Cleaning & Greening

Northwest Greening Initiative

Dates of Operation: Ongoing

Description: OARC was awarded $250,000 to plant and maintain hundreds of trees in commercial and residential neighborhoods throughout Northwest Philadelphia. This amount was added to OARC's existing $1.1 million grant from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), which has been used to green and beautify the traffic islands at Broad and 66th Streets, plant trees in West & East Oak Lane, Nicetown, Germantown, Chestnut Hill and Wadsworth/Cedarbrook, and perform much needed tree maintenance at Awbury Park and Waterview & Morton Recreation Centers.

This program was initiated to create an attractive environment that will encourage people to live, work and play in the Northwest section of Philadelphia. OARC's greening initiative supports a landscaping training program that employs local apprentices, helping to redirect resources back into the community.

Accomplishments:

  • Winner of first, second and third prize in the "Gate Way Gardens" category of the PA Horticultural Society's "2006 City Gardens Contest"
  • Planted hundreds of trees throughout Northwest Philadelphia.
  • Greened and beautified numerous areas in West Oak Lane and other communities throughout Northwest Philadelphia, including traffic islands at these locations:
    • Washington Lane & Ogontz Avenue
    • 7100-7200 Ogontz Avenue
    • Broad Street & 65th Street
    • Stenton Avenue & Washington Lane
    • Haines Street & Ogontz Avenue
    • Ogontz Avenue & 19th Street
  • Coordinated a major clean-up of an environmentally contaminated site on Haines Street, off Stenton Avenue. The site is now a beautiful, open green space available for community use.
  • OARC has selected Advanced GeoSystems (the firm that developed the master site plan for Martin Luther King High School) to conduct a planning study on re-designing portions of Awbury Park. The planning process will include an opportunity for community input and will last through the winter, with construction starting in late spring 2007.

Partners: West Oak Lane Tree Tenders, East Oak Lane Tree Tenders, Awbury Arboretum, Awbury Landscaping Services, the PA Dept. of Community & Natural Resources

Funders: PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)

Park Revitalization

Date of Operation: ongoing

Description: OARC is currently coordinating a planning study regarding the revitalization of Awbury Park, Waterview Recreation Center, and Morton Park in Germantown.

Partners: West Oak Lane Tree Tenders, East Oak Lane Tree Tenders, Awbury Arboretum, the PA Dept. of Community & Natural Resources

Funders: Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Northwest Cleaning Initiative

Dates of Operation: Ongoing

Description: OARC implemented this program in 2003 on Ogontz Avenue because of numerous complaints from residents about the conditions of the commercial corridors. A year later, it was extended to encompass Stenton Avenue and surrounding corridors. OARC is actively working towards broadening the impact of this initiative.

Accomplishments:

  • OARC currently owns two street cleaning machines, which are operated by OARC's Maintenance Department
  • The program covers approximately five miles a day
  • We collect approximately 500 cubic yards of litter per year