We polled the TTF staff about their favorite moments of 2017!
Here are our favorite things from this year:
Robin
“My favorite part of 2017 was the launching of the Tacony Creek Park Creekmobile. This eye-catching community engagement tool has helped us bring environmental education to our watershed neighborhoods in new and exciting ways. It’s a lot of fun to ride around the neighborhood, too!”
Doryán
“The best part of 2017 was spotting a red fox in Tacony Creek Park during a cleanup at I St & Ramona Ave gateway. It was mid-afternoon on a clear sunny day, and we were finishing up the day with volunteers, and at that moment, the fox shows up and stands in the middle of the trail. It looked straight at us for awhile before running back into the meadow…it was as if the fox was silently saying: “Thank you for cleaning up my home.”
Emilie
“I had so much fun at the Tacony Creek Park Block Parties this year! Most of the work I do is in the office, so it was nice to get out into the park and celebrate the beginning of summer with the neighbors of the park. Plus, what’s not to love about nature games and free water ice?”
Marcus
“I really enjoyed marking storm drains with youth camps this summer. It was an awesome feeling educating inner city youth on how important the waterways in Philly are to their quality of life. Most kids don’t know that their drinking water comes from the Delaware River, so it’s always amazing to see the expression on their faces when they decide they want to help improve their waterways, especially the Tacony Creek.”
Frankie
“My favorite part of 2017 was planting the new rain garden at Ethel Jordan Park in Elkins Park. The community surrounding the park is very engaged in its improvement, and many of Ethel Jordan’s family members came out to help. It’s a really special place.”
Julie
“I have a lot of favorite moments in this job — something wonderful happens almost every day! But this year, one of my most favorite moments was when Susan Harris, our Project Manager, emailed me a photo of a salamander she had just seen!
She and an AmeriCorps NCCC crew were working at the vernal pool* and wetland at McKinley Elementary School (part of our Jenkintown Creek restoration project) and while they were planting live stakes, they came across a salamander. How amazing is that: we restored a vernal pool…this unique natural feature still exists in our watershed…it’s right behind an elementary school, so how lucky are these kids…and there are still salamanders there!”
*Vernal pools are seasonal wetlands. They tend to be fairly small and shallow, with no permanent inlet or outlet. They are ephemeral– in the spring, rain and snow melt fills them, and then they dry up in the summer. Vernal pools are unique habitats and support several species that are depend on these temporary wet conditions for their survival.”
We hope you enjoyed our top moments of 2017! Please keep us posted about your favorite moments in our watershed home.
