The Beautification Committee of the PSCA is responsible for, among other things, all of the great work that has been done to increase the number of street trees in the neighborhood. However, planting the trees isn’t the end of the story. While many homeowners who have welcomed new trees in front of their own houses have done a great job at keeping their trees watered and pruned, there are several new trees in public spaces that require volunteers to care for them.

The Beautification Committee is seeking volunteers to help for an hour or two on Wednesdays and Saturdays from now through October (when the trees go to sleep for the winter). These groups of volunteers will primarily water and prune the trees around Capitolo Playground.

Volunteers will meet at 6pm on Wednesdays and 10am on Saturdays at the main entrance to Capitolo at 9th and Federal. The Beautification Committee welcomes anyone who can attend any of these gatherings so please don’t feel like you are obligating yourself to come to every one. A representative of the Committee will be on hand to instruct people on what to do.

For more information or to RSVP, please email beautification@passyunk.org.

On Saturday June 25th, Mural Arts, Captiolo Playground and the Passyunk Square Civic Association will celebrate the dedication of the neighborhood’s newest mural: The Melting Pot.

This mural reflects the diversity of South Philadelphia and the vibrancy of the recreation center. The artist Jon Laidacker worked with community members, assistant artists, and youth at St. Gabriel’s Hall to create this mural. During this process, participants learned about art making, community engagement, mosaics, and mural making.

The dedication kicks off at 1pm and the celebration (with FREE Moon Bounce, Balloon Artist, Crafts and Fun!) will continue until 3pm.

The Capitolo Community Garden is enjoying its first year with great success. We have accomplished many improvements including removal of fencing and providing a drainage network and will continue to make improvements into the future. There are 45 members currently gardening. A waiting list has been established. For questions, comments and related info, contact Kim at kalabno@gmail.com.