For the past four years, Cheltenham Township and its Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) have been working hard to plant native trees along a small tributary of the Tookany Creek in Parkview Park in the Melrose Park neighborhood.
By planting along the stream, the area is kept cool, protecting other native plants and encouraging habitat that is friendly to many other creatures such as frogs, salamanders and songbirds. The trees serve as a protective buffer for the stream. These buffers are called “riparian buffers.” Read more about buffers here.
On a hot July day, TTF’s Upstream Municipal Watershed Coordinator Jon Musselman and intern Adam Finestone canvassed the streets around Parkview Park community to share information with neighbors about the importance of the buffer, the creek, and an upcoming invasive removal day.
The next Saturday, Community Watershed Leader Doryan De Angel, Community Watershed Specialist Alex Cooper and Philadelphia Watershed Coordinator Robin Irizarry worked alongside EAC members and Bucks Mont Community Service volunteers to remove invasive weeds in the fourth and final planting area. This preparation work is key to helping the new trees that will be planted in the fall get a great start!
The small tributary at Parkview Park is one of the many streams and wetlands that flows into the Tookany Creek as it makes its way from the upper reaches of Cheltenham Township, reaching Philadelphia above Adams Avenue where its name changes to Tacony. Step by step, stream by stream, we are helping to improve the habitat along this whole stretch of the creek.
For more information on Parkview Park, contact EACChair@cheltenham-township.org or TTF at 215-744-1853.
