By Nagiarry Porcena-Meneus, Community Organizer
If Trees Could Talk: Art Grows in Tacony Creek Park is an interactive art project, bringing young people together to learn about and appreciate nature locally.
On October 17 at the Greater Olney Library, children from a local daycare center and from the library’s after-school program filled the room with color and joy as they decorated leaves for a portable wooden maple tree created by local artist BKLVisions. The kids also wrote messages on the leaves to answer the question: “If trees could talk, what would they say?”
The second part of this community art project will take place at our Annual Maple Sugaring Festival on February 15, 2020 in Tacony Creek Park. Community members will have a second chance to add leaves with messages to the tree, as well as to real trees along the trail in the park.
If Trees Could Talk is fostering appreciation of Tacony Creek Park’s three-hundred acres of forests and meadows. The park’s trees purify the air, create habitat for wildlife, and offer a serene beauty that can be enjoyed on a three-mile paved trail. Spending time in nature makes us physically and mentally healthier, and more engaged in protecting the environment. After the kids completed a series of leaves, they drew and colored pictures of birds and other wildlife that can be found in Tacony Creek Park.
Tacony Creek Park offers essential access to green space and nature in an otherwise highly developed part of the city. Through nature and health walks, planting and clean ups, block parties, and other community events, TTF brings people into the park to enjoy all it offers. Now, through art, we are engaging people in a new way, using collective creativity to connect people to the nature in their own backyard. 
We are thankful to have partnered with BKLVisions, who brought enthusiasm, artistry, passion, and dedication. Thank you also to Action News 6ABC and PHL17 Morning News for featuring the event on the news!
If Trees Could Talk: Art Grows in Tacony Creek Park is part of the City of Philadelphia’s Arts in Action initiative managed by the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy.
If you any questions, feedback, or comments, email Nagiarry Porcena-Meneus at nagiarry@ttfwatershed.org.
