As part of POP’s ongoing efforts to create more online materials that not only are more accessible but also help to promote our partners, we are pleased to continue our series of walking tours of POP orchards, orchard partners, and other historical/cultural sites of significance in different neighborhoods around the city of Philadelphia, and introduce the Norris Square Route map and Storymap.

The Norris Square Route is located in North Philadelphia East, named after Norris Square, a neighborhood that will be featured substantially in this virtual walking tour. By creating this route of orchards, community gardens, cultural markers and arts, POP hopes to highlight the vigorous life and unique connection of this community to its roots and nature. The route comprises six sites: Evelyn Sanders Orchard, Fair Hill Orchard, 9th & Indiana Street Orchard, PhillyEarth Orchard at Village of Arts, Open Kitchen Sculpture Garden, Norris Square Neighborhood Project Orchard, and gardens including Las Parcelas, Colobó Garden, and Raíces Garden. These gardens and orchards are some of POP’s 65 city orchard partner sites across Philadelphia.

We will also stop at El Bloque de Oro, and the murals “Curing Community”, “Tribute to Peaches”, and “Together We Stand” and explore three North Philadelphia neighborhoods – Fairhill, West Kensington, and Norris Square. The tour will take approximately 2 hours and a half, depending on the amount of time you spend at each site.

Link to Storymap of Norris Square route: https://arcg.is/0Of5On

Link to Map of Norris Square route: https://arcg.is/ejfum

The development of these maps started with the inspirational digital tour of the edible landscape of The Woodlands and continued with the joint effort of POP’s staff members and partners. With the acknowledgment that many of our partner sites are temporarily closed to the public and may be experiencing immense difficulties at this critical time, there is still a lot to see and learn. We hope this virtual experience will connect the wider community and bring positivity to your day.

This POP Blog Post was written by POP Outreach & Communications Intern Ngoc Pham.