Clara Shapiro Morton '26

My name is Clara Shapiro Morton and I spent this summer working with the Norris Square Neighborhood Project (NSNP), a Kensington-based nonprofit in Philadelphia that centers itself around the pillars of youth leadership, community land stewardship, and the preservation of Puerto Rican culture. Having worked with them on a volunteer basis since the beginning of 2024, it was exciting to be able to get more involved with the community that surrounds Norris Square Park while learning about and helping with the day to day operations of a small, local organization. 
 
Surrounded on all sides by looming gentrification as well as areas ravaged by the opioid crisis, Norris Square neighborhood has a rich Puerto Rican history that NSNP attempts to preserve. All of its 6 active urban gardens maintain some aspect of Puerto Rican culture– whether it is El Batey, which honors the agricultural traditions of the Taíno with crop beds forming the shape of the Taíno sun, Las Parcelas, which contains an outdoor kitchen and model Puerto Rican home known as “La Casita de Abuela”, or La Villa Africana Colobó, which represents the West African diasporas that shape and influence Caribbean culture. High schoolers in our programs are taught about art, tradition, entrepreneurship and gardening combined as a way to preserve and pass on the knowledge of the gardens. 
 
Having been brought on to work under the Business and Development Director at NSNP, my first few weeks focused on learning about the organization. My main project of the summer consisted of organizing a “Special Farm Stand”, which aimed to activate our lesser-used garden spaces by turning one of our weekly youth-run produce stands into an event with music, food, and activities to engage the community. With a visit from a local drum line and visiting nonprofits that offered free books to the community and a cooking demo using produce grown by the youth, the often-empty garden briefly became a space where families were eating lunch, community members were buying produce, and youth were leading and learning. 
 
This summer was crucial in developing my understanding of small-scale community development and the culture and complexities of the Norris Square neighborhood. I am so glad that I was able to help work towards a more active use of our gardens and emphasize the need for more events that create a sense of community togetherness. I am so grateful for the cultural richness in the spaces and relationships I have found at NSNP and hope to stay connected long beyond this summer.