Arts
This episode's guest, Pete Bell from Hops on Lots Pittsburgh (HOLP), calls it "the wall." Sure, it's a wall. But it's a wall—with hops growing up it, grown by the organization and volunteers. It was created in 2016 when the Stanton Heights Community contacted HOLP to grow hops to cover up the unsightly retaining wall along Stanton Avenue. The hops were harvested and used to fresh hop a beer brewed by Roundabout Brewery. The result was Stanton Hops, a truly local beer, brewed to benefit the community. To celebrate Stanton Hops, a release party was held at the brewery. Proceeds of the beer benefited the Stanton Heights Community, who also got to name the beer. And that's awesome. Listen how the group (Pete and his partners Joe and Phoebe) is now growing on other sites across Pittsburgh, looking for new land to grown on, challenges (not everyone loves hops or beer—think about the children!) and how you might be able to do something like this in your own city or town.