Thanks to everyone who came out to support TTF at 5% Day at Jenkintown Whole Foods! Not only did we get to promote watershed health,  stewardship, and our organization we raised funds at the same time!

TTF staff members enjoyed speaking with shoppers about the importance of protecting our watershed and gave out information on rain barrels, rain gardens and native plants. We also brought along an enviroscape to demonstrate how watersheds function and a button maker so people could make their own water-themed buttons. When the day was over, Whole Foods raffled off two rain barrels to some lucky shoppers as well.

Thanks to our partners at Jenkintown Whole Foods and everyone who helped make the day a success!  Please stop by to see us if you missed us last week — or to see us again — on Sunday, April 29 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at the EcoFest at Jenkintown Whole Foods. We’ll have lots of great free information and resources.

PHS’ Sally McCabe leads this fun and informative course. Topics covered during the class include: how to test soil, decide which plants to grow, find out who owns a vacant lot, recruit volunteers, install rain barrels, and much more!

I am taking this class as part of my work as TTF’s Community Liaison. Community members often ask us about starting or maintaining gardens in their neighborhoods, and this class will enable us to better assist them.

If you are interested in learning more about Garden Tenders, check out the PHS website.

Check out these sites for information about lot ownership and impervious lot cover.

Arcadia students fill in data on their spreadsheet, noting the presence of concrete and overhead power lines.

Julie Slavet and Steph Clymer enjoy “Green City, Clean Waters,” an exhibit hosted by the Philadelphia Water Department and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.

In the Gardener’s Studio, speakers present fascinating topics almost every hour. Topics range from building green roofs to foraging for wild food. On Tuesday, March 6, TTF’s Executive Director, Julie Slavet, introduced Rod Ritchie and Julie Hendrickson from AKRF, one of our partners on the Vernon Park rain garden installation. Their presentation, titled “What You Can Learn from the Vernon Park Rain Garden for Your Home and Community,” covered the basic structure of a rain garden, how to choose a site to build your own, and which plants to use.

Julie Slavet from TTF, with Julie Hendrickson and Rod Ritchie from our partner organization, AKRF, at the Gardener’s Studio. Audience members enjoyed “What You Can Learn from the Vernon Park Rain Garden for Your Home and Community.”

TTF spearheaded the Vernon Park rain garden installation in collaboration with a coalition of organizations from Germantown and across the Philadelphia region. This collaborative work has inspired a renewal of interest and involvement in the Vernon Park, leading Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to choose Vernon Park as a signature site for the fall 2011 LOVE Your Park program. The Vernon Park rain garden installation was possible with the support of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Philadelphia Water Department, the Fairmount Parks Conservancy, the Friends of Vernon Park, and the rest of our partners.

Volunteers plant native flowers in the rain garden installation at Vernon Park

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On this day, February 24th, 4 VISTA members: Dan Brown (Earth Force), Steph Clymer (TTF), Maria Vanegas (City Lights) and Charissa Bujak (PEC) decide to hike the Mt. Joy trail. The relaxing 1.5 mile trail provided ample vistas of the surrounding park along with opportunities to enjoy Mountain Laurel, which stood out very green in stark contrast to the rest of the dull winter landscape.

In addition to the trails, Valley Forge National Park has a spacious visitor center complete with artifact/history displays and gift shop. I strongly recommend a trip to this park for a relaxing day of outdoors enjoyment and historical investigation.

Speakers at the program included Julie Slavet, TTF’s Executive Director; Steph Clymer, TTF’s AmeriCorps VISTA and Community Liaison; and Mindy Maslin, Project Manager for the PHS Tree Tenders program. Attendees came from all over the TTF watershed, representing Environmental Advisory Committees and Tree Tenders groups. The evening started with an introduction by Julie Slavet and a watershed lesson by Steph Clymer. After Mindy Maslin discussed the many ways trees are being planted in Philadelphia, the floor was open for comments and a Q&A session.

During the session we identified the need to have a guide to identifying tree planting opportunities in the watershed. There are many ways to plant trees in the Philadelphia area, and many organizations and programs to help you. In order to help you navigate your way through these options, here is some additional information.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society runs the Tree Tenders program to provide training and support for community tree planting efforts. In Philadelphia, applications for street or yard trees are accepted through your local Tree Tenders group. Street trees are free and are planted by Tree Tenders groups during the fall and spring plantings. Yard trees for you to plant yourself cost $10 (free for Tree Tenders graduates) and come with a hand trowel. For questions about Tree Tenders in Philadelphia, contact Mindy Maslin. For information about PHS tree planting programs in the counties surrounding Philadelphia, contact Barley Van Clief.

TreePhilly is a program of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation that provides free yard trees for Philadelphia property owners who are willing to pick up their tree at a distribution event and plant it on their own. TreePhilly’s goal is to plant 15,000 new trees in the City in 2012, working to increase the tree canopy of Philadelphia to 30%. The website also includes forms to contact the City to request a street tree to be planted in front of your home or for street tree maintenance. For more information, contact Erica Smith Fichman.

Community groups in Philadelphia are also working with the TreePhilly program to identify locations (such as empty tree pits or open planting strips) suitable for street tree plantings. Trees will then be planted by City contractors. If you are interested in getting involved in street tree surveying in West Oak Lane, contact TTF.

TreeVitalize is a program committed to providing funding to restore tree cover in metropolitan areas across Pennsylvania. This includes street tree and riparian buffer plantings organized by homeowner associations, watershed groups, land trusts, municipalities, and schools. For information about applying for TreeVitalize funding in Montgomery County, contact the Montgomery County Conservation District.

All of these planting initiatives are part of the Plant One Million campaign that includes Philadelphia and surrounding counties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Philly Tree Map is an online database documenting trees in the greater Philadelphia region. Use this site to find out about trees in your area or to add trees that you’re planting.

If you have any other tree-related questions, don’t hesitate to call us!

Thanks to all of our fellow tree-planters in the area, keep up the good work!

Representatives from City Year, Earth Force, Philadelphia University, Arcadia University, Covenant House of PA, and the Awbury Neighbors Association met at Awbury Arboretum to network and learn about volunteer opportunities. Attendees enjoyed learning about volunteer opportunities and networking with people across their watershed.

After mingling with each other and enjoying breakfast, attendees were welcomed by Julie Slavet, TTF’s Executive Director, and Beth Miner, Awbury’s Manager of Outreach and Community Engagement. Cindy Rubino, the Coordinator of Community Service at Arcadia University, described the history of TTF-Arcadia partnerships and suggested ways for other organizations to collaborate with TTF. Ashley Schmid, Education and Outreach Coordinator at TTF, discussed our current work in the community and how volunteers or interns will be able to get involved. Afterwards, attendees enjoyed a tour of Awbury Arboretum’s stormwater management features.

Ashley explains the features of a rain barrel to the group.

See more pictures of the tour in this Flickr set.

For updates about our volunteer opportunities, current projects, and calendar of events, check out our website.

Thank you to Fill A Bagel for their generous donation of bagels for this event.

Looking for great service opportunities? Come to the Community Service Networking Breakfast on February 23!

The Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership will be hosting a free networking and informational breakfast for teachers and community service volunteer coordinators. At this event, you will learn about TTF’s work in the watershed and our fun and informative events for your volunteers or students. If you ever look for service learning opportunities for your network, this is the event for you!

There will be an optional stormwater management tour of the Awbury Arboretum at the end of the event.

Date: Thursday, February 23, 2012
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Place: Awbury Arboretum, One Awbury Road, Philadelphia PA 19138
Contact: Please RSVP to Steph at steph@ttfwatershed.org or 215-844-8100.

Feel free to share this event info with your colleagues, and we look forward to seeing you on the 23^rd!

Awards will be given in the categories below, although candidates may not be selected in every category. Awards will be presented at our first annual Watershed Milestones Award Ceremony & Reception this May 31 at the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center in Philadelphia. Nominations are due by March 15, 2012.

Award Categories:

Municipal: A municipality or municipal agency within the watershed that has made a significant contribution to improving or preserving the watershed.

Private Sector: A company that has demonstrated a commitment to improving the watershed through responsible land use and stewardship.

Educator: A teacher who has demonstrated an understanding and commitment to the environment, initiating change in student perspectives about the natural world.

Youth: An individual or group of individuals under 18 years of age who have made a significant contribution to improving or preserving the watershed.

Friend: An individual or group of individuals who have made a significant contribution to improving or preserving the watershed.

Download the nomination form here!

TTF’s Steph Clymer poses for a picture with some of the volunteers. Photo courtesy of Enon Tabernacle Photography Ministry.

Meanwhile, other members of the TTF team worked with volunteers from Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, Friends of Vernon Park and Villanova University to clean and green Vernon Park: raking leaves, picking up trash, building protective fences around young trees, and cleaning debris out of storm drains.

Volunteers build a fence around a young tree in Vernon Park.

TTF also worked with Mount Moriah Baptist Church, Habitat for Humanity and local residents to clean up trash and debris in Southeast Germantown. We removed over two dozen bags of trash and recycling and talked with local community members about the importance of clean streets and how they relate to our water quality.

Volunteers pose for a picture at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church.

Learn more about the day of service here. Thanks to all of the great volunteers who came out to help clean up our watershed!