By Leicia Monfort, Recreation Supervisor

Is my child on the right track to gaining a successful career and a life full of joy, love and prosperity? Parents of young adults ages 11–18 often wonder if they’ve made the right decisions in preparing their children for the future. Did I register them in the right programs? Have I provided enough support? Is my child comfortable speaking to me? Well, it’s not too late. Sean Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens” and Dr. Tim Elmore’s “7 Life Skills Students Need to Succeed” give us a few pointers on how we can help mold our youth and encourage positive outcomes for a successful transition into adulthood. In summary, here are the seven habits or skills (combined) needed to be successful effective teens:

1. Be a proactive leader. A proactive leader is someone who is not afraid to stand up for what he or she believes in and take initiative to do things that others may not view as favorable.
2. Begin with the end in mind. It’s like playing chess. You must know your next move before you make your initial move. Learning to plan strategically is vital to making the right decisions no matter what stage you are in life. Strategic thinking helps not only with completing tasks but with building relationships with people as well.
3. Put first things first; don’t get distracted in the flood of things. This means being able to set priorities and not get deterred and lose focus. The essence of time management is to organize and execute around priorities. It’s easy to get caught up with trying to multi-task to seemingly accomplish more, but the less time you spend on the necessary things, the more it takes away from the quality.
4. Think win-win. You need to look for or create a win/win situation. How can both parties benefit from this decision? You must maintain a perspective beyond your own vision to be able to change the culture.
5. Seek first to understand then to be understood. Everyone wants to know that their voice is being heard. Make sure that in your interactions you are listening to understand before pushing for your agenda to be understood.
6. Synergize. Steven Covey, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Encouraging our youth to value the differences and opinions of others is important to teaching them the dynamics of great teamwork and the importance of having an open mind in the decision-making process.
7. Sharpen the saw. Dr. Tim Elmore. “People learn best in community and in relationship…” Steven Covey, “To maintain and increase effectiveness, we must renew ourselves in body, heart, mind, and spirit.” It is important to teach our youth that it’s okay to rest and attack things in a different manner. There are times where the answer you’re looking for comes right when you allow yourself to breathe, relax and look at the situation another way. Research new ways and don’t be afraid to ask for advice.

The Takoma Park Recreation Department continues to seek ways that we too can help support youth during their transition into adulthood. This fall we have quite a few programs geared towards enhancing certain skills as well as providing resources needed to prepare for them for their next phase in life. The Young Entrepreneurs Program, Healthy Cooking for Teens and the Teen Lounge Power Hour are just a few. Visit our website at www.takomaparkmd.gov/recreation to see what program and services are of interest to you or your teen. For more information on Teen Programs, please contact Leicia Monfort at leiciam@takomaparkmd.gov.

This article appeared in the October 2018 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Sean Gossard

Since 2008, the Hillwood Manor Community Garden has been a welcome site along New Hampshire Avenue in Takoma Park to learn about sustainable gardening and local ecology, and it’s a beautiful place to relax and spend time outdoors.

Last month, Takoma Park’s first community garden celebrated 10 years with a re-dedication ceremony and picnic that featured guests, including Mayor Kate Stewart, Councilwoman Talisha Searcy and retired city gardener Mike Welsh.

“We had neighbors come out with no history with the garden,” said volunteer Pam Sparr. “It was really nice getting new people there.”

The project began in early 2008 as a way to help revitalize neighborhoods through “greening” initiatives. A group of volunteers, including a fifth- and sixth-grader, helped to pitch the idea to the city.

“We wanted it to be an intergenerational and multicultural effort from the beginning to reflect the diversity and beauty of our neighborhood,” according to the group.

The garden itself is actually two adjacent spaces near Sligo Creek Park that are not fully connected. Because of the locations, gardening in the area required cooperation from Takoma Park, Montgomery County and several state agencies.

Takoma Park helped play a big role in negotiating with the jurisdictions to get the project off the ground. The City also provided a bulk of the funds, paying for a stone retaining wall and water pump.

Since its creation, the difference in the area has been stark. Gardening crews have received compliments from drivers, walkers and residents waiting at two nearby bus stops.

“The garden has evolved beyond our expectations, and it’s grown organically (no pun intended),” Sparr said. “People have been using the gardens to memorialize loved ones, and we have embraced that.”

As for the future of the garden, planners hope to create a more sustainable watering solution, raise more money for plant material and add new landscaping rocks after the old ones were stolen. They also hope to get younger people involved in the planning and upkeep of the gardens.

“In the next 10 years, we want to see new leadership by the next generation of neighbors,” Sparr said. “We want to do more to engage with younger people.”

Those who wish to volunteer to help with the community garden should email Carol “Chipper” Woodward at carol.king.woodward@gmail.com. Students can receive community service credit for volunteering.

This article appeared in the October 2018 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

Hundreds gathered at the Takoma Park Community Center on Feb. 4 for a public teach-in on the city’s sanctuary ordinance and how it protects their immigrant neighbors. “There’s a lot of angst in the community,” said Takoma Park Police Chief Alan Goldberg, “but we’re here to say that it’s business as usual in Takoma Park.”

The angst stems from a series of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump related to curbing immigration, including one that targets sanctuary cities like Takoma Park specifically.

The order, titled Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States, withholds federal funding from cities that offer sanctuary to illegal immigrants.

According to Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart, the city stands to lose $90,000 in such federal funds, but Takoma Park has no intention of revoking its ordinance. “We’re already fundraising,” said Stewart. “We’ll make up that money [in other ways.]”

At the teach-in, however, Maryland State Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez warned that “that bill is mild compared to what we are going to see moving forward. It’s coming, and it’s coming very soon.”

The crowd filled the auditorium and several overflow rooms where the speakers and panel were live streamed on television screens, and some even sat on the floor in the aisles to listen as poems were recited, music was played and a brief history of Takoma’s sanctuary ordinance was given.

“When we organized together last time, it was about politics,” said community activist Tebabu Assefa while explaining one of the amendments made to the ordinance in 2007. “This time it is about humanity.”

Lilo Gonzalez led the assembled crowd in several songs in both English and Spanish. “As a former refugee from El Salvador, it is my duty to be here,” Gonzalez said. “With this new administration, it’s time to come be a part of this movement and work hard to make this country a country for everybody.”

Mayor Kate Stewart moderated a panel discussion with City Manager Suzanne Ludlow; Police Chief Alan Goldberg; Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich; Gustavo Torres, Executive Director, CASA de Maryland and Denyse Sabagh Esq., a Partner with Duane Morris.

Katie Burn was one of the audience members and explained that her stake in the matter was personal. “My husband is an immigrant,” Burn said. “This is near and dear to us.”

President Trump’s executive order says that “it is the policy of the executive branch to ensure, to the fullest extent of the law, that a State, or a political subdivision of a State, shall comply” and cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But at the teach-in, city leaders and activists alike from Takoma Park made clear that they weren’t changing the ordinance or their operating procedures. “We have no interest or authority in the deportation of immigrants,” Goldberg said in a statement. “The mission and commitment of the Takoma Park Police Department is the safety and welfare of all our residents.”

The sentiment expressed by the hundreds of residents that filled the community center seemed to be the same. “This is a temporary setback,” Assefa said. “Love will win.”

This article appeared in the March 2017 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

Ever wonder what happens to all the “stuff” city crews pick up from your curb each week? Waste management is the common terminology used for all the activities and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal.

In 2016, the City collected approximately 6,957 tons of municipal waste from single-family homes, small apartment buildings, city facilities and public spaces. The four major streams of waste generated were as follows:

1. Solid waste (46 percent)
2. Yard waste (32 percent)
3. Recyclable material (19 percent)
4. Food waste (3 percent)

The City had a total recycling rate of 54 percent, meaning that more than half of the waste generated was diverted from the disposed waste stream.

Waste generated in the City of Takoma Park is collected by the sanitation staff from Monday to Friday. Yard waste is collected on Mondays, and trash, food waste and recycling is collected from four different neighborhoods between Tuesday and Friday. In addition, the City provides fall leaf collection five weeks per year generally beginning during the third week of November and ending in late December.

Here’s an overview of how the City manages waste once it’s collected from residents’ homes.

Yard waste and fall leaves: The collected yard waste and fall leaves are brought to the Public Works yard and passed through a tub grinder, which shreds the material into small pieces. This mulch is then made available to the public for pickup as well as delivery. Yard waste can be used as a top-dressing around trees and gardens. The City also uses mulch in our bio-retention facilities to help filter stormwater.

Trash: The City collects trash from single family and multi-family homes that are fewer than 13 units. On average, a Takoma Park household produces 38 pounds of trash per week. With an assumption of a typical four-member household, the per capita production is significantly lower than the national average of 80.36 pounds of trash, as estimated by the EPA.

Trash collected in Takoma Park is taken to the Northeast Transfer Station in DC, operated by Waste Management Inc. Most waste processed at this facility is then moved by trailer to either King George Landfill or Middle Peninsula Landfill in Virginia. Takoma Park uses this DC facility instead of the Montgomery County trash processing facility in Gaithersburg because the price per ton is lower, and the location is closer.

Recycling: The City collects recycling in a single stream from single-family homes and multi-family homes that are fewer than 13 units. The average household in Takoma Park produces 18 pounds of recycling per week. With an assumption of a typical four-member household, the per capita production is significantly lower than the national average of 30.8 pounds of recycling, as estimated by the EPA. Recycling collected by the City is processed in a facility operated by the Maryland Environmental Service in Prince George’s County.

The City uses the Prince George’s County facility because it accepts recycling in a single stream. The Montgomery County recycling facility requires paper to be delivered separately from the other recyclables – also known as split-stream or dual stream. The City changed from dual-stream to single-stream collection to reduce program costs by using one truck for recycling collection instead of two.

Food waste: Food waste is collected on the same day as trash and recycling weekly. Participation in the food waste collection program is voluntary, and households can sign up for the program on the city website. The collected food waste is transported to Prince George’s County Composting facility operated by Maryland Environmental Service. This facility is the only one in our area currently providing food composting services.

Moving Forward

The City relies on regional waste disposal facilities to process its waste. The Maryland Environmental Services Food Waste Composting facility has set a cap on the tonnage of food waste the city can haul to its composting facility to five tons per week. Currently the City brings just less than four tons of food waste to the facility weekly. Efforts to increase participation in the food waste program would help reduce the amount of waste requiring disposal slightly. However, more is needed to meet area waste reduction goals.

Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties have set solid waste management goals to achieve a new 65 and 60 percent waste diversion rate by 2020, respectively. Their plans highlight public outreach, new policy implementation and innovation to be key strategies toward achieving their goal.

From 2010 through 2015, Takoma Park’s yearly recycling collection remained relatively constant with an average yearly collection of 1,500 tons. Public outreach to better inform residents what is and what is not recyclable and compostable may help us increase recycling tonnage. The City implemented an online tool in 2016 to provide that type of help for residents. The Waste Wizard search bar can be accessed at: takomaparkmd. gov/government/public-works/curbsidecollection-services/recycling-collection.

Additional outreach efforts under consideration include informational mailings, distribution of educational materials to new residents and seasonal signage on bus shelters.

The City has already instituted several policies, including a polystyrene and plastic bag ban to help to decrease trash as well as litter. Additionally, City-sponsored events require collection of recycling and food waste, in addition to trash, to reduce the waste generated from special events. Many communities have used a “Pay as You Throw” system to encourage residents to reduce their waste and increase their recycling participation by charging for the amount of trash generated by each household. These programs use a bag fee or a can fee to generate funding to cover the program. This financial incentive often increases waste diversion by residents as they can more clearly see the cost for the waste they generate. Staff is exploring this option for the City.

Additionally, the next stage of the Green Home Certification program in Takoma Park is expected to include Backyard Habitat and Waste Reduction as new categories for earning light, medium or dark green certifications. Stay tuned to learn more this spring!

This article appeared in the March 2017 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Rick Henry

A group in Takoma Park was looking for eternal life. The big question – where will one go to achieve it? After a several-month search, members of the Committee for a Takoma Park Scatter Garden identified three possible sites within the city that they feel are ideal candidates for locating the city’s first municipal “scatter garden,” a place where people scatter the ashes of their loved ones, whose names are displayed on small plaques.

However, the City Council did a hand vote at its meeting on Feb. 22, indicating no interest in pursuing a scatter garden on city land at this time.

The three sites that the group had proposed are:

1. Upper Portal Park, located at the corner of Eastern Avenue and Piney Branch Road, adjacent to the CadyLee Mansion;
2. Stuart Armstrong Park/Woods, a big section of woods located at Philadelphia and Holly Avenues between Takoma Elementary School and Piney Branch Road; and
3. Thomas-Siegler House and Garden, located at the intersection of Tulip and Maple Avenues

After hearing about and researching scatter gardens, a group of Takoma Park residents last year began pursuing a proposed Takoma Park scatter garden. Many cities have municipally-owned and operated cemeteries and many of those have scatter gardens in them. The Takoma Park scatter garden would follow a long tradition of cities providing a place for memorials to departed residents.

Encouraged by community feedback and working in concert with City parks and recreation staff and the Commemoration Commission, residents, including Jennifer Beman, have spent the last few months exploring the issue and location options in response to inquiries from the City Council.

“The City Council asked us to gather information about where it (the scatter garden) might be located, what it might look like and how it might function and then present it to them,” Beman said.

According to Beman, five criteria were used to evaluate the final three sites that were selected.

1. The property has to be owned and maintained by the City, not the county.
2. Immediate neighbors of the property must be supportive. “We went and talked with a lot of neighbors, and no one objected to the idea,” Beman said.
3. The sites must be able to be adopted without a lot of change.
4. The site must be “appropriate.” According to Beman, appropriate means “serene and tranquil, but also visible. It’s a hard balance to find.”
5. The site must be underutilized, meaning it is not really being used for any other purpose.

Beman White said each proposed site has its virtues. “There are a number of markers already at Upper Portal,” she said. “And there is already a garden at the Thomas Siegler property, and we propose to locate the scatter garden behind the Carriage House.”

The Stuart Armstrong property was suggested by City gardener Mike Welsh. “It is basically an unused park with a lot of woods and is close to the municipal heart of town,” Beman said.

As to the other two issues the City Council raised, Beman said that she does not expect that any of the three areas would change significantly. “We would need a sign and maybe a bench or two, and we are not asking the City to pay. We would do a fundraising campaign to pay for those costs,” she said, noting that the group has received lots of support and encouragement and minimal concern from residents about the project.

She added that in addition to extensive canvassing of the neighborhoods near the proposed sites, around 200 signatures on a petition supporting the garden have been gathered, and public comment has been available through a website and a public meeting held on Sunday, Feb. 5.

However, at the Takoma Park City Council’s Nov. 2 meeting, councilmembers expressed concerns about a range of issues, including how eligibility for use of the garden would be determined, the costs the City would incur in maintenance and staff time, and in general, whether the City should be involved in this endeavor based on its other priorities.

Further, following Beman’s presentation at the council’s Feb. 22 meeting, Mayor Kate Stewart called for a show of hands to determine whether council members were in favor of the committee continuing its work or they were against the proposal for the scatter garden. The vote was 4 to 3 against the proposal with Council Members Kovar, Qureshi, Schultz and Smith opposing the idea.

Still Beman and the other supporters plan to meet with them individually during the next few months in hopes of changing their minds. They feel that a scatter garden within the city is something that should and will happen. “The histories of many towns are written in cemeteries,” she said. “This will leave a legacy of the City and create a space for those who are left behind to visit and reflect.”

This article appeared in the March 2017 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.