In the past year or so, I’ve been working with my sister Ainé on several community engagement projects in Germantown, a neighborhood located between Mt. Airy and Nicetown in Northwest Philadelphia. After working on our own and doing solo projects for years, we decided we needed to engage the larger community and inspire other block residents to take action. First, we reorganized our block, working closely with neighbors to make improvements on our street and implement real, meaningful, visible change. Then, we established new leadership. In early 2011, both Ainé and I became official Co-Block Captain’s alongside another long-time block resident. The city’s Block Captain program is organized by the Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee (PMBC), part of the Streets Department’s Sanitation Division.
This weekend marks a big turning point in our work, which we’ve (slowly) documented on our blog: www.rocklandstreet.com. Ainé is launching a new project called Grow This Block! – a back to basics approach to improved quality of life. Follow the links below to read about our block-wide planting project, which will be held on Saturday, May 28 and learn more about the ideas behind Grow This Block!
- Grow This Block! Our 1st planting event is Saturday, May 28!
- We’re working on a little something called Grow This Block!
Ainé's been growing plants from seed in the backyard for Grow This Block for months!
Emaleigh Doley 