We love to our improve our watershed community and engage watershed stewards each and every day…but we do find April particularly inspiring, as Earth Day has grown into a month of environmental activities! All across our watershed, we hosted and attended events that honored and beautified Mother Earth.
We were at: Comcast Cares Day at the Olney Recreation Center…cleanups at Tacony Creek Park and Curtis Arboretum in Cheltenham…a rain barrel workshop at Whole Foods Market Jenkintown …creek surveying in Grove Park in Glenside. Read about these events below.
As a part of Comcast Cares Day, the company hosted service events at a number of Philadelphia Department of Parks & Recreation Rec Centers, including the Olney Recreation Center, where we installed a rain garden. Comcast says:
Comcast Cares Day is Comcast and NBCUniversal’s signature celebration of service and the nation’s largest single-day corporate volunteer effort. Every spring, tens of thousands of our employees, families, friends and local partners join us to make a difference in the communities we serve. In 2013, a record 85,000-plus volunteers contributed more than half a million hours to improve more than 750 parks, schools, beaches, senior centers and other vital community sites around the world.
Since the first Comcast Cares Day in 2001, more than half a million volunteers have contributed more than three million hours. In the words of company founder Ralph Roberts, “It’s a wonderful thing to have people work together for the benefit of others.”
An amazing 300 energetic and enthusiastic volunteers came to the Olney service event, and accomplishing a tremendous amount of work in a few short hours. They planted, painted, cleaned, and mulched.
Comcast graciously donated plants from North Creek Nurseries, which volunteers planted both in the rain garden and around the large flagpole at the building’s entrance. These native plants help to absorb and filter rainwater.
The rain garden got some much needed TLC from a group of volunteers who weeded and removed tras. They also asked some great questions about how the rain garden works and how they manage stormwater at home. The rain garden is ready for spring — so stay tuned to join us there for upcoming educational workshops!
View more pictures from Comcast Cares Day here.
After all our hard work, the Philly Phanatic joined us for a phantastic dance session! We’d like to extend a big thank you to Philadelphia Parks & Recreation for including us in this amazing service event, and to Comcast for making a difference in our community!
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On April 24, we presented a Rain Barrel Workshop at Whole Foods Market Jenkintown. Interested folks came to learn about their role in minimizing stormwater runoff, and someone even went home with a free rain barrel from Whole Foods! Attendees had a lively discussion on innovative ways to harvest rainwater over a delicious healthy meal.
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On April 26, we joined with Cedarbrook Middle School and NAM Planning and Design to clean up Curtis Arboretum. A group of 30 volunteers spread through the arboretum and removed invasive vines, plants, and trash. The volunteers were proud to help out and excited to learn about the new Master Plan being developed for this historic estate.
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Never on Sunday? Not us! We were even out surveying for critters with the Friends of Grove Park at their April 27 Earth Day program. Neighborhood residents, led by Dottie Baumgarten of Sustainable Choices, used this beautiful spring day to get into the creek and learn about what lives there! Residents of all ages helped clean up the park and stream, listened to live music, and learned about the stream that runs through their yards.
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We’d like to thank all of our partners for helping us successfully celebrate Earth Month! The Earth Day activities are over but there’s still work to be done! If you’re interested in volunteering with TTF, contact info@ttfwatershed.org or give us a call at 215.744.1853.
