Introducing Land Lab! Posted on October 27, 2017 by wpengine Spinning off from the successful city-wide Blight Bootcamp Conferences of the last two years in partnership with the Blight Working Group, GTECH is launching a series of Land Labs that will target the specific vacant land issues of a particular neighborhood. The first of the series will be hosted in Larimer! The first Land Lab is taking place on Saturday, November 4, in Larimer at St. James AME Church. The neighborhood is seeing significant development but is still dealing with high numbers of…Read More
Say Hello to the CommunityCare Stewards! Posted on October 20, 2017 by wpengine Meet the residents stewarding community greenspace through GTECH's new pilot program, CommunityCare. Our CommunityCare Pilot Program started in September and is now in full swing! GTECH is working closely with 11 CommunityCare Stewards that are maintaining and improving vacant land in the Homewood community. Our stewards are proud Homewood residents and passionate community members! They will dedicate 3 to 10 hours per month from now until May 2018 maintaining green and open spaces. In return, the stewards receive incentives of their…Read More
Welcome Miranda! Posted on August 31, 2017 by wpengine Hello! My name is Miranda Micire. I am thrilled to start my internship here with GTECH through the University of Pittsburgh’s Master’s of Social Work program. I am starting my first year in the Community Organizing and Social Action (COSA) program and will also be pursuing a joint degree in Public Administration through GSPIA. I am a Pittsburgh native that moved to Dayton, Ohio to attend the University of Dayton for my undergraduate degree. During my time in Dayton, I…Read More
All About the Sun! Posted on August 25, 2017 by wpengine This week, many of us got a chance to view (through safe viewing glasses, we hope!) a solar eclipse. This rare absence of daytime light as the Moon passes over the Sun brought renewed attention to the star that always shines at the center of our solar system. On average, light travels from the sun to Earth in about 8 minutes and 19 seconds. That means that the light coming from the Sun right now probably won’t even make it…Read More
Goodbye Summer Interns! Posted on August 18, 2017 by wpengine This summer we were lucky enough to have 2 summer interns. When most people think of internships, they think about runnings errands and other small tasks around the office. While we did have the interns work through some office tasks, the majority of their work had them onsite transforming vacant lots, creating art boards, and helping start new programs. We feel it is instrumental to have youth onboard, especially working with our Green Playces Initiative. Our internal research and experience…Read More
Meet our new GTECH GSI Neighborhood Liaisons Posted on August 9, 2017 by wpengine As we complete our GTECH Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) project in the Woods Run/O-27 sewershed on Pittsburgh's Northside, we are beginning the process in our next sewershed: the Negley Run/A-42 sewershed in the East End. As we did on the Northside, the first order of business for our GTECH GSI process was to hire neighborhood liaisons to represent the communities that make up this high-priority sewershed; Homewood, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar, East Hills, and East Liberty. These liaisons will serve as GTECH's front…Read More
So Long For Now Posted on July 28, 2017 by wpengine Over the past five years, I have walked through the door here at GTECH approximately 1,300 times. This Friday will be the last time I do so. I am leaving the organization to become the Manager of Corporate Relations at the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, an opportunity with a long-standing partner of GTECH that I couldn't pass up. While I am so excited about this next chapter, I will miss everything and everyone here at GTECH. There wasn't a day that…Read More
Green Spaces as Nature’s Medicine Posted on July 27, 2017 by Grounded Strategies Today's blog is by GTECH's Policy & Research Intern, Lilli Kashef Hamadani. Over the past two years, GTECH has been working with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to maintain vacant lots in Pittsburgh by contracting small business and nonprofits through the LandCare Program. Programs such as LandCare have been popping up all over the nation, and have been found to be largely beneficial to the residents, participants, and the city itself. Since programs like these impact thousands of residents nationally…Read More
Trees with Meaning Posted on July 21, 2017 by wpengine How a ReClaim Clairton Ambassador is adding a personal touch to the Montour Trail Meet Sue, one of the ReClaim Clairton Ambassadors participating in the 2016-2017 cohort. Sue loves her home in Clairton and was excited to have an opportunity to give back. Our partnership with Sue began last fall when GTECH was recruiting for the Ambassador Cohort. During her interview, we immediately appreciated Sue's passion for Clairton. She has a bubbly and outgoing personality with an infectious excitement for the…Read More
Meet Tom, GTECH Intern Posted on July 6, 2017 by Grounded Strategies We are excited to welcome Tom to our team this summer as a GTECH Intern. Tom will be a junior at Winchester Thurston in the fall. He loves hands-on projects and will be assisting during work days this summer. Learn more about Tom below: My name is Sifan Tao, and people usually call me Tom. I am really excited to start my summer internship at GTECH. When I was in elementary and middle school, I loved labor skills classes. In those class,…Read More
Juneteenth, The Forgotten Holiday Posted on June 23, 2017 by [email protected] Juneteenth, a holiday overlooked by the masses even though it is recognized in many of the United States and worldwide, is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in America. The significance of this holiday is one that hits the very heart of the African American population. Slavery was officially ended January 1, 1863 with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, but it took a little more than two years for the word to spread to the entire…Read More
Volunteer Day with FedEx Ground Posted on June 19, 2017 by wpengine On Friday, June 2, we kicked off our second demonstration project for the GTECH Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GTECH GSI) initiative in the high-priority O-27 sewershed. The goal of the demonstration projects for GTECH GSI is to capture stormwater before it reaches our overworked combined sewer system, while also providing a welcoming green space that meets community needs. For this particular project, we are partnering with Riverview Manor, a senior living facility in the Brighton Heights neighborhood of the Northside. The…Read More