Jessica at ease at The Woodlands. She doesn’t like your dog as much as you do. Photo by Lori Waselchuk.
The tension between those who walk their dogs off-leash at The Woodlands and those who wish they wouldn’t is kind of the west-of-the-Schuylkill version of the Hatfields and the McCoys, Liam and Noel Gallagher, Biggie and Tupac. That may be overstating it slightly, but it’s kind of a big deal to many who frequent the cemetery/park.
Jessica, a West Philly yoga instructor and blogger, has had it. In “An Open Letter to People Who Let Their Dogs Off-Leash at Woodlands Cemetery,” she draws a line in the dirt. “I was once a vicious 13-year old girl,” she writes. “And given the right situation, she can return.”
Jessica originally posted this on her site, but has graciously allowed us to repost it here: Continue Reading
This funny video of a male turkey challenging its reflection in a window was recently filmed at Bartram’s Garden. This is a great time of the year to spend more time at the garden, located at 54th St. and Lindbergh Blvd. (you can drive, bike or hop on the #36 Trolley) whether it is bird watching, nature walks or special events. Go to Bartramsgarden.org for more information.
The locked gate of Squirrel Hill Falls park at 48th and Chester.
Squirrel Hill Falls Park, a pocket park which was built in the 1990’s but has been closed for years, will reopen for several hours this Saturday for a spring cleanup. The organization that owns the lot at 48th and Chester, Friends Rehabilitation Program (FRP), has allowed the Friends of Squirrel Hill Park community group to enter and clean up the park from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Taking into account the park’s deteriorating condition FRP has two requirements though: Anyone wishing to help in the cleanup has to sign a waiver, and because of safety concerns minors will not be permitted to participate in this cleanup. The Friends of Squirrel Hill Park will have copies of the waiver on hand.
Anyone wishing to help with the cleanup is welcome to join the Friends. The tools will be provided, but you can bring your own rake or set of gloves.
Read more about the latest efforts to reopen the park for community use here.
There may be some progress in the ongoing efforts to re-open Squirrel Hill Falls Park, the enigmatic gated pocket park at 48th and Chester that has been locked for years. The Friends of Squirrel Hill Park community group have launched a new campaign that they hope will help give the park new life. The newest effort to reopen the park, which was designed and built in 1996 by West Philly artist Danielle Rousseau Hunter, comes after Friends Rehabilitation Program Inc., the organization that owns the lot, indicated that they are interested in an agreement about the park’s reopening. All earlier efforts seem to have fallen through (read our previous story about the park here).
Community support is essential in this process, and the Friends of Squirrel Hill Park are asking all interested residents to participate in a short survey and sign a petition titled “Let’s make progress at Squirrel Hill Park!”
“As a neighbor of the long blighted former park at 48th and Chester, I would like to see something positive at this corner. The park is waiting to once again become a great amenity to our neighborhood, and we are ready to join together to make it happen. We ask Friends Rehabilitation Program to work with the Friends of Squirrel Hill Park to help us bring new life to this unused community space,” the petition reads.
The survey includes such questions as what type of programming you would like to see at the park and how much help you can offer to the Friends of the park.
For more information and to access the survey please go to the Friends of Squirrel Hill Park website. You can also find more information about the neighbors working to reopen the park on the group’s Facebook page.
The plan to transform a mile of vacant river frontage near Bartram’s Garden on the west side of Schuylkill took another step toward reality with the announcement this week of the funding of that and other park projects in the city.
Dubbed “Bartram’s Mile,” the project would provide better river access to neighborhoods in Southwest Philadelphia, including boardwalk trails and recreation areas. The plan is for the Schuylkill River Trail along the east bank to connect to the west side. Another project, “Centennial Commons,” in the Parkside neighborhood will include a large playground with a climbing wall and spray park near the Please Touch Museum (see rendering below).
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the William Penn Foundation will fund the projects as part of an $11 million grant to help to reimagine public spaces in Philadelphia. Spearheaded by Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park Conservancy, the initiative will serve as a pilot project to explore the impact of connecting civic spaces and the success of cities. Continue Reading
It’s that time of year again when you get to love on your local park a little. Calls for volunteers have gone out for the “Love Your Park Fall Service Day” on Saturday, Nov. 15, when neighbors get together in their favorite green space and help each other spruce it up. Tools are usually provided, but it wouldn’t hurt to bring a rake and some gloves if you have them.
At Cedar Park (49th and Cedar) they need help planting trees, bulbs and ground cover. They are also raking leaves and doing general cleanup to get the park ready for winter. Work will go on at the park from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and volunteers are asked to email tatemch (at) aol.com to let an organizer know you’re coming.
Lifelong park volunteer Doris Gwaltney, who died in January 2014, will be honored in a celebration at Carroll Park (58th St. and Girard Ave). Doris started the Carroll Park Neighbors Advisory Council, one of the first groups to partner with nonprofit organizations and city government to build community through revitalization of urban parks. Several speakers will get start at noon and the cleanup efforts at Carroll Park start at 11 a.m. Continue Reading
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