It was windy and chilly, but that didn’t stop over fifty volunteers from loving Tacony Creek Park on Love Your Park Day on Saturday, November 14. We started with a birdwalk led by Wyncote Audubon, observing 18 bird species, including three red-tailed hawks! We then beautified the park by tackling a few different projects.
First, we inaugurated our new watershed storm drain markers, which feature a great blue heron. Storm drain marking is important because it creates community awareness in a hands-on way, demonstrating that storm drains are connected to our creeks as well as building watershed identity and stewardship. Two PowerCorpsPHL crews marked 40 storm drains in the surrounding Juniata Park neighborhood! They also canvassed 200 homes and businesses with information about the importance of keeping trash out of our storm drains.
Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory Riverguides and youth successfully led other volunteers to build two wood duck boxes that will be installed in the park. These boxes will provide a home for the ducks that we have spotted in Tacony Creek, and will help boost this population.
Community members of all ages planted 60 daffodil bulbs around the park gateway, made 30 pinecone bird feeders to take home, and walked down the Tacony Creek Park trail collecting a total of 21 bags of trash, 4 tires, and a car bumper!
Special thanks to:
Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation for successfully organizing another annual LYP event, and providing plants and supplies.
Thanks also to the Philadelphia Water Department Department and Partnership for the Delaware Estuary for supplying the new storm drain markers, and the TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, for providing a grant to support this program. Watch for more infornation about storm drain marking opportunities in the spring!
Once again, to our volunteers from PowerCorpsPHL, Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory, Cardone, Wyncote Audubon, and Tacony Creek Park Friends and Neighbors: THANK YOU all for your hard work!
More photos here.
Join us for the last Nature’s Hidden Surprises of the year in Tacony Creek Park on Wednesday, December 9: learn how plants and animals prepare for winter (you can read about our last one here). To RSVP and for more info, contact doryan@ttfwatershed.org Doryan (at) ttfwatershed (dot) org or 215-744-1853. We look forward to seeing you there!
