Micro Intervention: Farming at the Train Station

Photo Courtesy of the Mt. Airy Patch

An entire blog article can be written on the Point of Destination Cafe located in the Mt. Airy neighborhood in Philadelphia PA, and maybe later we will do that.  In short, they are a cafe located in the historic Upsal Train Station on the Chestnut Hill West line of the SEPTA train system and they brew a mean cup-a-Joe.  Its not their coffee we are interested in (for now) but their community outreach efforts.

When you enter, you will no doubt notice the corrugated cardboard chairs that were the result of a collaborative art and design project with the Charter High School for Architecture and Design. Again, this project alone warrants its own blog article, and maybe we will do that later as well.  However, we are interested on what you pass by before entering the building: the vegetable garden. 

The Cafe employees have teamed up with students from the Blair Christian Academy and are planting, weeding, and watering small garden plots.  The students have learned how to properly maintain the garden and have written narratives and/or haikus about their experiences.  Local artist and educator Troy Johnson lead an effort with the children to paint the outside of the garden boxes.

This is an inspiring effort, and serves as an important model for grassroots education.

Special thanks to Zach at the Mt. Airy Patch for his reporting!