A former ‘badlands’ spaced filled with drugs and trash has transformed into a space where farmers market flourish and crime has gone down 89%.

Leroy Fisher has played an integral part in Hunting Park’s revitalization project which was also supported by the Fairmount Park Conservancy’s $5 million investment. Fisher began his activism in 1992 after becoming involved in the Hunting Park Aztecs after-school program, and continued his activism to the Hunting Park United’s president and co-founder. He was recognized as a SustainPHL nominee from his community members.

This past August 18th, Leroy Fisher received the TD Bank Activist of the Year Award in the inaugural, SustainPHL.

What can we learn from Leroy?

1. His mom rules. She taught him, “don’t bring me a problem, bring me a solution.”
2. Collaboration makes things happen, whether in Hunting Park or across Philadelphia to make a difference in this world.

Watch Leroy’s full acceptance speech here:

Leroy Fisher – Sustainphl 2016 TD Bank Activist of the Year

array(5) {
  [0]=>
  object(WP_Term)#9135 (10) {
    ["term_id"]=>
    int(3356)
    ["name"]=>
    string(12) "Hunting Park"
    ["slug"]=>
    string(12) "hunting-park"
    ["term_group"]=>
    int(0)
    ["term_taxonomy_id"]=>
    int(3364)
    ["taxonomy"]=>
    string(8) "post_tag"
    ["description"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["parent"]=>
    int(0)
    ["count"]=>
    int(8)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
  }
  [1]=>
  object(WP_Term)#9136 (10) {
    ["term_id"]=>
    int(3357)
    ["name"]=>
    string(12) "Leroy Fisher"
    ["slug"]=>
    string(12) "leroy-fisher"
    ["term_group"]=>
    int(0)
    ["term_taxonomy_id"]=>
    int(3365)
    ["taxonomy"]=>
    string(8) "post_tag"
    ["description"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["parent"]=>
    int(0)
    ["count"]=>
    int(1)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
  }
  [2]=>
  object(WP_Term)#9137 (10) {
    ["term_id"]=>
    int(3310)
    ["name"]=>
    string(10) "SustainPHL"
    ["slug"]=>
    string(10) "sustainphl"
    ["term_group"]=>
    int(0)
    ["term_taxonomy_id"]=>
    int(3318)
    ["taxonomy"]=>
    string(8) "post_tag"
    ["description"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["parent"]=>
    int(0)
    ["count"]=>
    int(96)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
  }
  [3]=>
  object(WP_Term)#9138 (10) {
    ["term_id"]=>
    int(3345)
    ["name"]=>
    string(32) "SustainPHL 2016 award recipients"
    ["slug"]=>
    string(32) "sustainphl-2016-award-recipients"
    ["term_group"]=>
    int(0)
    ["term_taxonomy_id"]=>
    int(3353)
    ["taxonomy"]=>
    string(8) "post_tag"
    ["description"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["parent"]=>
    int(0)
    ["count"]=>
    int(9)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
  }
  [4]=>
  object(WP_Term)#9133 (10) {
    ["term_id"]=>
    int(3358)
    ["name"]=>
    string(28) "TD Bank Activist of the Year"
    ["slug"]=>
    string(28) "td-bank-activist-of-the-year"
    ["term_group"]=>
    int(0)
    ["term_taxonomy_id"]=>
    int(3366)
    ["taxonomy"]=>
    string(8) "post_tag"
    ["description"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["parent"]=>
    int(0)
    ["count"]=>
    int(1)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
  }
}

Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher