Urban Tree Connection engages the community through a variety of programs which are available to residents of all ages. Collectively, these programs are UTC’s Growing Healthy Initiative. Growing Healthy programs began as after-school and summer camps which provided opportunities for children to spend time outdoors, engaged in creative play and active learning through gardening activities. As our children outgrew those programs, UTC realized that not only could we lose the very close and trusted relationships we’ve cultivated over the years, but it's that we could possibly lose those children to the streets. This prompted UTC to create programs for our pre-teens and teens which would pay them a stipend, and teach them job-related responsibilities, behaviors and employable skills.
Although the Growing Healthy Initiative has always engaged Haddington adults in forming neighborhood associations, fresh produce delivery routes and cooking classes, we wanted to engage more adults. In 2010, Urban Tree Connection was named Conservator of a ¾ acre tract of land, which we have built into a community farm, and from which we provide produce for our farmers’ markets. Neighborhood Foods urban farm co-op, and farmers’ markets have afforded Urban Tree Connection the ability to engage many more adults and seniors as we strive together to grow fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs in this food desert, and make fresh food accessible to Haddington residents in their own neighborhood.
Click here to view Urban Tree Connection Reports for 2010.
Click here to see curriculum developed for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Environmental Curriculum Grant (available for download).
Children's programs aged 4 – 18 years
Each After-school and summer children’s program takes an informal approach to educational
enrichment, fostering creative play, discovery and active learning in a natural setting.
► Pearl & Conestoga Street Garden Club
Location
55th & Pearl Streets Haddington, West Philadelphia 19131
When we meet
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4pm to 6pm during the growing season April through October.
What we do
This club tends the seasonal vegetable garden, berry patches, fruit orchard and native
plantings at 55th and Pearl Streets. Recently, 10 additional raised-beds were added to expand
the site and food production.
There are picnic tables for homework help, environmental crafts projects, lessons in the life
sciences, reading circles & storytelling, salad-making parties, and cookouts using produce from
our garden, grown by the children. Painting murals, and neighborhood parades on Earth Day
and the Halloween Harvest Festival are also part of the season’s events.
These children and their families, also participate in cooking demonstrations designed to teach
residents to cook the garden produce, in a healthful and tasty way.
► Teens-Go-Green at The Memorial Garden
Location
536 North 54th Street 19131 Haddington, West Philadelphia
When we meet
Wednesdays from 4pm to 6pm.
What we do
The Memorial Garden is the central training site for this teen apprenticeship program. Teens
apprentice under the supervision of experienced UTC landscaping staff by maintaining our 10
Haddington gardens sites while developing the job skills and behaviors needed to secure future
employment. Youth who do well in this program and want to make a career of landscaping
may be offered further training and employment on the Teens-Go-Green crew.
► Pennsgrove Garden Club
Location
516 N 53rd Street Haddington, West Philadelphia
When we meet
Wednesdays from 4pm to 6pm April through October.
What we do
This fledgling children’s program is establishing and maintaining an herb and perennial garden
to add to the products for sale through our farm cooperative, Neighborhood Foods. Children
meet weekly to tend their garden, participate in Reading Circle, visit Neighborhood Foods
central farm, and engage in hands-on environmental learning activities.
► Sickels Street
Location
5427 Haverford Avenue Haddington, West Philadelphia
When we meet
Wednesdays from 4pm to 6pm.
What we do
Our Sickels Street Garden is UTC’s children’s environmental program learning garden site for
this block. It’s flooded with perennials, has two seasonal produce beds, and serves as a
secondary site for our Teens-Go-Green teen apprenticeship program which trains teens in the
art of landscape maintenance.
Teen Programs
► The VeggieKids
Location
Haddington and North-Central Philadelphia
When we meet
TBA
What we do
The VeggieKids pre-teen and teen entrepreneurs germinate, plant, tend, harvest, clean, weigh,
record, package and distribute food to the local residents. Launched four years ago, it started
as a wheelbarrow route distributing garden produce to neighborhood residents at little or no
cost. The urgent need for this service spawned the idea that grew into Neighborhood Foods,
our community farm cooperative, and now VeggieKids is naturally part of that enterprise.
VeggieKids youth, aged 10-14 years, set up and manage a produce stand every Wednesday
during the growing season at the Food Trust’s Haddington Farmers Market. They have been
involved in Urban Tree Connection children’s garden programs for at least four years, and are
adept at taking care of their own vegetable gardens. Selling their produce provides them with
some income, and allows them to experience the entire farming cycle. Through the VeggieKids
program, youth learn basic business skills such as how to engage customers, market their
products, keep track of their sales, and cut their costs.
At their stand, they sell produce they have grown in their gardens as well as fruit purchased
from Beechwood Orchards, located in Lancaster County. Currently, they are conducting market
research to determine what other products their customers would want. They are hopeful that
next year, they will increase the variety and quantity of the foods they sell.
But they haven’t forgotten their delivery route. They are making plans to establish a Seniors’
delivery route to ensure access to healthful produce for this group of residents.
► Teens-Go-Green
Location
Citywide, some suburbs
When we meet
Hours vary. Operates during the landscape season
What we do
This teen-driven landscaping and lawn services program was conceived and implemented by Urban Tree Connection, and was underwritten by Foundations, Inc.
These teens work throughout the summer landscape season for both private and commercial
properties while earning a wage, apprenticing under the supervision of experienced UTC
landscaping staff, and developing trade skills and behaviors needed to secure future
employment in the field of landscaping.
Partner Programs
► Project Home
Location
1900 North Croskey Street Strawberry Mansion
When we meet
Fridays from 4pm.
What we do
We meet with two groups of students at Project H.O.M.E, each weekly for 30 weeks to manage
seasonal vegetable garden near the Honickman Learning Center.
► Young Scholars Frederick Douglass Charter School
Location
2118 West Norris Street North-Central Philadelphia 19121
When we meet
To Be Determined for spring 2012
What we do
UTC staff meets Young Scholars twice a week to maintain a small urban farm built on a section
of the school playground to teach children the art of farming. In the 2012 season,
we will expand the farm infrastructure, and offer several community workshares.
Urban Farming
► Neighborhood Foods CSA
608 North 53rd Street Haddington, West Philadelphia 19131
After 4 years of working this three-quarters of an acre property on the 600 Block of North
53rd Street, Urban Tree Connection has developed a fully-functioning farm to address access
to healthful food for the residents of Haddington.
Produce from this farm flows into a community-subsidized farmers market and into the Rittenhouse Square farmers market. The farm also supplies seasonal shares to about ten
CSA members.
Philadelphia Youth Network Workready teens are hired for six weeks during the summer.
They develop necessary work skills and behaviors in addition to landscaping and agricultural
skills. Members of this group also participate, along with some of their parents, in the
cooking demonstrations.
► Anita’s Garden
5300 block of Wyalusing Avenue Haddington, West Philadelphia
In March 2011, Drexel University students constructed a raised-food garden adjacent to
Anita’s house. supervised by UTC staff. This raised-bed garden will be an annex to the
Neighborhood Foods central production farm site. Community residents identified by the
Founder’s Group and summer Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) children grow produce on
this site to be channeled into the Neighborhood Foods cooperative.
► Haddington Townhouse Community Gardens
419 N. 54th Street/ 5437 Wyalusing Avenue Haddington, West Philadelphia
Six more raised-beds in the 400 block of North 54th Street, and four more raised-beds in the
5300 block of Wyalusing Avenue supplement food production for Neighborhood Foods, and
provide a place for Townhouse children to learn farming..
Perennial Gardens
UTC’s community perennial gardens were constructed to both displace drug houses that block
captains had removed, and to give seniors a place to sit and enjoy the outdoors in safe and
secure gardens.
► The Seniors’ Rose Garden 5308 Parrish Street
► Sickels Street Garden 5427 Haverford Avenue
► Lemoyne’s Garden 5401 Westminster Avenue
