Strengthen S.W. Germantown’s quality of life by building a healthy play and outdoor educational space for John B. Kelly School children, families and neighbors.

Efforts to date have resulted in an active gardening program, a native plant meadow and weather station, a prototype natural play space and programming to support utilizing these spaces such as outdoor movies and healthy eating workshops.  

Groups from Arcadia University, Germantown Friends School, Jefferson University, Wissahickon Boys and Girls Club, Penn Charter, Philadelphia Audubon Society, Friends of the Wissahickon and more have given their time and talent to helping KellyGREEN. We look forward to realizing the dream of a schoolyard and community resource that fosters.

Creating the space that all students deserve and the community needs

The Kelly Green Project is a grass roots community-school partnership that is working to re-imagine and green the John B. Kelly Elementary School grounds for both student and community use. The Project is focused on developing the large site into one that is suitable for experiential education, healthy play, habitat conservation, community gathering, gardening, stormwater control and community education around stormwater and environmental education.

The effort, initiated by the nearby Hansberry Garden and Nature Center in 2012, recognizes the importance of paying more attention to our neighborhood’s public school, where over 600 children attend each day. We see it as a rare opportunity to make the space family-friendly for the entire neighborhood and help guarantee the creation of quality outdoor resources too often missing in under-served neighborhoods.