Potential project would make Bethune Park, Diego Rivera ‘greener’

By Jeremy L.Z. and Angel T. 

Have you looked around the school or the community by the school? Do you ever look around and wonder, “why does it feel like it is missing something”? 

That thing is the lack of trees. And when there are no trees, there is a lack of shade. 

Carlos Moran, a Watershed Coordinator from Council for Watershed Health, is trying to change that. 

Moran actually worked at Diego Rivera running a community center. Through this work, he saw the need for resources in the Florence-Firestone community. 

“I noticed there’s a lack of trees, not enough green space. That opened up my mind to make the connection between a concrete jungle and the challenges that are faced by children, youth, families and elders in this area.”

A lack of trees leads to many different problems, he said. 

“Some of the things that are common in areas that are more gray than they are green is that there’s an increase in poor air quality and an increase in what’s called urban heat islands which means that these areas are hotter than other areas.”

He also mentioned that there are more pollutants in the soil after it rains. 

“It’s like we’re washing our bodies after a hard day’s work outside and then we go shower and all that dirt comes off of us, the same thing happens to the city when it rains.”

He said it has major health impacts. “That connection– high rate of asthma, high rate of cancers, high rate of depression, of violence, of diabetes, overall poor health. The connections are there. It’s very clear that the environment one lives in impacts the health that one has.”

That’s why he is hoping to start a project to renovate Bethune Park, which is right next to the school, and of the whole Diego Rivera complex. 

The question they are asking is, “what does a neighborhood improvement look like by focusing on the park and school?”

They hope to dig into the park and put a system in place so that when it rains, it would go underground and be cleaned from pollutants. He said it is “Roosevelt Park 2.0” but even better because a school would be involved. 

If the project is approved, it would take years before it becomes a reality. “Realistically, it’s a 5 year plan,” he said. 

The most important part, he said, is community engagement. 

“There is an opportunity for students, teachers, administrators to get involved in projects like this,” he said.  “Even though they take a long time to build out, it is important for the health of the community.”