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STUDENTS APPLY ENVIRONMENTAL SKILLS

Release Date: 7/2/1999
Contact Information: Kevin Kline (215) 814-5681

PHILADELPHIA -- This summer, Abraham Lincoln High School students are taking part in an innovative pilot program to improve the environment in neighborhoods around the Pennypack Park. Today the students learned how the Philadelphia Water Department installs a flow meter, and began taking an inventory of neighborhood trees.

The students are currently conducting a door-to-door canvass of selected neighborhoods. Residents who wish to participate in the Pennypack Initiative can have a tree planted in front of their home this fall at no charge. Students will evaluate the projected benefits of the planting using computer models.

Residents who participate in the program help beautify their home and neighborhood as well as reaping financial benefits. According to a brochure the students hand out, a single tree increases property values by 9%. Meanwhile, students gain valuable knowledge from training with experts from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and Penn State Cooperative Extension, and apply their new skills via "hands-on" environmental work in the neighborhood.

The Pennypack Initiative, in its second year, is funded in part by a U.S. Dept. of Agriculture grant through the Philadelphia Urban Resources Partnership. Supporters of this project hope it will serve as a model used throughout the Philadelphia watershed.

Residents interested in finding out if their home is located in the selected neighborhoods should contact Kevin Kline at 215-814-5681 or Kline.Kevin@EPA.gov.