FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct 31, 2024

Environmental Protection Agency funding will reduce tree waste, cut carbon emissions, and build workforce pathways for good-paying jobs.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Leaders from the Biden-Harris Administration, the State of Pennsylvania, and municipal agencies gathered in Philadelphia today to announce that PowerCorpsPHL, in collaboration with Landforce in Pittsburgh, has been selected to receive $15.3 million to expand urban forestry, repurpose wood waste from down and dead trees to higher value lumber products, and expand career training opportunities.

This award from the Environmental Protection Agency will fund a cross-sector project in Philadelphia, led by PowerCorpsPHL, in collaboration with Thomas Jefferson University, and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation.

Today marks the final stop on the American Climate Corps fall tour, which has made 10 stops across the country highlighting the impact American Climate Corps members are already having in communities around the country. The American Climate Corps was launched by President Biden in September 2023 and is a groundbreaking initiative to put a new, diverse generation of young Americans to work fighting the impacts of climate change today while gaining the skills they need to join the growing clean energy and climate-resilience workforce of tomorrow. From Flagstaff to Philadelphia, North Carolina to Michigan, the more than 15,000 American Climate Corps members in the inaugural class of President Biden’s American Climate Corps are already making a difference.

This funding will help grow the city’s Reforestation Hub – a first of its kind collaboration between Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, PowerCorpsPHL, Cambium Carbon, and Thomas Jefferson University. The Reforestation Hub plans to scale its operations, expanding its sawmill training program and improving processing efficiency at the nearby Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center. Additionally, funds will support the research and development of biochar, increasing wood waste utilization while producing a valuable soil amendment – all in alignment with the City of Philadelphia’s zero waste and sustainability goals.

“The American Climate Corps is transforming the way we tackle the climate crisis – by putting young people and community organizations in the driver’s seat to solve our most pressing climate and conservation challenges,” said Ali Zaidi, Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor. “Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, we are making historic strides in environmental and climate justice – all while ensuring young people have career paths into good-paying, climate jobs. Through the American Climate Corps’ partnership with NABTU and TradesFutures, every American Climate Corps member will have access to NABTU’s industry leading pre-apprenticeship curriculum, making good on the President’s promise to ensure good paying, union jobs for American Climate Corps members. Today’s announcement – which will help expand Philadelphia’s urban forestry programs and enhance landscape resilience in Pennsylvania neighborhoods – underscores how the American Climate Corps is centering community-led projects to meet the climate moment across the country.”

“EPA’s Community Change Grants program is a historic investment in environmental and climate justice. Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, community-scale projects like this one have the power to not only improve the circular materials economy and community resiliency, but it also has the power to change lives,” said EPA Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “Through PowerCorpsPHL, American Climate Corps members are developing the skills needed to see this work through and secure sustainable employment in the environmental field - a win across the board.”

PowerCorpsPHL is an American Climate Corps implementation partner funded through AmeriCorps and PennSERVE, the governor-appointed State Service Commission in Pennsylvania. AmeriCorps, the federal agency for service and volunteerism, acts as the hub for the American Climate Corps, which engages other federal agencies, including EPA, in its mission to mobilize a new generation to tackle urgent climate needs and prepare for the sustainable energy economy of tomorrow. AmeriCorps positions with PowerCorpsPHL engage un- and under-employed 18- to 30-year-olds vulnerable to gun violence in an immersive, paid, 4-to 24-month experience that results in connection to living wage jobs in clean energy, green infrastructure, and community-based careers.

“This award from the EPA will build on PowerCorpsPHL’s proven track record of engaging people from neighborhoods that have experienced disproportionate harm through climate change,” said Michael D. Smith, CEO, AmeriCorps. “As a 10-year AmeriCorps grantee, we’ve seen the way PowerCorpsPHL leverages community and national service to create economic opportunity. This investment will not only create a greener, healthier and more sustainable Philadelphia but it will build a pipeline of proximate leaders focused on lasting solutions to the climate crisis.”

"We are thrilled to receive this EPA grant, which represents a major investment in community-driven environmental resilience and economic opportunity for Philadelphia’s young people," said Julia Hillengas, Executive Director of PowerCorpsPHL. "This initiative will divert hundreds of tons of wood waste from landfills, ensure the benefits directly reach our most impacted communities, and showcase Pennsylvania’s leadership and innovation in waste-based manufacturing."

This grant will further expand educational pathways through collaboration with Thomas Jefferson University, which will develop a stackable credential program for participants to build skills within reuse manufacturing. Through collaboration with Farm Philly, the project will integrate with efforts to provide urban agriculture resources and support for historically disinvested neighborhoods.

“The University is excited to partner on this important initiative through which curriculum will be developed and offered through the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering, and Commerce,” said Dr. Ron Kander, Associate Provost for Applied Research at Thomas Jefferson University. “This program will not only support educational and career pathways into emerging areas of biomass manufacturing for PowerCorpsPHL and Landforce participants, but will advance both an equitable workforce and community climate resilience. By incorporating circular manufacturing technologies into the curriculum, the emerging workforce will be focused on developing a circular economy that meets technological, economic, social and environmental sustainability metrics.”

The funding will enable Philadelphia to address critical environmental challenges, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the diversion of organic waste. Over the course of the three-year grant, the project aims to divert more than 500 tons of wood from Philadelphia’s waste streams, preventing nearly half a million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

This effort is part of a larger regional collaboration led by Landforce, which seeks to connect biomass utilization campuses in both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Together, the cities will continue to leverage partnerships with municipal, state, and federal organizations to lead the way in creating a circular economy for urban wood waste, building community resilience, and reducing carbon emissions.

“Because of the unique cross-state partnership between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, this federal grant is enabling us to create a circular economy that crosses the State -- one that will turn fallen timber into lumber and biochar, while also creating a circular economy of ideas, best practices, and common purpose for the communities that we serve,” said Ilyssa Manspeizer, Ph. D., Executive Director, Landforce. “By sharing ideas, successes, and challenges, the whole will be much greater than the sum of the parts."

CEO Smith working with wood pieces that will be used for a PowerCorpsPHL project
PowerCorpsPHL working on project during EPA announcement
CEO Smith speaking at PowerCorps PHL event

AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, provides opportunities for Americans to serve their country domestically, address the nation’s most pressing challenges, improve lives and communities, and strengthen civic engagement. Each year, the agency places more than 200,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in intensive service roles; and empowers millions more to serve as long-term, short-term, or one-time volunteers. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.

AmeriCorps offers opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds to be a part of the national service community, grow personally and professionally, and receive benefits for their service. Learn how to get involved at AmeriCorps.gov/Serve.

The EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment. Through its role as a regulator, partner, and funder, the agency works to ensure clean air, land, and water. Spending nearly half its budget in grants to state environmental programs, non-profits, educational institutions, and more, EPA boosts environmental efforts across the board. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the Mid-Atlantic Region serves Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, and seven federally recognized tribes. For more information, visit www.epa.gov. Follow the Mid-Atlantic region on Twitter (EPARegion3) and Instagram (EPA_midatlantic) for updates, partner highlights, and announcements.

PowerCorpsPHL connects people to careers and advances community. PowerCorpsPHL engages out-of-school or out-of-work 18- to 30-year-olds in an immersive, paid 4- to 24-month program that results in connection to living wage jobs in energy, green infrastructure, and community-based careers. Specifically, PowerCorpsPHL is an American Climate Corps that utilizes AmeriCorps investments to run three programs and one social enterprise in Philadelphia while providing technical assistance to cities nationwide interested in adapting our model to their region.

Landforce is a Pittsburgh-based employment social enterprise nonprofit that creates opportunities for people who are excluded from family sustaining jobs to become trained and work in a transitional job in the environmental sector. At Landforce we believe that it is our responsibility to create the world we want to live in -- one where we can all show up fully as ourselves, where our pasts do not predict our futures, and our children can all live in a place where they can both literally and figuratively breathe easily. Since their founding 9 years ago, Landforce has provided almost 200 Pittsburghers with more than 600 professional level certifications, thousands of hours of soft skills training, and hundreds of hours of one-on-one career coaching. Landforce crews have contributed more than 75,000 hours of stewardship work to the Pittsburgh region, building miles of trails, planting hundreds of trees, removing acres of invasive plants, maintaining dozens of green infrastructure sites, and improving vacant lots. All elements are paid. In excess of 90% of our finishers move into subsequent employment, and just about everyone is still working 12 months later. Landforce (also known as the Pittsburgh Conservation Corps) is the prime recipient of the USEPA Community Change grant described here, and is grateful for its partnership with PowerCorpsPHL and the other Philadelphia partners.

The American Climate Corps is a historic workforce and training program that will engage tens of thousands of young people in tackling the climate crisis while gaining skills and experience for good-paying jobs in the clean energy economy of the future. The program was announced by President Biden in September 2023 and there are now over 15,000 members of the ACC serving in communities across the country.

Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (PPR) advances the prosperity of the city and the progress of its people through stewardship of nearly 10,200 acres of public land and waterways, and management of 500 recreation buildings, 166 miles of trail, and 250 playgrounds. PPR offers safe, enjoyable recreation, environmental and cultural programs and events throughout Philadelphia's parks and recreation system. PPR promotes the well-being and growth of the city’s residents by connecting them to the natural world, to each other and to fun, physical and social opportunities. More than 3,000 full-time and seasonal employees proudly serve Philly residents every day, ensuring the department remains a modern, equitable and exceptional parks and recreation system. Visit www.phila.gov/parksandrec, and follow @philaparkandrec on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Thomas Jefferson University, founded in 1824 as the Jefferson Medical College, is today a national doctoral research university and a pioneer in transdisciplinary, professional education. Home of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College and the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce, Jefferson is a preeminent academic institution delivering high-impact education in over 200 undergraduate and graduate programs to 8,300 students across 10 colleges. The University’s academic offerings now include architecture, business, design, engineering, fashion, health, medicine, science, social science and textiles. Jefferson is redefining the higher education value proposition with an approach that is collaborative and active; increasingly global; integrated with industry; focused on research across disciplines to foster innovation and discovery; and technology-enhanced. Student-athletes compete as the Jefferson Rams in the NCAA Division II Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.