Thanks to Toro’s Urban Innovation Award, Parks & Rec’s Organic Recycling Center has a solution to a lumbering problem.

This June, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation’s Organic Recycling Center will receive the Toro Urban Park Innovation Award. The Toro Company sponsors the award in partnership with City Parks Alliance. The award recognizes innovation in park management and practices. It also comes with a $50,000 grant.
 
The award will be presented at Greater & Greener 2022. This is the City Parks Alliance’s biennial international parks conference. This year, the conference takes place in Philadelphia from June 18 to June 21, 2022. Parks & Rec and the Fairmount Park Conservancy are partners in this event.
 
Greater & Greener is designed to have a positive impact on the host cities. The Toro Urban Park Innovation Award will help to ensure that Philadelphia enjoys a lasting, tangible impact for years to come.
Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center

The Organic Recycling Center has operated in West Fairmount Park for 40 years. It takes organic waste and processes it into usable materials. The Center processes over 6,000 tons of organic waste each year. One of the biggest challenges facing the Center is the number of large trees it receives. Parks & Rec’s tree crews remove many dead or dying trees from city streets, parks, and forests each year. These are all brought to the Center. The amount of wood waste has increased significantly in recent years. This is due to climate change, storm impact, aging trees, and the removal of invasive species.

Turning trees into treasure

To reduce wood waste, Parks & Rec created a temporary lumberyard. Here, the wood from these trees is turned into useable lumber. This lumber is then used at Parks & Rec sites as part of the “Neighborhood Wood” initiative. Projects included new bookshelves, cubbies, garden beds, benches, footbridges, and more. Youth-driven organizations helped complete many of these projects. These include PowerCorpsPHL and Tiny WPA.

An innovative solution to a challenge

But the Center’s lumberyard faces a challenge. The milling equipment is exposed to the elements. This causes it to break down, slowing operations. The wood planks milled at the lumberyard are kept outside with limited cover. This can make the wood unusable.

The $50,000 grant from The Toro Company will allow Parks & Rec to create an organization and storage system. With the funds, Parks & Rec will build a new pole barn at the Organic Recycling Center.

The grant and the new structure will allow Parks & Rec to:

  • Protect milling equipment, lowering maintenance costs.
  • Improve the capacity of the facility to help process more organic waste.
  • Safely store the milled wood, preventing damage and waste.
  • Produce less low-value wood chips and more high-value lumber.

How this project impacts people in Philadelphia

Parks & Rec would like to thank both Toro and the City Parks Alliance for this award. The grant will benefit people and organizations throughout Philadelphia. When the project is complete it will: 
  • Allow the Center to produce lumber for community projects across the city.
  • Provide wood for use by local craftspeople and businesses.
  • Generate funding through sale of lumber to support city forest preservation efforts.
  • Support sustainability efforts by using a local natural resource within 10 miles of its origin.
  • Provide a model that other cities can replicate.
  • Benefit organizations like PowerCorpsPHL who provide training to young people.

 

About the Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center

⇒Learn how city residents and businesses can get free or low-cost compost, mulch, and wood chips.

⇒Learn how businesses can register to dispose of organic materials.  

 

Register for the Greater & Greener conference today!
Join us from June 18 to 21, 2022 to experience seminars, tours, and speeches given by international thought leaders in urban park design.