Urban EcoSteward Crew Leader Training with our new Greenprint Park Steward

Urban EcoSteward Crew Leader Training

Unlike most trips I make to REI Southside, I wasn’t here this morning to get a new piece of gear, although I’ll admit I did look. I was here for the Urban EcoSteward Crew Leader Training. This wasn’t my first time learning to lead crews. In fact, my crew leading experience began right here in Pittsburgh three years ago when I attended the 2010 Urban EcoSteward Crew Leader Training and became a crew leader that summer. I enjoyed working with volunteer crews so much that I soon journeyed to Southern California to lead volunteers in trail maintenance on the Pacific Crest Trail. It wasn’t long before I was off on my next adventure leading crews of college students throughout the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Wyoming.

Now, I’m happy to be back in the City of Pittsburgh where it all started, working as the new Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Greenprint Park Steward. The Greenprint is a comprehensive plan that aims to build on the natural landscapes throughout the Hill District. These greening projects will add value to the neighborhood by raising property values, providing community gathering spaces, and improving air quality.

Cliffside Park

Even with my extensive crew leading background, I gained a lot from the Urban EcoSteward Crew Leader Training session. It’s important to review all of the responsibilities and techniques that go into being a crew leader to keep both you and your volunteer’s safe throughout the project. Parks Conservancy education program coordinator, Taiji Nelson, covered how to properly use, carry, and store tools. Joe Divack, Allegheny CleanWays DumpBuster Coordinator, explained how to lead crews through garbage clean-ups and how to handle worksites on steep slopes. Allegheny CleanWays project coordinator Leah Thill wrapped up the day by running us through some real life volunteer day scenarios. This gave us the chance to practice our public speaking and to test some of the skills we had learned throughout the day.

Taiji and Joe showing our current and future crew leaders proper ways to handle tools and worksites.

All of these skills will be helpful in providing a safe, productive, and fun experience for our Hill District greening projects. We are looking for more leaders to help us implement the projects outlined in the Greenprint for the Hill! If you are interested in becoming a leader, or being involved as a volunteer in the Hill District, please contact Jake Baechle at jbaechle@pittsburghparks.org. You can also stay tuned to the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy website for future trainings and volunteer days.

The Urban EcoSteward program is a collaboration between  Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Mount Washington Community Development Corporation, Frick Environmental Center, Allegheny Cleanways, Allegheny Land Trust, and Nine Mile Run Watershed. To learn more about how you can get involved, visit our Urban EcoSteward webpage.

 

 

Jake Baechle is the new Greenprint Park Steward for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. In his role, Jake will lead volunteer coordination and community outreach in the Hill District focusing on Cliffside Park and other Greenprint priorities.

Read Full Post »

Urban EcoStewards Celebrate a New Year – A Winter Gathering

You know what’s better than a Winter Gathering to kick-off the 2013 Urban EcoSteward training year? A snow-covered Winter Gathering complete with a one-mile hike in Schenley Park! Around 35 dedicated park stewards signed up for the event on Saturday, January 26. The Urban EcoStewards represented a variety of organizations including the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Mount Washington Community Development Corporation, Frick Environmental Center, Allegheny Cleanways, Allegheny Land Trust, and Nine Mile Run Watershed.

Wintry Schenley Park

Tufa Bridge in Schenley Park

The day started with lunch at the Schenley Park Café and Visitor Center which was restored by the Parks Conservancy in 2002. Rumor has it, Patty’s Smoked Mac and Cheese was the big hit of the day! After a brief overview of the participating organizations, the day continued with a celebration of 2012 successes and what the EcoStewards have to look forward to in 2013.

Urban EcoSteward celebration at the Schenley Park Cafe and Visitor Center

The group then bundled up and strapped on their snow boots for a one-mile hike around the Lower and Upper Panther Hollow Trails.

Headed down for a snowy hike through Schenley Park

Looking up at Panther Hollow Bridge from the Hollow

Led by Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Education Program Coordinator, Taiji Nelson, the group discussed winter tree identification, soil erosion, and emerald ash borer along the way.

Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Education Program Coordinator, Taiji Nelson, explaining soil erosion to the EcoStewards

Lesson in destructive tree identification

The day ended with an overview of Phipps Run and Panther Hollow Watershed’s and restoration efforts being implemented in the area.

Hiking along Upper Panther Hollow Trail

Urban EcoStewards give back to their communities by adopting a specific section of park land that they agree to maintain. Stewards receive training from Parks Conservancy staff and other program partners and visit their site throughout the year to remove invasive species, plant native flora, slow erosion, and clean up trash. EcoStewards report to a coordinator, who will accompany them on at least one site visit per year to determine maintenance needs.

If you’re ready to take on your own little piece of the park, sign-up for our next training date on our Urban EcoSteward webpage. For more information, please contact our education department at 412-682-7275 ext. 232 or volunteer@pittsburghparks.org.

Read Full Post »

Thank you to our 2012 volunteers!

Volunteers from NRG planting balled and burlap trees in Allegheny Commons

My ability to wake up almost exactly a minute before I set my cell phone alarm to sound is uncanny. I use the 60 seconds I could have spent sleeping to make the decision: do I start my morning routine or do I preemptively silence the alarm and roll over? The fact that the digital clock on the face of my phone reads 6 a.m. and I hear rain falling outside my window weighs heavily to one side of the argument, but I inevitably force my feet to brave the cold floor so I can put on my already muddy work pants, rain jacket, and formerly waterproof boots.

Rivers Casino volunteers with two truckloads of invasive garlic mustard

As the volunteer coordinator for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, I’ve waged this internal battle every weekend during the spring and fall volunteer seasons for the past two years. Ultimately, my love of the outdoors and passionate belief in the work we do always wins out. I can’t think of a better place to spend a Saturday or Sunday morning than in the park and revel in the instant gratification of seeing a finished project at the end of the day when you’re sore, tired, and covered in mud. I’m still dumbstruck when I remember that I actually get paid to do this.

High School Urban EcoSteward from City High watering a recently planted tulip poplar

What’s most amazing to me though is that hundreds of people face the same decision the morning of volunteer days – do I wake up or roll over – and choose to volunteer for nothing but pizza and healthy dose of good karma. They’re students with a full course load and late Friday nights, professionals who work a full 40 hour week, or retirees who earned their right to sleep in on the weekend.  Individuals, families, coworkers, student organizations, and religious groups all turn out to plant trees, remove invasive plants, tend the gardens, or clean up dump sites in all weather and seasons. Without their dedication and the generous support of funders, donors, crew leaders, and partners, we couldn’t do what we do and our parks wouldn’t be the same amazing spaces to connect with nature, observe beauty, and find wonder.

Here’s what our volunteers accomplished in 2012:

• 1023 volunteers at our work days gave 3432.5 hours of service totaling a contribution of $74,794.18.
• Volunteers planted and protected over 1000 trees and shrubs at our work days, improving biodiversity and the ecological health of our parks.
• 52 active Urban EcoStewards gave 897.5 hours of service totaling a contribution of $19,556.53 for UES partner organizations (The Parks Conservancy, Mount Washington CDC, Frick Environmental Center, Allegheny Cleanways, Allegheny Land Trust, Nine Mile Run Watershed Association).
• 210 people were trained through the Urban EcoSteward program on things such as tree and shrub ID, planting techniques, erosion control, invasive plant removal, native seed collection and others, to arm them with the skills to advocate and care for our parks.
• High School Urban EcoStewards from City Charter High School, Sci Tech, University Prep, Perry, Westinghouse and the Ellis School had a total of 535 individual visits where students made observation and reflections through nature journaling, learned about the ecosystems and ecology of our parks, and performed stewardship (which included planting and protecting 186 trees and shrubs).

Volunteers after planting 99 trees along Tranquil Trail in Frick Park

A huge ‘thank you’ to all of the volunteers who turned out this year – it was great meeting you and I hope to work with you all again in 2013.  See you out there!

Taiji Nelson is the Education Program Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. Ready to be volunteer number 1024? Be sure to check our Volunteer Work Days page for upcoming spring 2013 days and events or email our education department at volunteer@pittsburghparks.org.

Read Full Post »

High School Urban EcoStewards – Engaging youth in urban environmental stewardship

Westinghouse student using lopper to cut away invasive species

“And how mad were your parents when you decided not to go to Law School?” joked Phil Thompson, Coordinator of the Lighthouse Project, as we walked back to the truck after lunch. “It didn’t matter, I found something I love,” I smiled back at him. It’s a surprisingly warm day at the end of November; we are out with a group of students from The Academy at Westinghouse for our High School Urban EcoStewards program. The students have adopted a quarter acre plot of land in Frick Park, and have come out this year once before and learned how to properly identify and remove invasive species and plant native trees at their site. Today’s session is a park walk; we spent time doing stewardship removing invasive vines within their site before setting out on a long hike through Frick Park to learn about managing ecosystem health within our city parks. One of our field ecologists has also joined us to talk about restoration practices in the park and to introduce the students to some different jobs in the Environmental Science field.

Sawing invasive vines

I began working in Environmental Education when I was a summer camp counselor at the Frick Environmental Center in 2010. I was majoring in Politics and Philosophy at Pitt, all set to continue on to Law School when I realized I didn’t have a job lined up for the summer.  I heard about Frick Environmental Center from one of my friends in the Geology department. I grew up outside with my brothers LARPing in Slippery Rock’s local woodlands, hiking all over McConnell’s Mills, and swimming in Moraine State Park. I needed a summer job, and they had an opening where I could work outside.  I went into it thinking it would be a fun thing to do for the summer, but it actually changed the course of my career. I got paid to teach lessons about the natural world and enjoy the outdoors with children. Could it get any better?

Nature journaling and photography

It did. Here I am two years and some odd months later and the kids teach me more than I could ever hope to teach them. If there’s one thing I consistently take away from my job as an informal educator it’s inspiration, particularly with this group. Today we’re working with students who are part of the YMCA Lighthouse Project at Westinghouse. A few of them have done the High School Urban Eco Stewards program before, for some it’s their first time. This forces us to be flexible, sometimes letting the returning students take the lead, sometimes going into more depth about concepts they’re already aware of.  This is one of my favorite aspects of my job:  every day is different.  While this is the third High School Urban Eco Stewards park walk of the week, it’s the first walk in Frick Park and because of the Lighthouse’s media focus; there are new components we haven’t covered with previous schools.

Capturing a different perspective for nature photography

Every session of High School Urban Eco Stewards incorporates a journaling component for students to practice making good scientific observations. Sometimes we sketch or we’ll write poems, other times we’ll free write for a determined period of time. But today is different. The Lighthouse has a photography module the students can choose to participate in, and while only a few of the students here today are also in the photography module, we jumped at the chance to incorporate photography into our science lessons. We were able to obtain a digital camera for each of the students to use. After our Education Program Coordinator, Taiji, briefly introduces some strategies to compose a good shot, with the Lighthouse coordinator adding a few thoughts, each student searches for one thing they find beautiful and one thing they find intriguing. The trick is that they get just one shot each. They must take their time utilizing their observation skills we’ve been developing to locate that one beautiful thing or that one intriguing visual. After they’ve decided what they want to capture, they must move around, change their perspective, change the lighting patterns, until they find that perfect shot.

Then they write about it in their journals. I prompt them to justify their decisions. I hear myself tenaciously asking why? I try to play it cool and be discerning about their choices when photographing but inside I am just thrilled. At 15 or 16 years, old these students are incredibly inspiring. Learning about their lives and aspirations is refreshing; these students are dedicated and hardworking. To be able to share my love of the outdoors with them and possibly cultivate that same feeling within them is a unique opportunity I am grateful for every day. They stay after school at the Lighthouse until 7:00pm Monday-Thursday (mind you their school day starts around 7:00am), they argue about who is going to be valedictorian, and at times they really challenge me, asking, “Why are we out here doing this when there are people starving?”

The Academy of Westinghouse High School Urban EcoStewards and our Education Team

As I’m compiling all of their photos, from the day I can’t help but smile and think about what Phil had asked me about law school. I eagerly abandoned a potential life of working long hours stuck behind a computer, working my way up to someday maybe occupying that corner office with the view. At best, I’d sit at my desk captivated by the magic occurring on the other side of my window, only to look glumly back at all of the paperwork I had to do. As an informal environmental educator, I spend days at a time in “the field,” teaching students about ecology, watersheds, and biodiversity while facilitating a deep and informed appreciation for and relationship with the natural world. “No,” I smirk “my parents aren’t mad at all.”

Below are a few of the breathtaking photos the Westinghouse students took during the day. The students meticulously set-up each shot and there are no filters applied to these photos. It’s so powerful to see nature through someone else’s eyes.

Dayvon’s Site Photo

Kielle’s Site Photo #1

Kielle’s Site Photo #2

Ramon’s Site Photo

Shawn’s Site Photo

Bailey Warren is the new Education Program Assistant at the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy through a 10-month apprenticeship with Public Allies Pittsburgh AmeriCorps program. Visit our website to learn more about our High School Urban EcoSteward program and how you can get involved.

Read Full Post »

Every little bit helps – a volunteer extravaganza

Upper Panther Hollow Trail

As a member of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy staff who spends most of my time behind a desk, I wistfully watch as my colleagues – whom I affectionately call “the nature people” – march out the door each day to interact directly with our parks and the people who love them. Our office is at times a strange place, the convergence of the printers, faxes, and cubicles with post pounders, shovels, and fountain fixtures. I have gone to the kitchen to retrieve a second (or third) cup of coffee to find our Education Coordinator contemplating the storage of invertebrates gathered from a stream in Frick Park in our office refrigerator. Right next to my left-over chicken and rice.

Working in our development department, I get to meet a lot of passionate people at our fundraising events, and I have the opportunity to thank people for their generosity when they make the choice to give to us financially. I fervently advocate for our cause to improve the quality of life for the people of Pittsburgh through parks restoration in partnership with the City. It is not every day, however, that I get to dust off my Keens and stand shoulder to shoulder with the volunteers who contribute something equally as valuable – their time. It is rarer still that I have the beautiful experience of seeing how it all connects.

Volunteers clearing a landslide on Panther Hollow Stream Trail

One such day was Saturday, October 20^th when we held our third annual Panther Hollow Extravaganza. The volunteer day is our largest, and an integral part of our plan to restore the Panther Hollow Watershed and eventually, Panther Hollow Lake. The clouds hung dark and heavy with promise for rain, but our 200 volunteers were unshaken. “The nature people” moved quickly throughout the crowds, buzzing with the excitement of what the day would accomplish – what all these helping hands would mean for Schenley Park. Before the day was done, the volunteers would plant 125 trees, cut down hundreds of invasive vines, and clear a portion of a once impassable park trail. I was among these volunteers, eager to help and to learn.

Volunteers cutting invasive vines

I quickly found Parks Conservancy horticulturist, Angela Yuele, and joined her group on the Upper Panther Hollow trail cutting invasive porcelain berry vines away from trees.  Angela gave us the loppers and gloves we would need to get the job done as well as a lesson in tool safety, demonstrating how the loppers should be used, held, and carried. She explained that porcelain berry is overtaking this section of the park and that as it winds its way up into the trees, it threatens their growth. Before we stepped off the trail and into the brush, Angela had one more thing to say. “Thank you all so much for coming,” she said. “By working in the park today you are part of a much bigger picture. Every little bit you do makes a difference.”   

We spent hours hacking away at those vines, surrounded by foliage in kaleidoscopic fall color. When we emerged back onto the trail – picking the burrs from our hair – it felt as though we had in fact made a difference. As a writer, I am infatuated with stories. I love to discover a stranger’s character or learn what led them to stand right here, on this trail, with me. And so I began asking my fellow volunteers what compelled them to donate their day to the park. I found myself talking to a woman and her elementary-aged son, both of whom seemed very comfortable with our activity. They had both volunteered with us before, I learned. And then something unexpected…

Thalia and her son hard at work in Schenley Park

“We love all the parks, but we just donated a tree to Highland Park,” the mother (whose name I learned was Thalia) said. I stopped dead in my tracks. Though we had never met, I had been Thalia’s contact for months after she got in touch with us to have a tree planted in honor of her mother and father-in-law. We had e-mailed each other countless times and chatted on the phone more than once. We had carefully considered the options of tree type and location to pay tribute to two people she loves so dearly. I had thanked her, again and again, for choosing to give a gift that would benefit the park and all those people who use it. I felt as though I was meeting an old friend, but for the first time.

The Tulip Poplar tree that Thalia and her family donated to Highland Park

I am astounded by the generosity of all of our donors, but the dedication of Thalia’s family to our mission through donation and actively volunteering is something remarkable and special. Meeting Thalia and her son on that trail reminded me that even as a desk-dweller, I am part of the story of this organization and the good work we do. And more importantly, that none of us, nature person or desk-dweller, would be able to do what we do without the dedication of our enthusiastic supporters. How lucky we are to live in a city with such a spirit of generosity. Remember – every little bit you do makes a difference.

Kathleen Gaines is a Development Associate at the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

If you’d like to support the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, consider making a donation, or join us for one of our volunteer days. Help us name our new smart phone app which will be released in summer of 2013.

Read Full Post »

Education through Restoration – Creating Meaningful Service-Learning Projects in the Parks

I love breakfast meetings. First off, there is breakfast. Plus I am a morning person so I’m freshest and most engaged for these early morning gatherings. A couple of days ago I found myself at a breakfast meeting sitting next to a woman who works with youth through the Allegheny County Department of Human Services. I had just returned from a week-long training on service learning with the Community Works Institute so when she mentioned that her kids need to perform community service and asked if there was anything they could do in the parks my answer was a resounding “Yes!” – but with a twist. I said we had lots of opportunities for youth service projects in the parks, but that we aim to have our programs go beyond service to service-learning. She was clutching her coffee (not a morning person, perhaps) and looked at me with a quizzical what’s the difference? expression.

I immediately leapt into a quick overview of how ‘service learning’ builds on ‘community service’, enriching the participant experience significantly. I stressed that if her kids came out into the parks with us they would not only complete a great project, they would actually be given the opportunity to understand more about the why of the work. We would help make connections between their on-the-ground efforts and the larger needs that they are helping to address. Perhaps most importantly, though, they would have the chance to reflect on the impact they were having – and the impact the work was having on them.

Shelburne Farms

Before I began CWI’s Institute on Service Learning EAST at Shelburne Farms just outside of Burlington, Vermont, I felt sure that our educational programs were already using service learning. Joining me at the training were Taiji Nelson, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s Education Program Coordinator, and two Naturalist Educators from the Frick Environmental Center, Lydia Konecky and Eva Barinas. The Parks Conservancy Board of Directors had generously agreed to fund this professional development opportunity for all of us in order to build our team and strengthen our education programs in anticipation of a new Environmental Center that we hope to begin construction on in 2013.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy has been working closely for several years with the Environmental Center staff to knit our environmental education programs together. We are all using the theme of education through restoration as a guiding principle and are jointly giving folks of all ages the chance to learn about the local environment as they do meaningful, hands-on work in Pittsburgh parks. Still, before the training if someone had asked me what exactly I meant by service-learning or how that was different from community service, I would have fumbled. As a team we have been delivering our programs using well-honed instincts developed over years of doing outdoor education with youth and adults. This was our chance to build on this knowledge by examining best practices in the field of service learning, critically looking at our existing programs, and taking time to consider how to apply these ideas back home.

Now, after 40 hours of training including 8 workshops, daily work with my incredibly thoughtful peer discussion group, more daily work with my Best Practices Study Group, an icy-cold dip in a Vermont stream, walk and talks with my fellow Pittsburghers, fantastic lunches prepared with local foods by Shelburne Farms, and reflection, reflection, reflection…not only can I articulate how our environmental education programs use service-learning or why that is important – I now have concrete ideas for how to make our programs better.

My big a-ha moment for the week came during the workshop Reflection: An Essential Ingredient. We already include reflection in our High School Urban EcoStewards program through daily journaling and end-of-year presentations. This year’s students did everything from create a Tree ID game to illustrate a watercolor book on how to plant a tree. But I realized during the workshop that we could be infusing all of our programs with reflection, even our one-day volunteer events. Last year we had more than 1,500 volunteers contribute time to the parks. What if every volunteer day included time for fun and simple reflection, helping people gain a deeper understanding of the value of their work? This could be as simple posing questions for people to consider as they carry tools back from the work site such as, “What does this project mean to my community? To the park? To our rivers?” We could also ask for reflection on the day in follow-up online surveys.

The Institute also made me realize that we could do a better job revealing our educational goals to our students. Last summer we worked with 3 teachers to develop the Big Ideas for our High School Urban EcoSteward program and map the program to the PA State Standards. Why not share these directly with the kids – let them know what we thought was important for them to learn and why? Our High School students do so much fantastic work for the parks (just this past year they planted close to 300 trees), but have we dialogued enough with them on how each tree planting connects to improved water quality? We certainly present this information at the beginning of our sessions, but I’m looking forward to giving our students more room to explore their sites and develop their own observations and questions about the impact of their stewardship.

In many ways, though, the single most important part of the week was bonding with our Pittsburgh team. A few of my favorites moments: early breakfasts with Eva (also a morning person); searching the shores of Lake Champlain for the most beautiful rocks until our hands were overflowing; racing to our car through a magnificent summer downpour at the end of a day; and spending evenings huddled on lawn chairs in the cool Vermont air sharing stories of past travels around the world.

Our Pittsburgh Pack

It was these in-between times where I really got to discover more about each of our backgrounds and our visions for the future. It was great confirmation of what I already knew: we have an absolutely incredible group of environmental educators here, people who are committed to connecting people with nature and making our City even better. The workshop was the perfect chance to practice lifelong learning together, prepare us for another year of our growing environmental education programs, and reaffirm what we all believe – that giving students a chance to not just learn about our local environment but actually improve it is the key to fostering the park stewards and engaged citizens of the future.

Marijke Hecht is the Director of Education at the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. Please visit our website for upcoming volunteer days and updates on the development of the new Environmental Center at Frick Park. If you’re interested in making a donation to the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy to help us continue our education through restoration, please visit our Donate page on our website.

Read Full Post »

High School EcoStewards – a hike with City High

City High students made a game to quiz their peers

“Look at the bark!” a student bellows.

A piece of candy sails through the air and a playful scuffle erupts when it lands between two students. Ultimately the orange piece of cellophane wrapped candy is relinquished to the student who correctly named one of the ways to identify a tree. The group eagerly awaits the next question from their peers standing at the front of the class, who are clearly enjoying the power their bag of confections has afforded them. 

Down into Panthar Hollow we go!

I joined these twelve 10^th graders from City Charter High School in Schenley Park to see what they have learned. As students in the High School Urban EcoSteward program, they’ve spent quite a bit of time in this park over the past school year. Six different times they put on their brown Urban EcoSteward T-shirts and carried their tools, plant materials, and journals down into Panther Hollow to their site, which sits on a steep slope beside Panther Hollow Lake. Today they’re demonstrating their knowledge by presenting to their peers, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy education staff, and their teacher who they all affectionately refer to as “Mr. G.” Their presentations vary from a game show-like quiz with candy prizes, to a display complete with a how-to pamphlet on making bunny hutches out of discarded invasive plants, to a nature walk, and a check dam installation demonstration.     

As EcoStewards, these students took on this bit of park land and promised to make it better. The high school program uses service learning techniques to engage students in formal instruction which also provides a meaningful service to benefit the community. Each excursion out into whatever the weather had in store for them that day was a learning opportunity. A lesson on the importance of trees was followed with how to plant one. Discussion of how invasive plant species hurt the ecological diversity of our parks was a precursor to the proper removal of jet bead which had infested the hillside.

Cutting down the invasive Jet Bead

“You have to cut it down all the way to the ground,” a student says as she prepares to demonstrate.

“What are those called,” Parks Conservancy Director of Education Marijke Hecht challenges, pointing to the orange-handled tool in the girl’s hand.

“They’re loppers,” she smiles.

The High School Urban EcoSteward program was piloted with City High School students in 2009 and has since expanded to five additional schools – Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy, Perry High School, Pittsburgh Milliones, The Ellis School, and the YMCA Westinghouse Lighthouse Project. Each school has a site in one of the four regional Pittsburgh parks – Frick, Highland, Riverview, and Schenley.  This year’s High School Urban EcoSteward program was made possible by funding in part by the American Eagle Outfitters Foundation, the Dominion Educational Partnership, and the Grable Foundation. 

Parks Conservancy Education Coordinator Taiji Nelson passing by a check dam

We’ve ascended into the heart of the site about halfway up a steep hill where two students are showing us the check dams that the group had put in place using fallen logs to control erosion. This is a huge issue in the Panther Hollow Watershed which is evidenced by the fire hydrant at the base of the hill which has been buried almost completely. The students explain that the check dams will slow the storm water as it comes down the hill and catch sediment. In the same area they point out trees the group has planted to help further stabilize the hillside.

On our way back down to the path, two of the boys in the group stop to make sure I’ve got my footing.      

“You have to go down sideways,” one of them instructs.

“Those shoes don’t have great tread on them,” the other gently scolds. Both were clearly proud to be helpful with their thoughtful instruction and care that I make it down safely.

A buried hydrant shows the result of sediment caused by erosion in Panther Hollow.

These boys and their classmates have learned more than how to help a lady down a hillside. As I watched them present what they’ve learned, each of them in a unique and thoughtful way, I marveled at the complexity of the concepts they all clearly understood. The importance of the watershed and managing storm water runoff, the benefits of trees and ecological diversity, just to name a few. They understand how to identify trees using branching patterns, bark, and leaves. They did hard work with real tools and can quickly recite the proper use for each of them. They challenge each other with questions and push each other to work harder. They’re all clearly proud of what they’ve done.

“My favorite part was planting trees and removing invasive species,” one of the girls tells me. I ask her why and she pauses a moment. “I’d never made a difference like that before,” she says.

The 2011/12 High School Urban EcoSteward program did make a difference. The teenagers from these six schools donated more than 1,600 hours of service to our city parks, planting 228 trees and removing at least 70 bags of invasive species. They wrote thoughtful things in journals that helped them to create a deeper connection with natural space. Their environmental education will encourage them to become considerate citizens who understand their impact on our urban green spaces. From this, we all benefit.

Kathleen Gaines is a Development Associate for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. If your organization is interested in supporting this important program please contact her at 412.682.7275 x220.

You don’t have to be a high school student to get out in the parks and start making a difference. Learn more about the Urban EcoSteward Program and get involved by coming to one of our trainings or taking on your own EcoSteward site. Or come to one of our volunteer days and work with a group. Don’t feel comfortable with a pair of loppers? You can make a donation on our website that will benefit environmental education by selecting the Davita Colker Bryant and Laura Michelle Colker Fund as your gift designation.

Read Full Post »

How Do Our Gardens Grow? – with silver bells and cockleshells and volunteers all in a row

Flowers at the entry to the Walled Garden in Mellon Park

Have you been enjoying our new What’s in Bloom blog series? Pittsburgh’s parks are host to many of our city’s most vibrant floral displays. While careful thought is put into the planting of these gardens, they each require constant attention as they grow. According to Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy gardener, Angela Masters, one of the biggest mistakes people make when planting a garden at home is to assume that the hard part is over.

A beautiful garden is a carefully maintained garden. When the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society presented its Community Greening Award to the Highland Park Entry Garden and the Walled Garden in Mellon Park, they specifically cited the maintenance of each garden as a factor. “The plant material is extensive and the maintenance is flawless,” the judges said of the Walled Garden. They called the Highland Park Entry Garden “meticulously maintained” and added that it is a “sight to behold.”   

Oak Leaf Hydrangea in Mellon Park

At the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy we are committed to creating lasting change in our parks and we understand that this means more than the completion of capital projects with striking before and after photos. These restored spaces must remain as beautiful for the generations to come. Each new project we undertake must have maintenance funding secured before we break ground.

With our completion of Schenley Plaza (which hosts a bevy of colorful gardens), the Highland Park Entry Garden, and the Walled Garden in Mellon Park, we hired our gardener Angela to help the City crews maintain the newly flourishing beds. But the unsung heroes of these spaces are the volunteers who come out to help us weed, deadhead, prune, water, sweep, and care for Pittsburgh’s favorite flowers. For two hours every other week, groups of volunteers that vary from 2-8 people at a time work diligently in the Highland Park Entry Garden and the Walled Garden to contribute to the park they love.

A volunteer deadheading in the Walled Garden

I joined the volunteers this past Tuesday in the Walled Garden and we eagerly watched the storm clouds truck across the sky. The tiny squall went as quickly as it came and we were able to roll up our sleeves and get into the dirt. As a Development Associate for the Parks Conservancy, my specialties are planning fundraising events, maintaining databases and spread sheets, and smiling really pretty at people. My work is fueled by my love for the parks, but I completely lack the green thumb genome. I had to give myself a pep talk in the car – just try not to kill the garden. Ever since I had been married there last October, I had been trying to work up the nerve to show up, hoping to contribute to a place that I feel has so deeply contributed to my life. Everyone was thrilled to have another set of hands, and I was given very appropriate tasks in which the plants would survive the liability of my cluelessness. I even learned a thing or two!

We would love to have your help and we absolutely love making new park friends! Our volunteers vary from experienced gardeners looking to lend a hand, to eager park goers who have a lot to learn. Each of them knows that every time a couple snaps a prom picture in the Entry Garden, or says their vows in Mellon Park, they’ve contributed to a place that does more than make Pittsburgh beautiful – it becomes a part of someone’s story.

The remaining horticultural volunteer days are as follows (we’ll provide everything you need) –

Weeding Tuesdays at the Mellon Park Walled Garden

5-7 pm

June 26

July 10 & 24

August 7 & 21

September 4 & 18

 

Weeding Wednesdays in the Highland Park Entry Garden

5-7 pm

June 27

July 11 & 25

August 8 & 22

September 5 & 19

 

Color in the Highland Park Entry Garden

Garden Maintenance Tip from Angela

To give your garden definition, make sure your plants have room to shine. “You can’t be afraid to cut back plants or remove some of them when necessary, or they’ll all just grow together,” says Angela. To achieve the stunning color blocking effect you see in the Highland Park Entry Garden, or the calm elegance of the Walled Garden in Mellon Park, allow for some negative space between plants. To really highlight this effect, Angela suggests putting some mulch down on the ground between the plant types.   

 

Learn more about our volunteer programs and how you can get involved here. Really up for getting your hands dirty? Consider becoming an Urban EcoSteward. Dirt not your style? Your donation to the parks will go a long way.

Kathleen Gaines joined the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy as a Development Associate last year.

Read Full Post »

Measuring the Good – Urban EcoStewards

Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, Anna Johnson never thought of herself as a “city” girl, but upon arriving in Pittsburgh she was surprised to find a city so carefully built into its environment. “I love how hills or rivers frame almost every view of the city,” she says. “In some urban landscapes, you can forget that there is a nature that is not human nature, but that is not the case in Pittsburgh.”

Anna Johnson surveying in Riverview Park

After calling Pittsburgh home for several years, Johnson moved to Baltimore to earn her Ph.D. at the University of Maryland. “I am an urban ecologist now because of my admiration for the ecology of Pittsburgh, and my desire to find ways to better integrate our understanding of human uses and values with the natural processes that drive the diversity and distribution of plant and animal populations,” she says.

When her graduate program offered her funding for research in 2010, Johnson reached out to Dr. Daniel Bain at the University of Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Senior Restoration Ecologist, Erin Copeland to help her design a study in her favorite urban landscape. She chose to focus on the Urban EcoSteward (UES) program to measure the change that is possible when we engage in the ecological well being of our parks.   

Urban EcoSteward Program

Urban EcoStewards are members of the Pittsburgh community who volunteer to be responsible for the ecological restoration and care of a quarter acre site in one of the parks. Each EcoSteward is assigned a site coordinator who visits the site with them at least once per year and helps establish a timeline of priorities. For example, the removal of trash on a site is always priority number one in order to promote healthy soil. The removal of invasive species needs to be done before native vegetation can be planted to avoid the young plants having to compete for resources, etc.

While EcoStewards do have to be self-motivated to work on their sites, we don’t send them out into the woods without direction. Every year the program offers a series of trainings that will teach you how to do everything from safely remove trash, to identify invasive plants, or control the erosion of hillsides. These trainings are free and open to the public and you don’t have to be an EcoSteward to attend.  

The Urban EcoSteward Program is a partnership between the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, the Frick Environmental Center, the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, the Mount Washington Community Development Corporation, Allegheny Cleanways, and the Allegheny Land Trust. In 2011 Urban EcoStewards donated over 800 hours of service to our city’s parks.  

A Study of Stewardship

In the summer of 2010, Johnson set out into Pittsburgh’s parks to find a way to assess the ecological effectiveness of the Urban Ecosteward Program. “I wanted to know if managed plots, over time, were measurably different than unmanaged plots, in terms of herbaceous plant species abundance and composition,” she says. Her study sought to answer two basic questions…

1. Does Urban EcoSteward management decrease the number of invasive plant species in EcoSteward plots?
2. Does Urban EcoSteward management increase the number of native, or non-invasive, plant species?
   

   Invasive Garlic Mustard

Invasive species are plants or animals, either native or introduced, that outcompete and displace other desirable species.  A species may become invasive if it faces less pressure from disease or predation, has a particularly aggressive reproduction strategy, or thrives in areas where human disturbance has occurred.  Invasive plants can quickly take over an area, edging out the non-invasive plants that provide critical habitat, biodiversity and beauty in our parks.

Johnson utilized two methods to accumulate the needed data. First, she took data from the hundreds of monitoring forms that EcoStewards fill out periodically to track the progress of their site. Second, she visited a sampling of forested EcoSteward sites which represented a range of management (from 0-5 years) and surveyed plant communities. The data collected represented EcoSteward sites in Highland, Frick, Schneley, and Riverview parks.

The story being told by the UES monitoring forms was clear. “I found that managing a plot for at least two years results in a statistically significant reduction in the number of invasive plant species,” says Johnson. Her own sampling of sites confirmed this finding. “I found a trend of increasing abundance of non-invasive species and decreasing abundance of invasive species, as the duration of EcoSteward management increased.”

From an ecological perspective the Urban EcoStewards are making a difference in our parks. “It is not often that we have such a well-documented example of the positive effects people can have on their environment,” says Johnson. As the EcoStewards continue their work and collect data she is eager to see the patterns that develop. “We don’t really know what our parks, or any urban parks, will look like twenty, fifty, or one hundred years from now,” she says, “but by documenting the work that our EcoStewards do, we are developing an extremely valuable record of the results of long-term ecological stewardship.”

 
If you have questions about Anna Johnson’s research you can contact her at annaj1@umbc.edu or leave questions in the comments and we’ll forward them along to her. Learn more about how to become an Urban EcoSteward here, or join us for one of our UES training sessions. Digging in the dirt not for you? Consider making a donation to benefit our parks.

Read Full Post »

Dedicated Volunteers Made a Huge Impact in 2011

Our volunteers donated 7,086 hours of service in 2011

2011 has been an amazing year of volunteers with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy!  Volunteers play an absolutely critical role in our mission to improve the quality of life for the people of Pittsburgh by restoring the park system to excellence.  Through the efforts of our volunteers, the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works, our many partner organizations and Parks Conservancy staff, our city’s parks rival any across the country. 

Here is a breakdown of the 2011 volunteer program outcomes:

 

Volunteer days

In 2011, we had 75 work days where 1,543 volunteers gave 4,961 hours of service.  They volunteered as individuals or with community, religious, school, and corporate groups. They worked rain or shine, through blazing heat and freezing cold – lifting, digging, and pulling to improve the places that we all love.  Some of their outcomes include:

- Planting over 640 trees and shrubs, and over 1000 wildflowers

- Removing over 2 tons of trash and scrap metal and nearly 250 tires from illegal dumpsites

- Controlling erosion on hillsides and trails

- Removing invasive species plants that threaten habitat and biodiversity

- Maintaining and beautifying the park gardens

I’m amazed at the dedication and passion of our volunteers.  People are willing to give up their Saturdays and Sundays to get outside and work until they’re covered from head to toe in dirt.  To me, nothing beats seeing what we’ve accomplished after a hard day.  It’s instantly gratifying and what I love most about my job with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.  

Next year’s volunteer opportunities will be posted soon! To get involved on one of our 2012 volunteer days, check  the schedule here. 

 

Urban EcoStewards

Urban EcoStewards are individuals who take on long term stewardship of a quarter-acre of green space, agreeing to independently visit their site throughout the year to perform restoration activities.  The program is a collaboration between the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, the Frick Environmental Center, Mount Washington Community Development Corporation, Allegheny Land Trust and Allegheny Cleanways.  There are currently dozens of EcoStewards across the city, who together donated more than 800 hours of service this year to improve the health and beauty of Pittsburgh’s green spaces. 

Our organizations provide EcoStewards with the necessary skills to tend their site by offering a variety of trainings throughout the year, which are free and open to the public.  Trainings cover topics including:

- Invasive species identification and control

- Planting techniques

- Wildflower and tree identification

- Erosion control

- Crew Leader Training and others

Next time you’re in the parks, be on the lookout for people in the brown EcoSteward t-shirt – they can be seen hauling bags of trash, cutting invasive vines, and pulling garlic mustard.  Make sure to tell them “thank you” for the amazing work they do!

For more information about becoming an Urban EcoSteward, visit here.

 

High School Urban EcoStewards

High School Urban EcoStewards show off their T-shirts

While some people may think High School students need motivation, we at the Parks Conservancy know better.  The High School Urban EcoSteward program, which builds on the traditional EcoSteward model, engages students in hands-on restoration work to develop their observation and inquiry skills, connect them to the land, give context and relevance to principles of environmental science, and train them to be the next generation of ecological stewards.  We work with students from:

- Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy

- Perry Traditional Academy

- Pittsburgh Milliones, University Preparatory School

- The Ellis School

- Westinghouse Academy (YMCA Lighthouse)

- City Charter High School

Students visit their site monthly from October to June, rain or shine, to do restoration work and learn about the impacts that we all have on our urban environment.  In 2011, students gave 1,318 hours of service to our parks.

We had 75 volunteer work days in 2011

In total, our 2011 volunteers gave 7,086 hours of service, which equates to a donation of over $151,350.  This number is mind blowing and gives us all reason to be proud of Pittsburgh and the people who live here.  Thank you to the partner organizations and funders that make our work possible.  I hope you see as much value in the volunteers’ work as I do.  Finally, thanks again to our crew leaders and volunteers who turn out in the thousands, donating their time and effort to make a real difference.  It’s been a pleasure to meet and work with all of you.  See you in 2012!

 Taiji Nelson is the Education Program Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

Read Full Post »