FINAL REPORT - Baltimore City Department Of Public Works
2016 PILOT PROJECTFINAL REPORT
The Neighborhood Grow Center is a project ofProgram funding generously provided byWith the support of our partnersThe Neighborhood Grow Center is a program of the Baltimore Office of Sustainability’s Waste-To-Wealth Initiative.Learn more at wealth/Report prepared by:Andy CookSustainable Economic Development CoordinatorBaltimore City Department of PlanningJuly 2016
Table of ContentsExecutive Summary 4Background 6Partners 7Programming 9Metrics 11Lessons Learned 14Planning for the FutureAppendices16
Executive SummaryIn April 2016, The Baltimore Office ofSustainability, in partnership with the Departmentof Public Works and numerous communitypartners, hosted The Neighborhood Grow Centerat the Baltimore Community ToolBank.The Neighborhood Grow Center (NGC) was aseries of greening programs aimed at increasingthe capacity of Baltimore City residents toimplement vacant lot greening and stormwatermanagement projects. The goal of the programwas to create a ‘greening resource hub’ wherecity residents could acquire the skills, knowledge,and materials to take on these projects, whilealso strengthening community networks ofgreeners across the city.The programs took place every weekend inApril, and attracted over 200 visitors from 61city neighborhoods. The NGC hosted threeplant giveaways, two networking events, and20 workshops, which drew 140 participantscombined.The goal of the Neighborhood Grow Center PilotProject was to test the model for practicalityand usefulness to city residents, and to informplans to establish Neighborhood Grow Centersin several permanent locations throughoutBaltimore City.A workshop instructor prepares reclaimed lumber for the creation of outdoor furniture.The NGC consisted of five primary activities: 4A product design/build competitionbased on reclaimed building materials.A series of workshops focused ongreening skills.Plant give-aways hosted by partnerorganizations.Green product retail focusing on reclaimedbuilding materials and soil productscreated from food waste.Networking opportunities for communityleaders and green professionals.
Key Successes:22 workshops were held inOver 200 people visited tosubjects ranging from stormwatercredits to chicken coopsattend workshops, purchaseproducts, or receive free plantsBaltimore Community ToolBankAt least 10 community managedopen spaces received products builtat the NGC, includingadded a permanentretailspace for Chesapeake Compostrain barrels, raised beds,and outdoor furnitureWorks soil productsCity residents come out for the Community Greening Resource Netowrk’s (CGRN) plant give-away day.5
Participants share their designs from the ‘Design A Lot (And Fund It Too!)’ workshop.BackgroundMeanwhile, BOS staff working on the GrowingGreen Initiative were seeking ways to facilitatethe greening and re-use of Baltimore’s thousandsof vacant lots. They had created the GreenPattern Book, which outlines best practices forvacant lot greening, but recognized that manycity residents lacked the training and access tomaterials to implement strategies outlined in thebook.The concept of the Neighborhood Grow Centerdates back to 2014, when BOS and DPW staffrecognized potential synergies between threedifferent programs.In 2014, BOS was launching the Waste-ToWealth Initiative, a program aimed at growingBaltimore’s ‘re-use economy’ by supportingbusinesses and city operations that could createvalue from waste products. Specifically, WasteTo-Wealth is meant to target three waste streams:wood waste, food waste, and construction &demolition debris. A 2014 study of Baltimore’ssolid waste stream discovered that while thesematerials can be re-used to make high-valueproducts, most of what Baltimore City generatesin these categories is being chipped, landfilled, orincinerated. A small number of private businesseshave recently begun addressing this by turningfood waste into compost and by salvaging reusable building materials. For wood waste, BOSin partnership with the Department of Recreationand Parks has recently launched a program tosort and sell valuable wood generated throughcity maintenance of the urban tree canopy. BOSstaff made it a goal of the Waste-To-WealthInitiative to create distribution outlets for thesematerials in order to increase accessibility anddemand among city residents.At the same time, DPW staff were developingstrategies to help the City meet its goal ofreducing the amount of pollutants entering theChesapeake Bay through stormwater run-off.Since most of the land in the city is privatelyowned, DPW recognized that strategies mustbe developed to help city residents implementstormwater management on their own privateproperties. However, most city residents lack theknowledge and training to do this on their own.Recognizing that many of the materials beingtargeted by the Waste-To-Wealth Initiative(including compost, mulch, and lumber) werenecessary components of many stormwatermanagement and vacant lot greening bestpractices, BOS and DPW teamed up to create aproposal that would help them both reach theirgoals. The result was a proposed network oflocations throughout Baltimore where residentscould access the materials and training needed to6
Baltimore Community ToolBankcreate community farms, rain gardens, and othertypes of stormwater management projects thatcould use recycled materials and be implementedon vacant city lots. This goal was included as arecommendation in the Waste-To-Wealth Report,and assigned to BOS staff for implementation.Baltimore Community ToolBank served as thevenue for the Neighborhood Grow Center.Their vast inventory of tools, helpful andknowledgeable staff, and experience withgreening projects made the ToolBank an obviousfit. Their location in the Carroll-Camden IndustrialArea also made the site accessible to residents ofsouth Baltimore, an area historically underservedby city-wide programming. The ToolBankgenerously donated workshop space, retaildisplay space, tool rental, and staff time to keepthe building open on the weekends.BOS staff decided to run a temporary pilotversion of the Neighborhood Grow Center in theSpring of 2016, in order to test out the conceptbefore committing resources to the establishmentof a permanent site.Details Deconstruction andBrick & BoardBoth Details Deconstruction and Brick & Boardare social enterprise projects of Humanim, Inc.Details deconstructs buildings and wholesalesthe salvaged material for re-use; Brick & Boardis the retail outlet that processes the materialsand sells directly to consumers. The twoorganizations sponsored the DeconstructedDesign Competition by contributing prize moneyand helping to judge the entries. Details alsoprovided free salvaged wood and brick to theworkshops and Brick & Board retailed additionalmaterials at the NGC.A section of Details reclaimed material retail display.PartnersCommunity Greening ResourceNetwork (CGRN)Baltimore City is fortunate to have manybusinesses and non-profits that work onissues related to greening, water quality, wastediversion, and community development. Ratherthan replicate the work of these organizations,BOS staff envisioned the Neighborhood GrowCenter as a place where many different groupscould aggregate their services. In the Fall of2015, BOS convened a group of stakeholdersfrom such organizations to brainstorm how theNeighborhood Grow Center could support theirwork. The key take-away from that meetingwas that the Center should primarily serve as aplace for education, where partner groups couldlead workshops in various skills, and have theconvenience of having materials and tools onhand for participants to use. To that end, BOSengaged the following partners:CGRN is a project of Parks and PeopleFoundation that aims to provide greeningresources and knowledge to network members.CGRN assisted with NGC promotion, providedworkshop instruction and hosted two plant giveaway events at the NGC.Baltimore City Department of PublicWorks (DPW)DPW provided logistical support to the NGCplanning and evaluation process, and led twoinformational sessions about Baltimore City’sstormwater credit system.Chesapeake Compost WorksChesapeake Compost Works retailed their line ofsoil products at the NGC.7
The following additional businesses and nonprofit partners led workshops and/or plant giveaways at the NGC:FundersNeither BOS nor DPW had funds availablefor NGC implementation, so BOS staff raised 10,000 through grants from the ChesapeakeBay Trust and the Abell Foundation. Humanim,Inc. was the project’s fiscal sponsor. Thisgenerous foundation support enabled BOS to payfor workshop instruction and materials.Neighborhood Design CenterBlue Water BaltimoreTree BaltimoreStation North Tool LibraryChesapeake Bay FoundationInstitute for Local Self RelianceSunnyside FarmsHillen HomesteadModernatureB WillowKnits, Soy, & MetalIndustrial Arts CollectiveBaltimore Orchard Project/Civic WorksBaltimore City Department of Housing andCommunity DevelopmentAbove: Participants and materials at the Terrarium making workshop. Below: Participants in the ‘Pointillist Chair’ workshop.8
Winning designs from the Deconstructed Design Competition were prototyped at NGC workshops. Samantha Polinik’s winning ‘2By Folding Chair’ design (pictured at left), and the prototype workshop (pictured at right).Programmingwas prototyped in a workshop setting at the NGC,and most of the final products were donated tocommunity organizations throughout the city.The Neighborhood Grow Center consisted of fiveprimary programs: The Deconstructed DesignCompetition, a series of free greening workshops,five plant give-away events, green product retail,and one networking event for NGC workshopinstructors and partners. The WorkshopsIn addition to the design competition workshops,the NGC also hosted 18 other workshops focused on different greening skills or areas ofknowledge (see Appendix C for a complete listof workshops). These workshops were free andopen to all city residents. Workshop registrationwas promoted via the BOS website and socialmedia feeds, as well as through partner organization email lists and social media feeds, paperflyers at community events, and a press releasesent to all local media outlets (see Appendix Bfor promotional flyer samples). Registration wasmanaged through the online service Eventbrite,and participants could also sign up by callingBOS directly.The DeconstructedDesign CompetitionThe Deconstructed Design Competition wasconceived in partnership with Details Deconstruction and Brick & Board, two social enterpriseprojects of Humanim, Inc. that deconstruct buildings and re-sell the materials. The competitionsolicited original designs for products made fromreclaimed building materials, and offered a 500prize to winning designs (see Appendix A). Fourdesigns were chosen, including designs for afolding chair, an outdoor stationary chair, a coffeetable, and an outdoor book shelter. Each design9
Plant Give-AwaysSeveral NGC partner groups hold occasionalplant give-away days as part of their regularspring programming. These events are popular,and provide residents with seedlings, shrubs,and young trees for home or community gardens. The NGC hosted five give-aways overthe course of it’s month, in partnership with TheCommunity Greening Resource Network, TreeBaltimore, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, andHillen Homestead.These give-aways attracted over 60visitors, and distributed over 850plants in total. Green Product RetailThe NGC also included a green-product retaildisplay consisting of reclaimed building materials and composted soil products, providedby Brick & Board and Chesapeake CompostWorks.During ten days of retail, ChesapeakeCompost Works sold 243 of soilproducts and Brick & Board sold 400of building materials.Chesapeake Compost Works andBaltimore Community ToolBank haveagreed to continue selling CCW soilproducts at the ToolBank as part oftheir regular operations.A design competition winner constructs a coffee table from reclaimed roofdecking and flooring.The workshops generally fell into one of twocategories: Informational or Making/Building. Theinformational workshops were lecture-based,and covered topics including how to access cityowned land, permaculture techniques, and Baltimore City’s stormwater credit system. The Making/Building workshops were more hands-on, andusually required the use of power tools. Theseworkshops included all of the Deconstructed Design Competition prototype sessions, as well asworkshops in how to build chicken coops, how tomake candles and terrariums with recycled materials, and how to make rain barrels. Networking for GreenProfessionalsAt the end of the program, BOS hosted a networking event for workshop instructors andother partners, many of whom had not met overthe course of the NGC program. Opportunitiesfor professional collaborations were discussed,and plans were formed to create ongoing ‘greenprofessionals’ networking events in the future.10
102220842%Neighborhood Grow CenterDaysOpenBy The 1852 643NeighborhoodGrow CenterAttendee Distributionby NeighborhoodNumber of attendees012-34-67-9 11NeighborhoodsRepresentedPlantsGiven AwayProductSales
WHAT8Micro-Green �ChairsTerrariums
188RainBarrels10RaisedBeds6ChickenCoops1Worm BinsCoffee TableMADE13
Participants in the Permaculture 101 workshop.Lessons LearnedConsider a minimal workshopsign-up feeCoordinate closely with othergreening programsBOS staff chose to make all NGC workshops freein order to be accessible to people of all incomes,but this may have facilitated low turn-out due topeoples tendency to view free things as optional.219 people registered for workshops throughEventbrite, but only 152 showed up (69% ofregistrants). This was unfortunate because mostworkshops booked up completely online and hadwaiting lists of people who could have otherwiseattended. This problem could be solved by eithera) over-booking workshops with the expectationof 65-75% turn-out, or b) charging a minimumregistration fee ( 5-10) that would encouragepeople to take registration more seriously. Forpeople who wish to attend but either can’t affordsuch a fee or lack online payment capabilities, ahardship exemption may be made available.April is a very busy month for greening activitiesin Baltimore! Despite our attempts to coordinatewith as many greening partner organizations aspossible during the NGC planning process, somegreening organizations in the city expressedconcern that NGC programs overlapped with theirown. While this may be unavoidable, care shouldbe taken in future planning processes to createand distribute an event calendar to all greeningorganizations at least two months ahead of time.This issue may be reduced if the NGC becomesan annual or permanent event that other organizations can plan around.Consider weather/coldness of spaceLocating the NGC at the Baltimore CommunityToolBank was successful in nearly every wayexcept one: April 2016 was chilly and rainy. TheBaltimore Community ToolBank is in a drafty,14
un-heated warehouse space. Many workshopparticipants complained of the chilly atmosphere.Future NGC iterations would do well to considerusing space heaters for the workshop area orwarning visitors ahead of time to dress appropriately.Staff AppropriatelyAlthough partner organizations assisted in promotion and workshop instruction, the bulk of theplanning, fundraising, execution, and reportingof the NGC program was taken on by one BOSstaff person. While possible, such light staffingis not recommended for future iterations of theNGC. At a minimum, an additional staff personshould be present during all NGC activities tohandle participant check-in and product sales,while another staff person coordinates with workshop instructors and host-site staff. Additionally,funding should be made available in the budgetfor contracting the design and creation of promotional materials, and for program evaluation andreporting.Workshops were the most popular NGCactivity75% of NGC visitors came to attend workshops.According to our participant survey results (SeeAppendix E), 49% of visitors want to see moreworkshops covering more topics at future NGCprograms. The plant give-aways and green product retail drew far fewer attendees, possibly because the same materials were available at otherlocations throughout the city.Participants in the Raised Bed building workshop.15
Planning For the Future of theNeighborhood Grow CenterThe goal of the Neighborhood Grow Center wasto increase Baltimore City residents capacity togreen vacant lots and implement stormwatermanagement best practices at their homes andin their communities. By providing education andresources to over 200 city residents about theseand other subjects, and by creating a venue forresidents interested in greening to learn and network, we accomplished this goal and more.However, the pilot project lasted only one month,leaving the question of how the NGC will evolvein the future. Based on lessons learned from thepilot project, BOS recommends considering thefollowing scenarios:Instructor and participants in the Plant Propagation workshop.Scenario One: ReplicationScenario Two: Establish a PermanentLocationTurning the NGC into an annual event hosted bythe Office of Sustainability is one option. Staffat the Baltimore Community ToolBank welcomethe idea of hosting the program again, and manyparticipants expressed a desire for the programto be repeated. With much of the process andprogramming designed, replicating would beexponentially easier than creating the pilot. However, this would require annual fundraising, orthe development of a different revenue model. Itwould also require the commitment of two BOSstaff to run the program. At present, the BOS staffperson that ran the pilot is on a temporary contract with the City, and his position may not existin 2017.The City could identify a location where the NGCcould exist on a permanent or seasonal basis.This could be in an underutilized city-ownedproperty, a school with available space in thesummer months, or a space leased from a partner organization. The benefit of this would be thatover time, residents could learn about and cometo rely on the NGC as a resource, and BOSwould not have to re-program a host site’s space.Additional costs would be incurred for maintaining and staffing such a facility, and it would nothave the benefit of access to Baltimore Community ToolBank’s vast library of tools.In order to continue programming established inthe pilot, a new space would need at a minimum:Alternatively, the program could be replicated bya partner organization. The Department of PublicWorks, Parks and People Foundation, BaltimoreCommunity ToolBank, and Details Deconstructionwere all engaged in different aspects of the pilot,and could ‘adopt’ the program, changing it asneeded to suit their goals and capacity.400 sf of open workshop space150 sf of retail space100 sf of indoor storage space400 sf of outdoor activity spaceLighting, electricity, and HVACEasy proximity to public transit2 staff during open hours16
Scenario 3: DisseminationBOS and DPW could facilitate these programs forpartner organizations, and brand them as NGCevents. In this scenario, the NGC is no longer alocation, but a series of programs and events thathappen throughout the city. Eventually, BOS andDPW could hand off ownership of these programs to partner organizations. This has alreadybegun in a small way, by Baltimore CommunityToolBank continuing to sell Chesapeake CompostWorks products as a result of the NGC pilot.A third option would be to distribute the NGCprograms over various locations throughout thecity. For example, Brick & Board will be openingtheir own retail facility in Fall 2016. BOS couldwork with them to add other locally producedgreen products (like compost, mulch, and lumber)to their inventory, and the inventory of other appropriate retailers throughout Baltimore (SecondChance, The Loading Dock, and the Habitat forHumanity ReStore among them). These retailsites could also host the NGC workshops andnetworking events during off-hours. The NGCworkshops could also exist as an annual seriesat any of the various makerspaces in the city.Any of these above scenarios will require theongoing efforts of at least one coordinator, eitherin city government, or at a community greeningorganization.A satisfied customer purchasing reclaimed flooring to renovate his bathroom.17
A Pointillist Chair is installed at the Remington Village Green Community Garden.
APPENDICESAppendix A: Deconstructed Design Competition Call-For-EntriesAppendix B: Neighborhood Grow Center Promotional FlyerAppendix C: Neighborhood Grow Center Workshop CalendarAppendix D: Program Final BudgetAppendix E: Participant Survey ResultsAppendix F: Deconstructed Design Competition Winners
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