"Thank you for taking our Brownie Troop on a tour of Urban Corps. The girls especially enjoyed the rooftop garden and making the bottle gardens. Both the girls and the parents learned a lot about what can and cannot be recycled. Thank you very much!"
– Ellen Pratt, Brownie Troop 8205
Contact us for a tour of the Recycling ECO Center and Rooftop Garden
URBAN CORPS’ RECYCLING ECO CENTER
THE RECYCLING ECO CENTER: Urban Corps’ latest pledge to fulfilling San Diego’s youth, green job training and educational needs is the new Recycling Education & Community Outreach (ECO) Center – the first of its kind in California. The ECO Center serves as a sustainability hub and training ground for Corpsmembers and citizens of San Diego County.
Housed in a green, 5, 81- square-foot LEED-certified building, the center focuses on educating and demonstrating sustainable technologies including: how recycling and conservation preserves resources, reduces pollution, prevents waste from entering landfills and employs youth.
The center includes a variety of sustainable features including solar tubes and a recycling sorting machine to train Corpsmembers in conducting recycling audits. Business owners and students will be invited to learn how to create their own recycling programs.
The Recycling ECO Center was funded by California State Assembly Bill 3056, the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego, The City of San Diego Community Development Block Grants Program, Prop 84, and Bank of America.
ROOFTOP GARDEN: A key feature of the Recycling ECO Center is the Rooftop Garden. The garden features an “edible wall” (Another link to video) grown by Corpsmembers, as well as drought-tolerant landscaping, native plants, a water capture system, as well as composting and vermiposting stations.
The Rooftop Garden provides a hands-on learning space for urban gardening and water-efficient landscaping. Corpsmembers, students, and community members have the opportunity to learn about water conservation, healthy eating and growing their own food in an urban environment.
The Rooftop Garden was made possible by the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego, Bank of America, The Sempra Energy Foundation, CalFire, GreenScaped Buildings and the Woolley Pocket Garden Co. Inc School Garden Program.
THE RECYCLING ECO CENTER: Urban Corps’ latest pledge to fulfilling San Diego’s youth, green job training and educational needs is the new Recycling Education & Community Outreach (ECO) Center – the first of its kind in California. The ECO Center serves as a sustainability hub and training ground for Corpsmembers and citizens of San Diego County. 
