John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum and Audubon Pennsylvania are working to expand a program that engages Philadelphia residents in conservation through hands-on programming in schools, in neighborhoods and at the refuge.
Learning with the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware
The Mobilize Green youth conservation crews at John Heinz NWR at Tinicum in Pennsylvania are used to busting myths about Black people, the outdoors, and conservation work. In November, the crew examined some of their own misunderstandings by working with the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware. At the Tribe’s Edible Forest Garden, the crew set the day’s intention with the Thanksgiving address, learned the Unami word for “ancestor”, removed Ailanthus altissima, and improved the trails all before lunch. During the break, Chief Coker and others supporting the Tribe shared the history and worldviews of the community, the challenges in regaining and restoring their land, and more. MobilizeGreen members engaged thoughtfully afterwards, with questions like “What is one of your favorite memories of being chief?”
Seeing things through at Cecil Street
This summer marked a moment six years in the making for community members in southwest Philadelphia, John Heinz NWR at Tinicum, Thomas Jefferson University, and Audubon Mid-Atlantic. In July, MobilizeGreen’s Summer 2022 Youth Conservation Crew and the Refuge’s maintenance team took the first step towards building out Cecil St. Community Garden by removing the fence and leveling the ground. The available lots, leased from the city by Community Development Corporation, will soon be home to a community-designed park with garden beds, benches, a shaded trellis, and nature playspace. The work continues, supported by MobilizeGreen and Saturday volunteer work parties complete with food and music. and fun for all.
Philly Nature Kids
The Philly Nature Kids (PNK) program, led by Brianna Amingwa, is fostering lifelong stewardship of the environment by engaging students through inquiry-based learning to promote investigation & discovery of their National Wildlife Refuge and outdoor community. The Refuge embarked on this project in 2014 with the goal of creating a high-quality program that emphasized repeat visits and increased students' comfort and connection to nature. Today, Philly Nature Kids serves the entire 4th grade, about 150 students, in Penrose and Patterson Elementary Schools with 10 lessons in the school classroom, 9 field visits to the refuge, and grant-funded, student-designed stewardship projects. This structure structure
Something temporarily or permanently constructed, built, or placed; and constructed of natural or manufactured parts including, but not limited to, a building, shed, cabin, porch, bridge, walkway, stair steps, sign, landing, platform, dock, rack, fence, telecommunication device, antennae, fish cleaning table, satellite dish/mount, or well head.
Learn more about structure is intentionally designed to allow students to first explore nature indoors where they are comfortable and then build on this knowledge in outdoor explorations, culminating in environmental stewardship. This work shows its results by the words we hear from students and parents alike, as they continue to participate in other refuge activities, both on and off refuge.
