We’re excited to share a big update from the Whitaker Avenue Gateway to Tacony Creek Park — new anti-dumping fences are now being installed to protect this beautiful community gathering space!
This area has been a target for illegal dumping. Old furniture, construction debris, tires, abandoned cars — you name it, we’ve seen it dumped along this park edge. But now, thanks to community determination, a new anti-dumping initiative from the William Penn Foundation, and a court settlement against a Tacony Creek Park polluter, we’ve taken a big step in restoring this important parkland.
🚧 Fences with a Purpose
TTF, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, and the community members have worked hard to reclaim this space from the illegal dumpers. This fence will protect this hard work and set the stage for the restoration of the naturalized meadow.
This new fencing isn’t just metal and concrete — it’s protection for the creek, for the people who live nearby, and for the wildlife that calls this park home. It’s part of a larger effort by TTF to turn the tide on dumping in Tacony Creek Park, with a strategy that includes cleanup, education, surveillance, enforcement, and yes — real prevention measures like this one.
🛠️ How We Made It Happen
This project is funded by a $165K settlement in 2024 from an environmental lawsuit brought by PennFuture against a concrete facility along Frankford Creek operating without an environmental permit.
These funds are dedicated to protecting Tacony Creek Park from future pollution, serving as a powerful example of environmental justice among the many wins TTF has achieved and continues to build upon.
We’re proud that this fencing is one of the first outcomes of that investment — a visible symbol of progress and accountability.
🌿 Part of a Bigger Movement
This fencing project builds on the energy from this year’s Philly Spring Cleanup, where hundreds of volunteers joined TTF and partners to remove over 5,000 dumped tires from the park. That cleanup — one of the largest in city history — showed what we can accomplish when neighbors, city departments, and nonprofits come together.
“If we make it clean, keep it clean, and stick with it, we can change the culture of dumping in Philadelphia.”
— Justin DiBerardinis, TTF Executive Director
And this is just one piece of the larger transformation happening through TTF’s #CreekyClean initiative. Focused on revitalizing Tacony Creek Park, #CreekyClean is taking restoration to a whole new level — not just improving the landscape, but reshaping the culture around it. Through education, enforcement, prevention, and visible action daily on the ground, TTF is changing how the community connects to and protects this space.
With the new fencing in place, we’re making it harder to dump and easier to protect this beloved green space. We’re also continuing to add surveillance cameras, build our dumping response team, and most importantly, support our community’s leadership for a clean and safe neighborhood.
🌸 Have you seen the milkweed patch we’ve started nurturing at the Whitaker Avenue Gateway?
Milkweed is the only plant monarch butterflies lay their eggs on—and it’s vital to their survival. Monarch caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed, absorbing its natural toxins to protect themselves from predators. These beautiful pollinators are just starting to arrive as the plants bloom, and we’re looking forward to seeing butterflies fluttering through the meadow soon.🦋
📖 Read more about their amazing journey: The Monarch Butterfly’s Multi-Generational Migration »
This blog is part of the #CreekyCLEAN! TaconyCreekPark initiative.
Learn more at:
🔗 https://ttfwatershed.org/programs/creekyclean-tacony-park/
