The City of Lancaster recently announced that it received a $15,000 Healing the Planet grant from the GIANT Company and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. This grant seeks to help build environmental stewardship by connecting families with community green spaces. The funds will be used for materials and labor to build compost boxes and for purchasing composting tools, as well as for supporting education and outreach activities.

The city will use this grant to work with Lancaster Compost Co-Ops to expand its community composting program to four additional park sites: Sixth Ward Park, Reservoir Park, South End Park and Buchanan Park. The co-op already has similar sites at the Lancaster City Recycling Drop-off Center and Musser Park, with a new community bin recently launched behind Culliton Park at the intersection of Conestoga, Union, and Filbert streets.

Compost co-op membership is free, with members expected to participate in an orientation session and contribute approximately one hour of work per month for bin maintenance activities. Community composting sites offer opportunities for engaging citizens in environmentally-related conversations and stewardship, and they are intended to bring people together with a shared sense of purpose and neighborhood involvement, in addition to providing opportunities for art and education.

For more information, visit the Lancaster Compost Co-Ops website, http://www.lancastercompost.us.