Ora Lee Carroll maintaining the area at the Meadow Street Bridge that she and her coworkers have revitalized with the help of the City.
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Ora Lee Carroll Gives Larimer
“A Breath of Fresh Air”
Cement blocks, railroad ties, car parts and a “little bit of everything” once littered the vacant lots that overlook the hill side surrounding the Meadow Street Bridge in Larimer, according to Ora Lee Carroll.
Today, Carroll sees grass, rose bushes and five trees, thanks the City of Pittsburgh’s Green Up Pittsburgh, Redd-Up, and Weed and Seed programs. In addition to clearing the land, the Weed and Seed program provided the plants based on soil testing and technical assistance from the Penn State Cooperative Extension. Carroll with East Liberty Concerned Citizens volunteers and Mike’s Auto Shop did the planting and perform maintenence.
The transformation of the vacant lots surrounding the Meadow Street Bridge is obvious. “People walking by or driving by will sometimes just stop to look at how beautiful it is,” Carroll said.
What they can’t see is the impact the green space is having on Pittsburgh’s greenhouse gas emissions. Sometimes referred to as sequestration, trees absorb and store substantial quantities of carbon during photosynthesis. A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 pounds per year, releasing enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support two human beings. “It’s important that our neighborhood take pride in its appearance,” Carroll said. “We need to give the Earth a chance to breathe, too.”
