Shari’s site will be a gateway to McKeesport’s ‘Cultural and Educational District’. She wants to help beautify the area, and involve as many community organizations as possible.
Her site will welcome visitors to her neighborhood and be a beautiful place for the residents.
If you drove by Shari's site in April, it might have looked like this, as they were capping the sewer lines to the property!
One of the first volunteer days
A young volunteer shows off a worm
Shari welcoming volunteers to her site
Bricks line the entrance to Shari's site
Tackling a mulch pile
Shari reusing file folders as weed barrier on her site.
Volunteers mulching the path
Volunteers planting
Laying out plants for the front bed
Shari's thriving plants
June 2nd: The site starting to look fuller with added flowers and mulch!
The front bed, planted and mulched on Shari's site.
Volunteers spread mulch on the site
Split rail fence being installed on Shari's site in July.
July 6th: The addition of a beautiful split rail fence and chalk board for community events
Assembling the bench
James models the new bench
Shari's nearly-complete site
Walt presenting his design to fellow Ambassadors.
Creating more flower beds during a June workday
Digging out a flower bed on Walt's site in June.
Tilling the site for flower beds.
Walt's targeted vacant lot used to have a railroad run through it.
The old railroad tower will be the feature of the site.
Volunteers working on railroad tie beds.
Another railroad tie bed.
Hank!
Volunteers digging a bed.
Working on the railroad tower.
An up close shot of the railroad tower getting a new roof
Keeping with the railroad theme...
Railroad ties line the site.
New roof!
The corner of the site.
The proposed design for the Reservoir Retreat with the help of designers.
This is the largest project of the ReClaim McKeesport cohort.
May 16th: The outline of the beds and addition of the pathway really starts to fill the space
Dana's site after a June workday.
June 20th: The addtion of the shed and picnic tables are the finishing touches
Rochelle's site before her first workday.
The site was cleaned up and prepared for a planting day!
Rochelle's site as it looks at the end of August, 2015.
Volunteers on a recent workday.
Tackling the hillside!
Volunteers discuss a mulching strategy.
Taking a well earned pizza break.
A group of volunteers on the site.
Volunteers.
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko reviews upcoming projects with ambassadors Rhonda Moorer and Sharon Soles
Sharon will be adding butterfly-attracting plants to her site.
Currently the site has a gazebo, which will be incorporated into a site design.
Sharon poses with her design on her site.
Volunteers after a planting day.
Sharon's Lion Statue rounds out her project
Julie's design incorporates the existing trees and adds seating and perennials.
Julie, on her site before her project kicked-off.
The site was unwelcoming to hikers and bikers along the GAP trail.
Julie describes her beautification project along McKeesport's trail system during a Tuesday evening presentation at Founders' Hall Middle School.
Julie's site in July 2015.
Planting the garden bed.
A volunteer on a May 2015 workday.
Volunteers create pods of river rock.
River rock on Julie's site
Julie after moving 10 tons of river rock on her site.
Julie's completed site.
Volunteers work on Julie's garden bed
Volunteers build a corner garden bed
Volunteers spent many hours moving river rock.
5 tons of river rock!
Building a river rock pod.
Julie's site after a June volunteer day.
Arranging the river rock
Volunteers after a long workday.
Julie's completed site.
Julie's completed site.
Kim and her son have been maintaining these lots for years.
Kim is going to bring color and life to this vacant space.
Kim can't wait to get started on her project!
Kim and Jibran collecting hostas from a neighbor!
Topsoil being delivered to Kim's site in June.
Kim after trimming the tree on her site.
ReClaiming bricks to line Kim's sidewalk.
Hank and Jibran laying bricks.
A freshly planted bed of hostas.
Volunteers after a hard day of work.
The site entirely mulched and nearly complete!
The site with a coat of paint.
Rhonda stands on a vacant adjacent to her church, where her mother in the pastor.
Rhonda's Site
Volunteers tackle a pile of mulch.
Staff & Volunteers on a recent planting day.
Rhonda planting flowers on her site.
All ages come to help out.
The entrance to Rhonda's site during a June workday.
Stumps are installed on the site.
A Starbucks volunteer paints a stump.
The beginnings of a pallet wall.
Volunteers constructing the pallet wall.
The completed pallet wall.
The pallet wall gets some color!
Volunteers painting.
Volunteers, big and small, worked on Rhonda's site in August.
A pergola over the mulch pad adds the finishing touch to the community site.
The competed site.
Alandra and April, with the help of local designers, created the design for their project.
Alandra and April, ReClaim Gothic.
April, a professor at PSUGA with ReClaim Ambassador and fellow Professor Alandra on their site with their design.
The site is right at the main entrance to campus.
The soon-to-be walking path on the site.
Volunteers from the University on a recent workday.
A volunteer on a recent workday digs holes for trees.
University students working on the site.
University students working on the site.
Progress, after a recent workday.
University volunteers celebrate their progress after a recent workday.
Alandra & April posing on their site.
Alandra's site in May.
The site, in June of 2015