Budding horticulturists have a chance to be a part of an award-winning Kensington garden that has become the centerpiece of Norris Square Park.

The Young Friends committee of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is calling for volunteers from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 30, to take part in a park cleanup of Las Parcelas gardens on the 2100 block of North Howard St. in Norris Square.

The term "cleanup" is a bit of a misnomer for the well-maintained facility, so the day will feature activities like planting and weeding, painting and building, and perhaps some moving, according to Nykia Perez, a member of the PHS Young Friends steering committee.

"This will definitely be more of a gardening type of event than a traditional cleanup," said Perez, who is a longtime member of the Norris Square Neighborhood Project, a nonprofit group that oversees Las Parcelas and the rest of Norris Square gardens.

"It's so beautiful," Perez said of Las Parcelas. "It really is a gem."

Appropriately named, Las Parcelas translates to "The Parcels" and features more than 40 separate lots maintained by various groups and individuals.

Volunteers who come out for next weekend's cleanup will also learn about the history of Las Parcelas, which was designed to celebrate the neighborhood's Puerto Rican heritage.

Las Parcelas features "la casita," which replicates a "tiny house" of rural Puerto Rico and has become museum-like with authentic donated kitchen items as well as an outdoor kitchen used for cooking demonstrations. There is also a mural that celebrates local heroes.

Perez first cultivated her horticultural interest as a grade-schooler when NSNP visited her classroom at William McKinley Elementary School. Today, she chairs the NSNP board of directors and is involved with the PHS Young Friends group.

The Young Friends' cleanup is in addition to the monthly cleanup conducted by NSNP, which celebrated its 35th anniversary last year.

Perez said the cleanup event at Las Parcelas came about due to collaboration between PHS and the Norris Square gardens, as well as the Young Friends mission to generate interest among younger horticulturists and encourage involvement in their community gardens.

Young Friends is a relatively new committee of PHS, which tends to garner an older demographic. However, with more younger people moving into Fishtown, Northern Liberties and Port Richmond with an interest in urban gardens, the Young Friends group is optimistic about its future and the future of city gardens.

"Clearly, there's a movement in Fishtown, and as it moves over in Kensington, I'm excited that PHS can be a part of it," said Christine Rabe, a California native who now resides in Fishtown with her fiance.

Rabe, who also co-chairs the Young Friends steering committee, said the Las Parcelas cleanup represents a chance for younger Fishtown gardeners to make an investment in their community's future.

"As green issues and the environment become more popular, I think there's a real opportunity here for people with divergent interests to come together in a common cause," said Rabe.

Perez, a librarian at the University of Pennsylvania who grew up in the Norris Square area, also started Philly Tree People, a nonprofit dedicated to planting street trees in the Fishtown, Kensington and Port Richmond areas.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the Las Parcelas cleanup should e-mail youngfriends@pennhort.org.

For more information, visit NSNP's Web site at www.nsnp.com or the PHS Web site at www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org. The Young Friends group can also be found on Facebook.