What can a group of youth, government agencies, nonprofits and contractors accomplish with the right mix of power saws, hammers, pick axes and work gloves?

They can bring together a community and prepare a new generation of green urban architects.

Over the course of seven weeks in July and August, 30 youth and various Oakland agencies, organizations and contractors came together in East Oakland’s Sobrante Park to design and rebuild a pathway and adjacent placita. Last Wednesday, the fruits of their labor were unveiled as 100 residents and supporters attended the project’s ribbon cutting ceremony.

“This project signifies what can happen when the community comes together to transform our neighborhood. We are better together,” said Jeffrey Parker, pastor of Community Reformed Church. “We believe that things are turning around for our good here in Sobrante Park.”

The site, a one block long pathway, connects two sides of Sobrante Park. It borders the Lionel Wilson Academy parking lot and basketball court and the Community Reformed Church. Over the years, the existing path, which is estimated to serve more than 100 people daily, had become cracked and was difficult to traverse. The fence that surrounded the path was damaged and cut in various places. Strewn throughout the path, one would find plastic, broken glass, bits of decomposing paper and overgrown weeds. It was an eye sore.

Coordinated through the Green Works Development pilot program and the Mayor's Summer Job Program, the revitalization project hired, trained and supervised the youth to revamp significant points in the neighborhood both on the main site and in nearby areas. Participants learned about green landscaping, horticulture, environmental planning and sustainable building techniques. Each youth was paid minimum wage and committed to 150 hours of work. The project cost under $75,000.

Alexis Pellette was one of 10 young women who joined the project. She wasn’t interested in carpentry before taking part in the work, however, now she plans to attend Merritt College to study carpentry, among other subjects. Her list of dream projects currently includes building a bench for use at home and working on large-scale, environmentally-friendly, safe play spaces for children.

“I learned a lot and it felt good," she said. "I like working with my hands. It was good to know that I was capable of doing the things that the men were doing.”

The revitalized area features 217 native plants, 17 new trees, a three-tiered fountain, four, four foot high planter boxes with adjoining wooden bench seating for two, mosaics, a cob amphitheater for 30 and a cleared walking trail along a portion of the San Leandro Creek. All of this was carried out using environmentally-friendly materials and practices.

A multi-group collaboration, the community centered streetscape project was accomplished through the work and support of the following organizations: city of Oakland's Green Works Development, Mayor's Summer Job Program, Oakland Coliseum Redevelopment Area, Dig Cooperative, West Oakland Greening Project, Higher Ground, Youth Uprising, Merritt College, Laney College, Oakland School District, James Madison Middle School, Community Reformed Church, Sobrante Park Elementary, Art Craft Statuary, Urban ReLeaf, Sobrante Park Homeowners Association, Resident Action Council, Community Crime Prevention Council, Oakland City Councilman Larry Reid, Oakland Redevelopment Agency and
Alameda County Public Health Department.

Dig Cooperative, the main contractor, led youth over the seven-week period on developing the project design, carrying out community outreach, removing and excavating the dilapidated asphalt area, re-marking a parking lot, mulching a vacant lot, installing planter boxes in the placita and creating the amphitheater.

“We worked with willing and capable youth who wanted to be a part of their community and who now want to to enter the carpentry, building and architecture fields,” said Dig Cooperative member Ingrid Severson. “This is just the beginning. A lot can be built upon what we’ve created.”