There’s a lot to love about winter – time with family and friends, pumpkin spice lattes, the snow, the holidays. And did we mention pumpkin spice lattes?
However, at Keep Philadelphia Beautiful, our least favorite part about colder weather is the end of the community cleanup season. And we’ve had quite a 2015! But don’t take our word for it; the numbers speak for themselves:
- 10 community beautification events in neighborhoods stretching from Bustleton in the Far Northeast to the Burmese and Bhutanese communities in South Philly
- 4 public spaces beautified, from community garden maintenance (where we applied 1.25 tons of new mulch, among other tasks!) to playground restoration
- Approximately 250 volunteers engaged in creating a more beautiful Philadelphia
- 21 partner organizations
- 348 bags of trash and recycling (~6960 lbs) cleared from our streets and other public spaces
- 157 free trees distributed to Philadelphia residents (thanks Keep America Beautiful & UPS!)
As the Keep Philadelphia Beautiful team takes stock of our work in 2015 and looks towards an even more impactful 2016, we can’t help but feel grateful for all of our volunteers and partners who made this community cleanup season our biggest yet.
KPB believes that engaging communities and individuals in the care and maintenance of the physical spaces around them is critical to creating a better Philadelphia, and we can’t wait to keep the work going, whether it’s rolling up our sleeves at a community garden or talking to students of all ages about environmental stewardship.
Let’s go, 2016!
