than what you think, and that’s great.”) Kids are playing in another room while some parents provide childcare. Wes Lathrop, the organizing director, instructs the women to pair off and discuss how they have grown since the campaign began.

After a few minutes of lively conversation, the first parent speaks, and says that she had experienced a lot of unfamiliar emotions that she needed to figure out. She continues, “I also learned that I don’t like rejection. Don’t tell me no!” Clapping and laughter follow.

The next parent to speak says, “I kind of got over my fear of public speaking, and that I actually am good at it.” More encouragement from the group follows.

Lathrop asks the parent, “What would you tell someone new here, who might be afraid of public speaking?”

“I would tell them it’s going to be okay. That, first and foremost, this is one of the safest spaces and communities you are going to find. I would tell them that, although they might have that fear, their story can also be an inspiration for someone else. Your story can be the start, a foundation for someone else.”

Another parent speaks, saying that the group has helped her overcome her tendency to avoid conflict, and allowed her to become, in her words, a disrupter. So when

she heard that a classmate of her child had their headphones seized by an overzealous substitute teacher, instead of feeling powerless, as she would have in the past, she had a new reaction.

“As soon as I heard, I reached out to the mother and I was like, ‘How can I support you?’”

She says that she always considered herself a loner, so she was surprised by how much she enjoyed working in a group. Despite feeling anxiety and self-doubt, she found that “the more I pushed myself, the more I was like, ‘You know what? I do have something to say.’”

Kids have noticed the transformations that have occurred in their parents since they started joining. When I’m paired off with Lathrop, he talks about how emotionally powerful it was for him when a child approached him and said, “Thank you for believing in my mom.”

Stori, the daughter of SuSu McLeod, expresses that sentiment as well.

“I’m very proud of her and not only because she has found something that she enjoys. I’m proud of her because she’s found a topic that’s really good for everybody — between kids, between parents, between guardians. It’s really good.”

It’s a school, not a prison City Council has been supportive of Lift Every Voice, and there are two resolutions that have been introduced. One, introduced by Councilmember Landau, proposes that hearings should be held exploring the creation of a Chief of Joy position.

The other, introduced by Councilmember Kendra Brooks, would hold hearings on “exclusionary school discipline and the use of collective punishment practices in public schools.”

When asked to comment on the Joy in School campaign, the School District of Philadelphia, through an email from their communications department, responded: “Joy is one of the core values of The School District of Philadelphia’s five year strategic plan Accelerate Philly. As we implement the plan, we always welcome input from the community with a shared goal of becoming the fastest improving, large urban school district.”

“Joy” is indeed listed as one of the six core values of the district, yet the word can only be found in one other place in the 43 pages

of their strategic plan.

When the district addresses some of the same issues that LEV is focused on, it seems to fall under the heading of “school climate,” which is how students perceive their school. In their report they say:

“Fewer than half of student respondents on the annual survey indicated that they consistently feel like they belong at school (36%); feel welcome at school (45%); and enjoy being at school (31%). This is particularly concerning given that there is a strong link between academic achievement and how students feel in school.”

Yet in the fiscal 2023-2024 budget, only $25,000 was allocated to auditing existing school climate programs, compared to the $13.5 million spent on updating security cameras. Garner finds this disconnect jarring.

Philadelphia schools have specific and timebound surveillance plans to replace every camera in the district, she says, while there is no equivalent plan to replace toxic buildings.

“That is how you build a prison,” says Garner, “not a school system.”

Garner says that the narrative the school district advances, that parents are partners and joy is a core value, is “100% lip service.”

“We won’t solve our attendance or mental health crisis without … radically changing the way we think about schools and dispelling this idea that only some people have expertise.”

Garner is talking specifically about the expertise of parents. She would like the district to lead, to be the first in the nation to operationalize an education system that listens to families about what children need. They could stop collective punishment and incorporate rest and play in every kid’s school day, she says, and not allow children to be hungry or thirsty, or force them to hold their bladders for extended periods of time.

She realizes that this is an uphill battle.

“For us there are no shortcuts,” Garner says. “We are building power that is durable around a vision that is urgent and inevitable.” ◆

Thomas, Lift Every Voice Philly executive director

Shanée Garner and Stori McLeod experience the joy of bubbles.

“If I was like, ‘Hey, could you babysit my kid?’ And then you sit him down for 8 hours and give him 12 minutes of stand-up time, it would be unconscionable.”

SHANÉE GARNER, executive director and founder of Lift Every Voice Philly

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LACKING THE BASICS

More than 10,000 students in Philadelphia don’t have adequate housing. Funding and stigma can get in the way of them getting what they need

by CONSTANCE GARCIA-BARRIO

BEFORE HER MOTHER DIED in 2020 at age 46 of heart failure, complicated by diabetes, lupus and lung disease, Lelache Word (aka Lela), then 15, was living in Arizona with her mother, stepfather and step-siblings. Strapped by her mother’s staggering medical bills, the family sometimes slept in the car or hotels.

After her mother’s death, Word moved to her birth father’s home in Philadelphia to attend high school. What happened there sank her hopes. “My father drank heavily and was abusive,” says Word. “I would run away from home, stay with a friend, and at rare times, in a shelter. People steal there.”

Word became one of 40,003 Pennsylvania students experiencing homelessness, the number cited in a 2023 report published by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

About one fourth of Pennsylvania’s public school students experiencing homelessness in the 2022-2023 school year lived in Philadelphia, with more than 10,000 with inadequate housing in the School District of Philadelphia, according to the district’s Education for Children & Youth Experiencing Homelessness (ECYEH), in the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. The number is likely below the actual total, according to ECYEH, which works to reduce or eliminate educational barriers to students experiencing homelessness

Like Word, the majority of Pennsylvania young people living in inadequate housing are students of color, reports the Education Law Center (ELC). “Due to centuries of systemic racism and other pervasive forms of discrimination in housing … people of color

in our country and [state] … are often prevented from accessing permanent, stable and adequate housing,” says ELC’s 2023 legal analysis on the rights of students experiencing homelessness.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, passed by Congress in 1987, provides help for students experiencing homelessness, but school districts often struggle to identify these students. The situation can mean that students without stable housing continue living exposed to physical danger and without basic needs like healthcare. Several Philadelphia groups have stepped in to offer help.

The School District of Philadelphia follows the McKinney-Vento definition of homelessness, which includes living in hotels, motels, campgrounds, cars, trailer parks and public spaces such as train stations. Couch-surfing in friends’ homes or “doubling up” with relatives — the most common situation — also counts.

Each school assigns a McKinney-Vento liaison — often a school counselor, administrator or social worker — responsible for identifying young people experiencing homelessness and ensuring that McKinney-Vento requirements are met. Teachers may be the first to notice signs, such as many absences and frequently missing homework, that could mean a lack of stable housing, says Villanova University associate professor of education and counseling Stacey Havlik, a former middle school counselor who sometimes had contact with students experiencing homelessness.

Once found eligible under McKinneyVento, students can receive enrollment as-

sistance, uniforms and supplies, transportation support, emergency funds, clothing, academic and emotional-support services and other resources, says ECYEH.

Identifying McKinney-Vento eligible students is a school’s legal responsibility, but it can be a tough task. ELC staff attorney Paige Joki says it’s the chief roadblock to an education for students experiencing homelessness. “Many schools don’t use a universalized survey to determine if a student is McKinney-Vento eligible,” she says. “Also, when the student’s status is in dispute, that student should be treated as McKinney-Vento eligible until the dispute is resolved, including exhausting all appeals.” That doesn’t always happen, Joki says, meaning many students are deprived of education, resources and, possibly, the only stable place in the child’s life.

To further complicate matters, children’s parents and guardians may hide their housing status for fear that they will be reported to a child welfare agency, Havlik says. If they’re living with relatives due to loss of housing, they may not consider themselves homeless and remain unaware of potential support. For example, if their child needs glasses or hearing aids, the family could miss out on that assistance.

Some young people experiencing homelessness are entirely alone. “A … girl was kicked out of her home due to a conflict,” says Alyssa Weinfurtner, MSW, director of emergency services for Philadelphia at Valley Youth House. “She went from relative to relative, then found us,” Weinfurtner says.

In other cases, families throw out LGBTQ+ young people because of their sexuality or

gender identity, according to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on preventing the suicide of LGBTQ+ youth. These young people have “two to four times the risk of reporting depression, anxiety, self-harm, considering suicide and attempting it, compared with their peers with stable housing,” the organization’s February 2022 report says.

Stigma often complicates matters too, says Melissa Tsuei, manager of the Thrive Project, a program of HopePHL, a nonprofit that offers housing, advocacy and trauma-informed social services to children, youth and families. Thrive works with the school district and provides housing for unhoused students. “Students are deeply reluctant to say that they’re experiencing homelessness,” Tsuei says. It’s not cool to be a homeless teen, as one teacher puts it.

“Lela is unusual in being transparent,” Tsuei says. That forthrightness helped her. One of Word’s friends witnessed her father

Students are deeply reluctant to say that they’re experiencing homelessness.”

MELISSA TSUEI, Thrive Project

being abusive to her and understood that Word needed to move in with her immediately. Thrive also assisted Word with information about youth and young adult housing.

Tsuei spoke of the importance of changing the narrative so that the public views homelessness not as a personal failure but as a systems failure — as a lack of support for families — which could reduce the

shame and stigma of not having a home. It was Word’s family’s lack of medical access combined with the housing crisis that left them homeless, Tsuei says. “It is well-documented … that our systems are built for some and not for others.”

Once a student is found to be McKinney-Vento eligible, it pays to tackle basics first, Havlik says. “There is a hierarchy of need,” she says. “These young people need food, clothing and shelter before they can attend to learning.” Another researcher spoke of picturing a homeless preschooler trying to adjust to the newness of a classroom on an empty stomach.

Transportation is another major problem, according to Joki. “Students living doubled up may stay in three different places over the course of the week and require transportation from each place,” she says. “Or they may need specialized transportation. A disproportionate number of young people

experiencing homelessness has a disability.”

McKinney-Vento also provides funds for tutoring, a key provision since young people experiencing homelessness are twice as likely to repeat a grade as compared to their adequately housed counterparts, says the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). “More than one-fifth of homeless preschoolers have emotional problems serious enough to require professional care, but less than one-third [of those who need it] receive any treatment,” NCTSN’s 2005 report says.

Word’s mother seems to have been perceptive in that respect. “My mother always made sure that we got [psychological] counseling,” Word says. In addition, Thrive referred Word to programs to support her physical and emotional health.

ELC’s Joki says that the McKinney-Vento Act requires that schools treat inadequately housed children with sensitivity — for example, guarding their privacy — but some schools go a step further, pairing students with teachers with whom they’ve formed a bond.

Word praised the behavioral health counselor at Strawberry Mansion High School. “Mr. Pedersen helped me pull myself together,” she says. “I was able to finish because of all of the teachers who supported me. Mrs. Pedersen [in Emotional Support] helped me too. I could go in her room and nap when I needed to.” Thrive staff members met regularly with the Pedersens, who are married, to discuss how best to help Word graduate on time.

Schools could also help by eliminating fees for things like replacing an ID or fines for not having a hall pass. “Sometimes students are penalized for having a cell phone when it’s the only way they can stay in touch with their family,” Joki says. “You want to remove barri-

HOW YOU CAN HELP

✔ Contact a nearby school to find out what supplies or services are needed for students experiencing homelessness and how to make donations.

✔ Volunteer as a tutor during school hours and through summer school programs.

✔ Call your councilperson and ask what they are doing to address family and youth homelessness, including ensuring access to affordable housing for unsheltered children.

✔ Call your state representative and senator and explain the importance of funding schools to meet the needs of students experiencing homelessness.

ers to students’ crossing the finish line.”

A cash crunch may limit McKinney-Vento’s effectiveness, some researchers believe. The funding stands at about $500,000 this year. “Some say that McKinney-Vento is aspirational in nature because there is not enough money to provide the services it calls for,” Havlik says.

In the past, the City has given low priority to helping children experiencing homelessness, says David Fair, executive director of Turning Points for Children, a nonprofit that serves vulnerable families. “Children and youth were an afterthought in the shelter system,” he says.

That situation may change, thanks to the hearing on homeless students in the school district convened on July 31, 2024 by City Councilmember-at-large Isaiah Thomas, chair of the Education Committee. “There’s … uncertainty with federal dollars running out,” he says, emphasizing that the city should develop a plan to aid children and

youth experiencing homelessness, whose numbers could rise with the housing crisis. He promised more meetings on the topic and possible legislation.

Valley Youth House’s Weinfurtner spoke of large service gaps that could come about with federal funds provided during the COVID-19 pandemic about to expire. “We need to look at what other cities have done,” she says. “If a young person doesn’t finish high school, they’re four times as likely to experience homelessness in the future.”

Support can turn around the lives of unhoused young people, Havlik says. Students experiencing homelessness have the potential to be extremely successful, she says. “They are some of the most resilient students in the school system,” she says. “They get up, get to school and do their homework despite everything. It’s our job to remove barriers so that they can attend and be successful in school.”

Word’s plans seem to bear her out. “I want to attend college for psychology, then I want to get a beautician’s license,” she says. “People could come in [my shop] and get counseling and get their hair done. It’s to honor my mother. She always did her makeup, she was always glowing.” ◆

WHERE TO GET HELP

✔ If you, your child or someone you know is experiencing homelessness, see your school’s guidance counselor or your school district’s McKinney-Vento liaison.

✔ If you’re a Pennsylvania resident with questions about the law or your rights, contact the Education Law Center at (267) 541-3471.

FINDING YOUR PEOPLE

Internship program empowers teens to learn, lead and organize around environmental and housing justice

story and photos by KRISTEN HARRISON

ON A CHILLY NIGHT in Febru-

ary, a group of young people gathered on the steps of City Hall, armed with hand-painted artwork, prepared speeches, chants and community speakers; the Philly Thrive interns had organized a press conference to support housing justice in Grays Ferry. They were calling on City Council to support affordable housing legislation and hold a public meeting to discuss increased development and displacement.

Though just a handful of people showed up to listen, the direct action still made a significant impact. Impressed by the teens’ initiative, City Council president Kenyatta Johnson contacted a Philly Thrive organizer that evening, expressing interest in meeting to discuss the campaign’s demands.

“It reached the person it was meant for,” 16-year-old Nyla Bilaal says.

Bilaal was among 10 Philly high schoolers who last spring completed an intern-

ship organized by Philly Thrive, a multiracial, cross-class environmental justice organization based in Grays Ferry. Named in honor of the late Carol Hemingway — a fierce community organizer who championed youth leadership — the program aims to empower teens to build on their existing talents while encouraging them to explore new roles, rather than simply inundating them with information.

“They’re full people with these great ideas and viewpoints, and a lot of them have experienced these things already firsthand,” says Arika Gold-Bustos, Philly Thrive’s leadership development coordinator. Gold-Bustos adds, “We ask, what is it that you want to do? What is it that you want to say? And how does that align with your creativity?”

In the first half of the year, the interns built close relationships with one another and explored their connections to various issues through workshops on environmen-

tal and racial justice, conflict resolution, knowing your rights and crafting personal narratives. In the second semester, they immersed themselves in Philly Thrive’s two campaigns: one advocating for justice in the redevelopment of the 1,300-acre former PES oil refinery site, and another focusing on securing safe, affordable housing amid rising displacement and gentrification.

Throughout the program, Bilaal noticed her problem-solving skills improving. Listening to her fellow interns’ perspectives gave her better insight into their viewpoints and helped her find ways to combine ideas more effectively. “I tied that to my real life as well. It’s not just useful for me, it’s useful for other people. It prevents conflict,” says Bilaal.

Both she and fellow intern Aster Chau found an empowering environment at Philly Thrive. “I felt so comfortable, there wasn’t the shame of not knowing stuff that is often associated with school,” Chau shared. “At Philly Thrive, it was more like, ‘Oh, you don’t know this? I’d love to teach you about it.’” Bilaal adds. “I feel like I’m walking into a family gathering, like I’m meant to be there, like I have a purpose and my voice is heard.”

The internship program is just one of the many ways Philly Thrive engages young people in the fight for environmental justice. Other initiatives include a summer camp, weekly events and Alternatives to Gun Violence, a program focused on building emotional and social skills. The organization also reserves two of its board positions each term for young people. This year’s internship program is currently underway with new participants and a self-directed youth circle led by former interns is on the horizon.

Chau completed the program with a renewed call to solidarity. Now a junior and the president of Academy at Palumbo’s environmental club, their mission this year is to collaborate with organizations across the city. “You can never organize alone, especially as a youth organizer,” Chau says. “The struggle of trying to do it yourself is quite literally impossible. It was really nice to find my people.”

Philly Thrive interns got City Hall’s attention during their February protest for housing justice.

This page: LandHealth Institute programs manager Phoebe Miller guides the evening’s boaters around a portion of the Schuylkill River in East Falls. Opposite: Boaters load in and prepare for a night of kayaking on the upper Schuylkill outside the Philadelphia Canoe Club.

ROLLIN’ ON THE RIVER

A new paddling program gets Philadelphians onto the Schuylkill, free of charge story and photos by KRISTEN HARRISON

ON A DOCK where Wissahickon Creek meets the Schuylkill River, LandHealth Institute deputy director Mayci Shimon steadies kayaks as paddlers carefully shimmy in, some for the first time. Despite the rumble of SEPTA traffic on a nearby bridge, the Philadelphia Canoe Club offers a serene escape. Nestled away, the historic, 119-year-old house aglow with the twilight sunset serves as one of LandHealth’s bases for their inaugural summer paddling events. Through this new program, anyone can hop in a kayak and explore the water at no cost, no experience necessary.

This year LandHealth set out on a mission to increase public access on Philadelphia’s upper Schuylkill, thanks to a grant from the William Penn Foundation. Shimon recalls that the process of finding launch points was more challenging than expected. “It’s been a lot of trial and error, but something that we’ve been really passionate about trying to improve and provide. There isn’t a lot of opportunity up here to

get on the water unless you’re paying to be in a rowing club.”

After an extensive search, LandHealth identified three sites enthusiastic to host free guided paddles and open community kayaking days: the Dragon Boat Dock on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, East Falls River Landing and the Philadelphia Canoe Club. Throughout the summer, guided paddles and open-style boating days alternate between these locations.

The program is complemented by weekly water quality tests conducted with the assistance of Riverways , a collaboration of six nonprofit organizations (including LandHealth) dedicated to connecting the Philadelphia and Camden communities to urban waters. Stefanie Kroll, Riverways’ project director, emphasizes that our river systems aren’t as dirty as many believe. While heavy rainfall can cause combined sewer systems to release runoff and sewage into the water — which Kroll estimates happens about 50 times a year — industrial pollution has significantly decreased. Addi-

tionally, the upper portion of the Schuylkill north of Boathouse Row is free from combined sewer systems.

Fourteen-year-old Justin Seahorn feels the transformative effects of being out on the water. “It’s a really cleansing thing to do. It calms me down, and it’s also a good workout,” he says. Seahorn is a LandHealth “ProFESSer,” part of the Program for Future Environmental Scientists and Stewards (ProFESS). This discovery program enables students to learn about and become stewards of their natural environment, exploring known but often overlooked places. “It’s fortifying my knowledge. We go to those places and learn about what happens right under our noses,” Seahorn explains.

For Shimon, the rainbow array of kayaks on an urban waterway mainly dominated by crew shells and dragon boats is a welcome sight and a step toward expanding recreation on the Schuylkill. “It’s that rhetoric of the more you’re interacting and in touch with something, the more you’re likely to care for it,” she says. “It’s very true.” ◆

The more you’re interacting and in touch with something, the more you’re likely to care for it.”

MAYCI SHIMON, LandHealth Institute deputy director

BUDDING BOTANISTS

Watershed fellows teach practical knowledge and artistic expression at environmental centers

by SIANI COLÓN

ON YET ANOTHER wet weekend, a group of ten braced a downpour to walk along the trails of Strawberry Mansion’s Discovery Center for a wild plant tour. Their journey began at the trail entrance, where an innocuous weed was growing. Tour guide Lady Danni Morinich, a local herbalist and forager, identified the plant as yellow dock and shared that it was also edible. Foragers passed around a bit of the leaf to munch on, a daring start to the rest of the morning. Offered a bite, one teen quickly shook their head, wary. “Just wait until the apocalypse,” Morinich replied to resounding laughter, partly joking but partly warning of a possible future when such plant knowledge is necessary.

The walk was part of one of many programs organized by fellows from the Alliance for Watershed Education of the Delaware River (AWE), a coalition of environmental education centers increasing their collective impact in the watershed, this summer. The fellowship assigned 17 young adults to different centers to develop a project that would lead to increased engagement in the protection of waterways and parks. Some fellows created park toolkits with interactive games and guides, while others, such as Charlotte Spence and Jayla Clark, focused on urban botany. Spence and Clark’s projects gave community members a hands-on opportunity to access useful plant knowledge and foster connection to nature in urban environments.

Catalogs That Connect

Berries that taste like Hawaiian Punch, natural antiseptics and treatments for sunburns are just a few of the things you can find on the grounds of the Discovery Center — and Spence is determined to identify as many useful plants as possible. Working alongside the Audubon Mid-Atlantic, she documented plant life at the center to create a field guide as the capstone project for her fellowship.

“Native plants are a crucial part of watershed conservation,” Spence says. “They have natural filtration, prevent flooding and bank erosion, and provide crucial habitats for birds and pollinators.”

“My Native Plant Field Guide” includes an introduction about native plants’ impor-

PHOTOS BY CHRIS BAKER EVENS

Alliance for Watershed Education fellows Jayla Clark (left) and Charlotte Spence spent their summers connecting Philadelphians with the plants growing around them.

tance and ecological benefits, and an identification guide to different species with physical descriptions, photos and lists of pollinators the plants attract.

For Spence, 22, it was a full circle moment. When she was child, her mother found an old Audubon Society native plant pocket guide; Spence says she claimed it as her own and filled the pages — even though she didn’t yet know how to write. Underneath the depictions of flowers were the colorful scribbles of a budding botanist.

Her path solidified in high school as she began participating in climate justice activism and later pursued a degree in environmental studies at Oberlin College in Ohio. “I’ve been slowly trying to figure out how to put these passions to work,” Spence says.

The AWE summer fellowship seemed to be a step in the right direction as it wedded Spence’s interests in urban sustainability, greenspaces and collaboration. “Connectivity and community is the cornerstone of environmental work,” Spence says. “I wanted to be part of a program that emphasized that connectivity between all these different environmental centers that had similar goals.”

Spence offered workshops to help people engage with the guide. She taught how to make native seed and clay soil balls that can be tossed anywhere to spread native plants; hosted a wild plant tour with Morinich; and offered a class on cooking with Japanese knotweed, an edible invasive plant that can also be used to make paper and ink.

“Just because it isn’t native and benefi-

Connectivity and community is the cornerstone of environmental work.”

CHARLOTTE SPENCE, AWE fellow

cial to these specific environments does not mean it doesn’t have abundant beneficial qualities,” Spence says.

During the educational walk with Morinich, she warned of the influx of AI-generated foraging books, often filled with dangerously wrong information. In a time where misinformation is rampant, the need for verified catalogs of what’s growing around us and their properties is becoming increasingly important.

Steve Miller, a Brewerytown resident, is an avid birder who relates the experience of birding to that of foraging and plant identification.

“One of the things that birding taught me is the abundance of life that is around you at all times. Going on this walk and learning about the other things that are out there while I’m out birding will make the experience even more interesting,” Miller says.

Sowing Seeds of Sentimentality

At the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Clark, 19, combined botany with art. Clark grew up nearby the center, visiting and volunteering for years, and considers it “a second home.” This was her second summer as a fellow there.

“I always felt comfortable and happy when I was surrounded by nature so I feel like it’s my duty to protect and conserve and advocate for the kind of environments I love and want to see myself in,” Clark says.

For her capstone project, Clark led a planta-card workshop where she taught participants to make a plantable seed card from recycled paper. She cultivated sun, shade and container-friendly mixes that would thrive in different environments and included seeds for natives like spotted beebalm, foxglove beardtongue, bellflowers and milkweed.

“It was a way for me to merge my interest in art with environmental advocacy and sustainability, and my way of bringing that to the people who go to the Schuylkill Center and that kind of outreach to people who don’t.”

Clark reached out to local organizations that focused on engaging people of color in urban natural environments, such as In Color Birding and Black Girls with Green Thumbs. She says about 70% of workshop participants were people of color and about 50% were families — which was her goal.

“To introduce planting to families who aren’t accustomed to it and want to get their feet into planting, especially with natives,” she says. “As I’m becoming more experienced in this field, I’m realizing just how important it is that everyone is included in this fight and in this effort because it’s affecting everyone.”

Growing Towards the Future

Both Clark and Spence say the fellowship was an impactful experience.

Clark says she feels equipped with new knowledge in anticipation of returning to her regular educator position in the fall at the Schuylkill Center. Spence says it was challenging for her not to plant more natives; she recognized that maintenance would be the responsibility of someone else after the fellowship ended. “I wanted [the capstone] to be something that could survive on its own, without me,” Spence says.

A highlight for both fellows was meeting new people, both those well-versed in environmental issues and newbies. Clark is excited to potentially work with environmental artists and join like-minded collectives moving forward.

Spence says that interacting with the environment at the Discovery Center and engaging with people along the way has not only taught her more about plants, but also reciprocity.

“The way that I learn best is by being out here and constantly exploring different parts of the watershed,” Spence says. “And seeing how different parts of the system interact with each other and sustain each other taught me so much about local environments in Philadelphia and as a whole.” ◆

IF IT’S BROKE DON’T FIX IT

Last year, school advocates sensed an opening to finally turn the corner on asbestos, lead and HVAC issues that have long plagued Philly schools. It didn’t pan out

by KYLE BAGENSTOSE

FOR GENERATIONS, countless students and teachers have braved the asbestos, lead, mold and other hazards lurking within century-old nooks and crannies of Philadelphia public school buildings. It sure looks like yet another generation may face the dangers anew.

Even after a substantial increase in education funding was negotiated in the State Capitol this summer, a closer analysis shows money set aside to address dangerous conditions in schools is negligible. State lawmakers allocated some $8.2 billion in education funding this year, including a

$1.1 billion boost from last year following a consequential state court decision. But just $100 million (1.2%) is being set aside for school facilities statewide, an amount that would likely only be enough to pay for about two new schools.

Arthur Steinberg, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) union, told Grid in August 2023 that there was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get things on the right track.” But Steinberg now says the facilities backlog in Philadelphia has only grown and that absent an intervention from Harrisburg, “more federal money” is needed.

Councilmember Kendra Brooks, a for-

mer teacher, agrees. “We’re talking about a need of more than $7 billion,” Brooks says. “That’s more than the City budget … we need an investment of federal dollars.”

However, federal funding, aside from expiring emergency relief money tied to COVID-19, typically amounts to only about 0.4% of the school district’s budget. And no official identified a specific pot of federal money that could readily help.

A building problem

The latest rash of closures of School District of Philadelphia (SDP) buildings last year due to asbestos hazards — totalling seven

Frankford High School abruptly closed in the middle of the spring 2023 semester when asbestos was found. The school is set to fully reopen in 2025.

— offered a fresh reminder of the dangers of the City’s aging physical assets. Notably, Frankford High School students and faculty are split between a newer wing of the building and Roberto Clemente Middle School while the district plans $19.9 million in renovations to abate asbestos and fully reopen the historic high school next year.

But union officials say the fix is just the latest in a long-running game of Whac-a-Mole, where acute crises are resolved even as the overall facilities backlog gets worse every year and environmental health risks fester.

Jerry Roseman, director of environmental science and occupational safety and health for PFT, says the district doesn’t publicly specify just how big its facilities backlog is. Instead, Roseman applies an industry-standard calculation that estimates an entity like the school district should spend the equivalent of about 6% of the value of its buildings on capital improvements and maintenance annually. That comes out to about $1.1 billion a year for SDP.

“They don’t have that,” Roseman says.

Steinberg adds that the union calculates the district’s overall facilities backlog has thus grown to about $7 billion in deferred maintenance, which “doesn’t include buildings that should probably be replaced.”

Statements sent to Grid by SDP deputy chief of communications Monique Braxton and attributed to district leadership pointed to a summary of the district’s 2025 budget, which shows a planned average expendi-

We’re talking about a need of more than $7 billion. That’s more than the City budget … we need an investment of federal dollars.”

KENDRA BROOKS, City Councilmember

ture of $471 million annually on facilities through 2030.

The district added that it has made “significant strides” and investments in addressing environmental issues, including spending $55 million in 2024 and a planned $61 million next year. Such expenditures support, among other measures, twice annual inspections of asbestos-containing buildings; the installation of nearly 2,000 lead-filtering hydration stations thus far toward a goal of one per every 100 students; and the installation of 540 air conditioning units across district facilities last year.

“Of the 58 schools that are inadequately cooled, 20 are scheduled for capital improvement projects,” the district says, while stipulating that, “many of our buildings cannot accommodate new AC systems because of the demand on outdated electrical systems.”

From hope to nope

Even as protective plastic sheeting descended in the halls of Frankford last year, hope for something better citywide was rising. Public education advocates have long decried the State’s education funding formula as unfair, as it leaves public schools heavily reliant on local tax dollars, a major problem in cash-strapped cities like Philadelphia. A monumental Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania decision in February 2023 applied an even heftier adjective: unconstitutional.

The decision required lawmakers to fix statewide educational funding inequity. That placed intense focus on this year’s budget deliberations, as Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro and his colleagues in the Democratically-controlled State House negotiated with the Republican-controlled State Senate.

Anticipating a possible influx of funding from the process, PFT leadership, Brooks and other local officials looked to the school district to release a new facilities master plan this year so any new money could be

quickly and strategically implemented. Turns out, neither the cash nor the plan to spend it have arrived.

When the state budget was finalized in July, reactions were mixed. The Shapiro administration framed the $1.1 billion in new funding as “historic.” MaryLouise Isaacson, a Democratic state representative whose district stretches from Fishtown to Queen Village and who sits on the state education committee, graded it a “B-plus to A-minus.” The portion of the funding going specifically to close statewide funding inequities – $526 million – is well below what’s needed, but is also viewed as a first step in a multiyear push to comply with the court decision.

But seemingly missing is a fix for facilities, which according to June 2024 reporting in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, remained a bargaining chip into the 11th hour of negotiations. Shapiro had proposed a separate fund of $300 million while some Republicans questioned the need for the state to provide any facility funding at all. Particularly in dispute was “PlanCon,” a dormant state program that financed school construction and repair: while Democrats like Philaelphia’s Democratic State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler pushed legislation to revive PlanCon, Republican opponents decried it as inefficient.

“Anything that is remotely like PlanCon should not be considered. Because the bureaucracy of that was, frankly, untenable,” Republican Senate majority leader Joe Pittman told the Post-Gazette.

In the end, just $100 million was set aside for facilities, Isaacson says, placed in a fund within the state Commonwealth Financing Authority, which will administer it through a competitive grant process. Several officials suggested Philadelphia won’t be the first in line as districts elsewhere deal with their own long-deferred backlogs. The funding isn’t transformative anyway: in one case last year, $145 million in federal funding awarded to SDP paid for just three new school

City Councilmember Kendra Brooks’ experience as a teacher and a parent has given her an appreciation of school funding challenges.

buildings, in a district with well over 200. Which explains Isaacson’s downgrading, she says. “I would have liked more for facilities. That should have been more of a priority.”

Meanwhile, the district has yet to release a facilities plan, even though SDP superintendent Tony Watlington said at a City Council hearing last summer that one would be finalized by June 2024, Billy Penn reported at the time.

In an email, the district confirmed that “the plan is in its initial development phase.”

“One of the difficulties they’re running into now is the data they started to collect is going to be outdated by the time they come out with a plan,” Steinberg says.

Signs of hope are few and flickering. Steinberg says Watlington’s administration acknowledges the severity of the facilities problem and continues to get a “little better as far as cooperating goes.” The district says it has placed on its website “room-by-room logs and inspection reports that show every school building and the exact location and condition of asbestos” at the time of last inspection.

Some local officials wondered whether the $137 million in new equity-driven education funding SDP is receiving this year could free up money elsewhere in its budget to be spent on facilities. But district officials told Grid that due to the expiration of COVID-19 relief funding this year, the district is actually expecting a budget shortfall of $88.6 million, which will balloon to $404.2 million in 2026.

It’s uncertain whether more state money for facilities could help close that gap as education advocates fight budget battles in the years ahead; Brooks says the district’s creation of a facilities master plan could prove valuable in lobbying for more. But even as the dust continues to settle on the Commonwealth Court decision, it’s getting harder to see where a significant overhaul of the district’s buildings enters the picture anytime soon.

“We’re talking about decades of underfunding,” Brooks says. “It’s going to take time for it to get where it needs to be.” ◆

GREEN PAGES

BIKE SHOP

Firth & Wilson

Transport Cycles

Full-service bicycle shop specializing in transportation & cargo bicycles, including electric assist. Brands include Brompton & Tern. South Kensington & South Philly locations. transportcycle.com

Trophy Bikes

We specialize in the ingenious Brompton Bicycle, made & designed in London to save you time — and space — with its fast, compact fold. Open Wed-Sat, 12-6 pm at 133 S. 23rd St. On the Web @trophybikes

BOOK STORE

Books & Stuff

They can ban books in our libraries and schools, but they can’t ban the books in your home library. Grow your home library! Black woman-owned online shop for children, teens & adults. booksandstuff.info

COMPOSTING

Back to Earth Compost Crew

Residential curbside compost pick-up, commercial pick-up, five collection sites & compost education workshops. Montgomery County & parts of Chester County. First month free trial. backtoearthcompost.com

Bennett Compost

The area’s longest running organics collection service (est 2009) serving all of Philadelphia with residential and commercial pickups and locally-made soil products. 215.520.2406 bennettcompost.com

Circle Compost

We’re a woman-owned hyper-local business. We offer 2 or 5 gallon buckets & haul with e-bikes & motor vehicles. We offer finished compost, lawn waste pickups & commercial services. 30 day free trial! circlecompost. com

EATS

The Franklin Fountain

The Franklin Fountain now offers returnable reusable pints of ice cream in Vanilla Bean, Chocolate & Caramelized Banana! Our ice cream is made with PA dairy & all natural ingredients. franklinfountain.com

EDUCATION

Kimberton Waldorf School

A holistic education for students in preschool12th grade. Emphasizes creativity, critical thinking, nature, the arts & experiential learning. Register for an Open House! (610) 933-3635 kimberton.org

ELECTRICIAN

Echo House Electric

Local electrician who works to provide highquality results on private & public sector projects including old buildings, new construction, residential, commercial & institutional. Minority business. echohouseelectric.com

FARM

Hope Hill Lavender Farm

Established in 2011, our farm offers shopping for made-on-premise lavender products in a scenic environment. Honey, bath & body, teas, candles, lavender essential oil and more. hopehilllavenderfarm.com

FASHION

Philly AIDS Thrift

As a nonprofit thrift store, our goal is to sell the lovely, useful items that people donate & distribute the proceeds to local organizations involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. phillyaidsthrift.com

Stitch And Destroy

STITCH AND DESTROY creates upcycled alternative fashions and accessories from preloved clothing and textile waste. The STITCH AND DESTROY storefront opens May 4th at 523 S 4th St. stitchanddestroy.com

GREEN BURIAL

Laurel Hill

With our commitment to sustainability, Laurel Hill Cemeteries & Funeral Home specializes in green burials and funerals, has a variety of ecofriendly products to choose from, and offers pet aquamation. laurelhillphl.com

GREEN CLEANING

Holistic Home LLC

Philly’s original green cleaning service, est 2010. Handmade & hypoallergenic products w/ natural ingredients & essential oils. Safe for kids, pets & our cleaners. 215-421-4050 HolisticHomeLLC@gmail.com

GROCERY

Kimberton Whole Foods

A family-owned and operated natural grocery store with seven locations in Southeastern PA, selling local, organic and sustainably-grown food for over thirty years. kimbertonwholefoods. com

MAKERS

Mount Airy Candle Co.

Makers of uniquely scented candles, handcrafted perfumery and body care products. Follow us on Instagram @mountairycandleco and find us at retailers throughout Greater Philadelphia. mountairycandle.com

Tombino.shop

Manhole Covers from the world over permanently etched into Functional Art. Cork Coasters, Trivets. Wood Magnets & Wall Art. Hand-drawn & Handmade in Philadelphia. From Aalborg to Zurich get your city! tombino.shop

WELLNESS

Center City Breathe

Hello, Philadelphia. Are you ready to breathe? centercitybreathe.com

October is Co-op Month October is Co-op Month

Co-ops are locally-owned, community-based organizations that keep the local economy strong. All are welcome at the Co-op. Find local farm goods and Philly-owned brands alongside your everyday grocery essentials.

Weavers Way Co•op

Ambler • Chestnut Hill • Germantown • Mt. Airy

Community-owned grocery, pet and wellness stores + two Philadelphia farms.

“Corporate sustainability is a great stepping stone for other career moves. Then you can move on to something more specific, whether it’s precision agriculture, corporate communications, procurement, sales, or marketing. All of my students are very intelligent, very technical people, and I explain to them that’s the basis for what you need to get in the door. [But] you also have to be able to work on a team, communicate, negotiate, and be flexible.”

Linda Froelich Master of Environmental Studies instructor

ENVS 5220 Sustainable Agriculture and Product Stewardship ENVS 6530 Corporate Sustainability Strategies