PHILADELPHIA— Neighborhoods in West and Southwest Philadelphia look cleaner and greener, with more than 1,000 new trees and over 1,000 freshly cleaned and greened vacant lots, thanks to Deeply Rooted, a collaborative between over 25 local community organizations, Penn Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with help from strategic greening partner Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS).
In addition, since the spring of 2022, the collaborative has awarded over $212,000 for 79 "Community Green Grants," or small grants that fund projects centered around caring for, celebrating, and appreciating nature. These grants have supported a wide range of innovative projects, including providing Indego bike share subscriptions for a "Black Girl Joyride" bicycling group, funding programming in community gardens, like yoga classes or gardening education, and providing resources for neighborhood cleanup events.
To help reach these major milestones, Deeply Rooted launched a partnership with the School District of Philadelphia to increase tree cover and promote care for the environment around their West Philadelphia Schools. Deeply Rooted uses evidenced-backed nature-based interventions, like tree planting and turning vacant spaces into clean and green spaces, to reverse the effects of systemic disinvestment in Black communities that can lead to increased violent crime, and negative health impacts like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and heart disease.
"The community response to Deeply Rooted is extremely positive and underscores the need for continued reinvestment in West and Southwest Philadelphia," said Eugenia (Gina) South, MD, MS, associate vice president for Health Justice at Penn Medicine. "It's rewarding that community organizations and leaders who are pillars of the community, along with important institutions like the School District of Philadelphia, see the impact and value of Deeply Rooted and want to be a part of this work. We are just getting started."
"Children who grow up with access to green space and trees are more likely to lead healthier lives free of conditions like asthma and obesity, and safe community spaces help residents of all ages build strong neighborhood bonds," said Vanesa Karamanian, MD, Director of Healthier Together at CHOP. "When residents in West and Southwest Philadelphia identified access to green spaces as a top health priority, the Deeply Rooted partnership became our commitment to advancing health equity and ensuring those needs are met."
Expanding the impact of Deeply Rooted
Deeply Rooted partners with the School District of Philadelphia as a compliment to their GreenFutures initiative, the District's plan to provide each student in Philadelphia with a green, healthy, high-performance school that promotes teaching and learning and equips future leaders and decision makers with the knowledge and skills needed for a changing world.
"Deeply Rooted is a valuable partner for the School District of Philadelphia because the schools are also committed to improving the health and safety of the communities we serve," said Toni Damon, EdD, principal of Middle Years Alternative. "Not only can we build our students' knowledge about environmental justice, but we can make the physical spaces around the schools greener and healthier, too."
With the help of lead strategic greenspace implementation partner, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), Deeply Rooted planted over 50 trees around Middle Years Alternative and Parkway West High School, and now run educational programs for middle and high school students about the different species of street trees and how to care for them, impacts of greening efforts on the health and well-being of communities, and environmental career opportunities.
PHS recently led two classes at Parkway West High School, and guided students on a walk to see the newly planted trees. They observed older trees whose roots cracked the pavement, and a bird's nest in the new tree. Most importantly, the students engaged in a discussion about the positive impacts of tree cover, including reducing gun violence, which surprised many students.
Research shows that cleaning vacant lots and planting trees makes an area less attractive to crime. For instance, abandoned lots and houses are often easy to enter, and can be a location of illegal activity, including the storage of firearms and drug use.
"These discussions are hugely important for our students to understand their role as members of the community," said Will Brown, principal of Parkway West High School. "Through this program, they see how by taking care of the environment in which they live they can play a part in building a safer, healthier neighborhood."
About Deeply Rooted
Penn Medicine's The Urban Health Lab, now part of the Center for Health Justice, established Deeply Rooted in 2022 to leverage the healing power of nature to promote health and safety in eight West and Southwest Philadelphia communities: Kingsessing, Paschall, Elmwood, Cobbs Creek, Haddington, Mill Creek, Carroll Park, and Belmont. Funded with an initial $6 million investment from Penn Medicine and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Healthier Together Initiative, Deeply Rooted draws upon South's research showing how environmental interventions can reduce violence and improve health, and prioritizes the expertise of its two dozen community partners to determine where to plant trees, green vacant lots, build miniature parks, and award microgrants.
"Health justice means that all people feel safe and have the opportunity to be healthy in their communities," South said. "Now, more than ever, we need to stay hyper focused on working with people and communities who experience disproportionate disparities and ensuring people have the resources and power to enable the vision they have for their lives and communities."
Explore related stories about health justice at Penn Medicine
'We are all Deeply Rooted': Bringing health justice to action, Deeply Rooted is a community partnership that plants trees, greens vacant lots, and funds grassroots programs.
Health, greenery, and justice for all: Reversing racial inequities is a full-force effort rooted in research that includes gardens and parks, financial support, and lifting up local community members to lead the way.
A large-scale research study of health, wealth, and greening: Combining economic assistance with greening initiatives in a randomized trial, IGNITE aims to show how to reverse the harms of racial injustice in health.
From the neighborhood: For the Center for Health Justice, hiring people with deep roots of their own in West Philadelphia is key to partnering effectively to support healthier communities.
