The
Parental Stress Center (PSC) is taking a vacant lot in East Liberty and, with the help of area youth, turning it into a community green space.
A few years ago, a cement block building next to PSC's Family Center was torn down as part of a planned construction that never actualized. Since then, the lot was fenced in and has been filling with weeds and other unwanted elements that plague vacant lots, says Bob Feikema with PSC. Volunteers from BNY Mellon helped clean up the lot over the summer, and community kids are now planning the parklette's design before spring, when planting and other work can get under way.
"At the Parental Stress Center, our mission is the prevention of child abuse and neglect," says Feikema. "Families don't exist in a vacuum. They live in communities. We try to empower families and youth to be active and engaged members of their communities. This project makes the community a better place in small but significant way."
The half-acre plot is on Penn Circle West between Baum Boulevard and Commerce Street near Whole Foods Market. Feikema says the goal is to create a safe, clean neighborhood spot, where peoples can enjoy some greenery, perhaps while enjoying some takeout from the nearby EastSide development.
The parklette will feature a variety of flowers and shrubs, and as well as an urban vegetable garden (PSC hopes to sell whatever's harvested at the East Liberty farmers' market). Also, a portion of the parklette will be dedicated to glowing sunflowers, which--with the help of GTECH--will be used for the production of nontoxic, renewable, carbon-free biofuel.
PSC's green space project is funded, in part, by a $7,400 grant through Heinz Endowments' youth philanthropist program. PSC is also partnering with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy for information on native plants, and the East Liberty Home Depot for landscape design assistance.
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Writer: Caralyn Green
Source: Bob Feikema, program director, Parental Stress Center
Photograph courtesy Parental Stress Center