Your Invitation to Steward the Wissahickon this Spring
Spring in Wissahickon Valley Park is a special treat, marked by the leafing out of our forests, spring ephemerals, and appearances by migrating birds. This season also marks a full return to our volunteer activities! If you love the Wissahickon, consider this a personal invitation to come out and help us take care of the park!
In April, we will begin recurring service work on most Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. We work in a variety of locations on a slew of different projects including trail work, litter clean-ups, habitat restoration, stormwater infrastructure clean-outs, and more! No experience is necessary – we provide the gloves, tools, and instruction. Be sure to wear sturdy footwear, long pants, and bring a water bottle with you.
By coming out to join us, you’ll not only be making a hugely positive impact on the park, but you can also expect to meet lots of other like-minded folks, learn more about the park’s history, and (most importantly) have fun! You can learn more and register to attend on our Volunteer Service Days page here –fow.org/volunteering/workinthepark/
Below are a bunch of our larger Saturday Service Days that we’d love to have you come out for!
This Saturday, March 26 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (Rescheduled) We will be closing Lincoln Drive from Wissahickon Avenue down to Ridge Avenue for a large-scale litter clean-up! We have two meeting locations for this morning, at both ends of the clean-up area, with both groups working toward each other on Lincoln Drive. Read more and register here- fow.org/event/mlk-volunteer-22/
Saturday, April 2 – Philly Spring Clean-Up Join us for the annual Philly Spring Clean-Up! This year we’ll be working in and around the popular and beautiful Blue Bell Hill section of the park, removing litter, cutting back invasive plants, cleaning out stormwater infrastructure, and more! Read more and register here- fow.org/event/22-spring-clean-up/
Saturday, April 23 – Earth Day of Service Nestled between Lincoln Drive, Walnut Lane, and Septa railroad tracks is a historic and gorgeous tract of land sporting trails, a pond, and access to the statue of Henry Houston. This service day is just the start of FOW’s larger plans to improve the park and create better access for area neighbors. Work on this Saturday will consist of cleaning litter and debris, cutting back invasive plants, and beautifying this section of the park. Read more and register here- fow.org/event/22-earth-day/
Saturday, April 30 – Annual Creek Clean-Up This event is an always fun project we’re partnering on with our upstream partners Wissahickon Trails. This year, we’re setting our sights on Bells Mill Road and its parallel tributary. Bells Mill is the only road that runs through the park and crosses Forbidden Drive. Due to the high volume of traffic on this road, it’s often littered with trash. Come help us make a difference in this highly used section of the park! We have a full road closure planned for this event and two meeting locations to choose from. Read more and register here- fow.org/event/2022-creek-clean-up/
Saturday, May 7 – Love Your Park Service Day Love Your Park is an annual week-long celebration of the amazing parks we have in Philadelphia! We’re kicking off this wonderful week of stewardship with a variety of projects on this morning! We’ll be working in the Bells Mill & Forbidden Drive section of the park, planting native trees and shrubs, maintaining past plantings, improving the nearby trail system, removing litter, and more! Read more and register here- fow.org/event/22-lyp-bells/
Sunday, May 15 – Love Your Park Service Day (Part 2) We’re capping off this wonderful week of stewardship with a special Sunday morning planting! We’ll be working around the historic Hermitage Mansion, removing invasive plants and planting native trees and shrubs. Read more and register here- fow.org/event/22-lyp-hermitage/
Saturday, June 4 – National Trails Day Service Day National Trails Day is a day of celebration, service, and advocacy of our hometown trails – of which Wissahickon Valley Park has over 50 miles of! This Saturday, we’ll be celebrating the newly repaired bridge from Ten Box to the Paved Bike Path by working on a variety of improvement projects in the area. Read more and register here- fow.org/event/22-national-trails-day/