In 2001-02, the "We Compost!" program of the Seward Neighborhood Group strove to make an "invisible" practice (backyard composting) visible and exciting for residents of the Seward and Longfellow neighborhoods. Over 150 households joined this educational campaign and received an attractive lawn sign to put in their front yard. The awareness campaign encouraged residents begin composting along with learning about effective practices. A fulltime intern was hired to make home visits, provide information, troubleshoot problems, help residents develop a working composting system, and generate enthusiasm for composting. In addition, project staff presented a composting seminar at a neighborhood environment fair and promoted the project during National Night Out and other community events. The project also reached residents who might have received a SWMCB-subsidized compost bin but were unsure how to use it or needed encouragement to begin. Due to the great interest in the program, some funds were dedicated to expand the program to East Phillips, Powderhorn Park, Corcoran and Standish-Ericsson neighborhoods near the end of the summer.

In 2005-06, residents and college volunteers were trained to be mentors to neighborhood residents focused on toxicity reduction. 100 residents, including many East Africans, participated in meetings during the year to learn about toxicity and 25 signed up to receive a home visit from a mentor. Many of the East African women who heard about the issues are excited to participate. People who received a home visit also received the publication “Clean House Clean Planet,” and mentors are helping to teach English to the East Africans who cannot read the information. An ESL curriculum was designed for this purpose. The project was extended for several months in order to complete the mentoring as planned.