Lower Moyamensing Civic Association

Whether you’re passionate about planting trees, gardening, being a great block captain or doing something about litter in our neighborhood…

There are a variety of ways to get involved and make a positive impact on the quality of life in our community. Take a look below to see what projects we’ve recently undertaken and read on to find out more about the many free resources that are available to Philadelphia residents who are interested in improving their neighborhoods. Check out the Calendar page of this website to see what’s coming up next and, if you’re new to LoMo, drop us an e-mail to tell us a bit about your beautification interests. Have a cleaning/greening question? Let us know! Email lomophilly@gmail.com.

KEEPIN’ IT CLEAN

The days when the City used to employ street-sweepers are long gone, which means that we have to take the litter situation in our neighborhood into our own hands. LoMo encourages all residents to do their part by helping to keep their blocks tidy on a regular basis.  Be a Trash Night Hero! When you’re putting out your household trash on either Tuesday or Wednesday night, do a quick scan of your block for items that can be quickly tossed into a recycling bin or included in one of the bags you’ve brought to the curb. Every little bit helps! 

Also, our regular sweep-ups are a great way to meet new neighbors while at the same time helping to make our streets and sidewalks a bit cleaner. Bags are always provided. Brooms and dust pans are available on a more limited basis, so please bring these along if you can. Special thanks to the Streets Department for picking up our bags after each clean-up!

If you are interested in organizing a cleanup on your block, we’d be happy to help with the supplies! E-mail lomophilly@gmail.com.

2009 SWEEP-UP DATES:

• Saturday, April 4 – Philly Spring Cleanup @ Southern High School (Broad & Jackson Sts.), 9 AM – 2 PM. Check out this year’s results!
• Saturday, May 16 – Philadelphia Cares About Fairmount Park Day @Marconi Park (Broad & Oregon), 9 AM – Noon.
• Saturday, June 13 – Moyamensing Avenue Cleanup. 1-2:30 PM. Meet on the 2400 block of S. Alder Street. Ice cream social following sweep-up!
• Saturday, July 18, 10 AM – 10th Street Cleanup – Meet at 10th & Snyder.
• Saturday, August 1, 8 AM – NOON – Neighborhood-wide Cleanup
• CANCELLED Saturday, October 17, 10 AM – Snyder Avenue Cleanup (Co-organized with our EPX friends)- Meet at Broad & Snyder.  

THE NEIGHBORWOODS    

 

TO DATE, TOTAL NUMBER OF TREES INTRODUCED TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD BY LOMO VOLUNTEERS : 53

 Check out photos from some of our past tree plantings on Facebook!

Tree-lined streets make communities look great, and they also clean the air, provide shade to cool buildings and paved areas, increase property values and help control stormwater. LoMo has teamed up with the TreeVitalize program — a statewide initiative to restore tree cover throughout the state — to bring more trees to our neck of the woods. We’re making great progress and the LoMo Tree Tenders, a group of trained volunteer tree advocates, are committed to helping ensure that all trees in our neighborhood grow to a ripe old age. If you have a tree-related question, want to apply for a free tree for your property, or are interested in becoming a member of our LoMo Tree Tender group, send us an email at lomophilly@gmail.com.

Useful tree-related links:

• Why plant a tree? Get the facts on why trees are a valuable addition to any neighborhood.
• Tree care advice from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
• Become a Tree Tender! The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society offers a great free training course on how to plant and care for trees in the urban environment. The Fall 2009 course is now full. The next course will be held in January 2010. Registration is required. When you register, be sure to indicate that you are a member of the Lower Moyamensing Tree Tenders! Call 215-988-8844 or register online here: http://www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/phlgreen/tree_tenders_form.html
• Fairmount Park’s Citizen Service Request Form: Request a free tree through the City, request pruning to an already existing tree at your property, or request removal of a dead tree at your property.   

GARDENS

Check out photos of our neighborhood gardening projects on Facebook!

* The Gas Station Garden @11th & Snyder – Our very first gardening project! Begun in July 2007, the gas station garden was created by LoMo volunteers, thanks to generous donations by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and neighborhood residents. Formerly filled with trash and weeds, the garden now contains beautiful perennials such as echinacea, salvia, daylillies, artemisia, foxglove, and catmint. Recognized with an HONORABLE MENTION during the 2009 Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s City Gardens Contest. Special thanks to the Lukoil Gas Station for their permission to garden in this space!

* Tree Street Garden @11th & Tree - Our newest project! We officially broke ground on this new garden on April 21, 2009 and have added a beautiful combination of perennials and annuals, including lavender, verbena, Rose of Sharon, morning glory, petunias, buddleia, irises, and monarda. Special thanks to the New York Bakery for permission to garden on this land! Feel free to stop by and add a bit of bird seed if you see that the feeder is running low!

• Interested in working on your green thumb? Enroll in the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s FREE training program, Garden Tenders! Registration is required. Call 215-988-8844 or register online here:http://www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/phlgreen/garden_tenders_form.html
• Also check out the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s calendar of events for many other free upcoming gardening classes!

BLOCK CAPTAINS

Block captains play an important role in our neighborhood by bringing neighbors together to make their blocks cleaner, safer places. Block captains help organize clean-ups, register for block parties, welcome new neighbors to the block, and also answer questions about a variety of neighborhood-related issues. The more block captains in our neighborhood, the cleaner and safer it will be as a whole! LoMo is encouraging all blocks in our boundaries to register their block captain with the Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee (PMBC). Not sure whether or not your block already has a block captain? Call 215-685-3981 to find out. You should also check with your neighbors to find out whether or not an “unofficial” block captain already exists. You may want to work with this person and register yourselves as Co-Block Captains with PMBC. Once you’ve registered with PMBC, let us know so that we can add you to our updated list of neighborhood block captains. Email lomophilly@gmail.com.

REDUCE/REUSE/RECYCLE

Confused about when to set out your recyclables? As of January 2009, our neighborhood recycles EVERY week! Recycling is the law in Philadelphia. If you don’t recycle, you risk being fined. Check out the official Philadelphia Recycling Office’s website for more information on the City’s recycling program, including what you can and can’t toss into your recycling bin. To request a blue recycling bin for your home, e-mail lomophilly@gmail.com. Note: One per household. 

Cleaning house? Wouldn’t you rather see that old dresser or bag of baby clothes go to a new home than the landfill? Check out the Philadelphia Freecycle Network , which is a “grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.” You can also try posting items to the FREE section of craigslist .

Did you know that you can recycle used compact fluorescent light bulbs at the Ikea on Delaware Avenue? Recycling stations are located by the Exit doors on the ground level. Also, the Big Green Earth Store, across the street from Whole Foods at 1oth & South, is another place to bring old cell phones, eye glasses, batteries, light bulbs, and bottle caps!

Interested in finding out more about city-wide and national recycling campaigns and issues? Find out what’s going on with our local RecycleNOW campaign and also visit the National Recycling Coalition’s website.

“CIRCULAR NON-DELIVERY” DECALS 

Tired of all of those menus and solicitation flyers that get stuffed in your railing? Request a “Circular Non-Delivery” decal to place on your front screen door (or anywhere else visible to hand deliverers) to make them go away! To request one for your home, download the online form here or pick yours up at the next LoMo general meeting. If unsolicited material is left outside your home, you simply send the circular to the Department of Licenses and Inspections. A Code Violation Notice (a.k.a ticket) is then issued to the violator.