What We Accomplished This Year: By the Numbers
You can see the work that FOW’s volunteers and staff have dedicated to the park every time you visit; from short dumpings that disappear by your next visit and saplings carefully wrapped in chicken wire. But this week, we’ll revisit our work in the park in 2025 by the numbers.
This past year, our 1,430+ volunteers spent 18,600+ hours in the park on a variety of service projects.
Together, they removed more than 27,800 pounds of litter and 284,000+ square feet of invasives- that’s 6-football field of plants!
We replenished the tree canopy with 550+ native trees and shrubs planted. We kept trails clear by removing nearly 100 downed trees!
These dedicated volunteers even took on some special projects. Our Structures Crew used salvage cucumber magnolia wood from a massive, downed tree in the park to create a few gorgeous picnic tables! Read more about it here.
Our trained volunteer Trail Ambassadors led 63 free guided hikes throughout the park. These hikes offer the opportunity for new park visitors to get acquainted with the Wiss in the company of experienced guides. For those already familiar with the trails, TA hikes offer a new lens to understanding and enjoying the park.
In 2025, our TA’s debuted a new hike series that offers booklovers reading recommendations that share a theme- December’s was generosity and love- and a hike to bring their literary pontifications to. Thanks, Lisa and Jean for sharing this new series with us! We can’t wait to see where your love for reading takes you this year. Join us for a hike in the new year.
In 2025, we welcome 540+ new members! Our members sustain our work all year long. If you believe in a green space for all who seek one, the easiest way to support our work is by becoming a member! You can give monthly or annually, and receive member perks to share our gratitude.
Four sold out Valley Talks! Need we say more? We were joined by 372 attendees both in-person and online for an exciting year of lectures. Luckily, if you missed out, you can watch them on our YouTube channel!
Jewel of the Wissahickon- Rewilding the Wissahickon with Bill Konstant
Fingerspan Bridge- A Community Story with Jody Pinto
Wizard of the Wissahickon- Johannes Kelpius with Timothy Grieve-Carlson, Ph.D.
Exploring the Trees that Shape Wissahickon Valley Park with Andrew Conboy
We can’t wait to continue to share more of our plans for this year, learn from our community, and build resiliency this year and beyond. As always, we have some big goals, but with our talented staff and our volunteers, board, and Wissahickon community behind us, we know we’re in for another fantastic year in the park!
Photo courtesy of Rachael Balascak