Here’s a great way to celebrate the longest night of the year. The Woodlands (40th and Woodland) will be hosting a special Winter Solstice bird walk on Thursday, Dec. 21, from 4 – 6 p.m.:

“Celebrate the Winter Solstice by exploring The Woodlands with Toribird, our resident birding expert! Toribird will lead a candlelit bird walk from 4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Then enjoy Center Circle after dark and create bird themed crafts by our firepits. Seasonal treats, music, and activities will take place until 6:00 p.m.”

Sounds like fun. More information can be found at woodlandsphila.org.

“Love Your Park” Fall Service Day has been scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 4 with thousands of volunteers stepping outside to help clean and prep city parks for winter. There are many beautiful parks in West Philly that need volunteer help as well this Saturday.

Cedar Park Neighbors’ Park Committee is looking for a few volunteers for Love Your Park Service Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: “Come out to meet your neighbors, enjoy the cool fall weather, and help beautify Cedar Park! No gardening experience is necessary. Gloves, tools, and refreshments will be provided.” Walk-ins are welcome, but advance registration is helpful. RSVP by e-mailing contact@cedarparkneighbors.org

Fall cleanups will also take place in Clark Park (43rd and Chester), Barkan Park (50th and Spruce), Saunders Park (39th and Powelton), Malcolm X Park (51st and Pine), and other local parks. Check out the map of parks here and register to volunteer here. Registration closes Friday, Nov. 3 at noon.

Here’s some great news for Malcolm X Park and neighborhood residents. The Philadelphia Water Department is working on bringing green improvements to the park, which will include specially designed tree systems that will help manage local stormwater while adding new green features to the park’s square located at 52nd and Pine.

Residents are invited to learn more about this initiative at tonight’s community meeting organized by the Water Department and the Friends of Malcolm X Park. The meeting will be held at the park, beginning at 6 p.m. weather permitting, but will move to Lois’ Learning Tree (430 S. 52nd St.) in the event of rain.

The planned improvements are a part of the city’s Green City, Clean Waters program, which uses landscaped green tools to improve neighborhoods and protect local waterways from stormwater pollution.

Tangle Movement Arts will present a firefly-inspired performance this Friday at The Woodlands (Photo by Michael Ermilio).

Nature Nights at The Woodlands is a great summer event for families. This Friday (June 23), the 2017 Nature Nights kick off with a Firefly Night, featuring all-female aerial acrobat group, Tangle Movement Arts, with their firefly-inspired performance.

Everyone is also invited to learn more about fireflies with the Academy of Natural Sciences’ Invertebrate Specialist Karen Verderame. She has worked at the Academy for over 13 years and oversees the live invertebrate collection.

Finally, guests are welcome to treat themselves to local snacks from Lil’ Pop Shop, and take part in fun activities and crafts with University City Arts League.  Continue Reading

Due to bad weather, many local park cleanups scheduled for May 13 as part of the Love Your Park week had to be postponed. So, much to the delight of the Friends of Barkan Park, the organizer of the spring clean-up and planting event in this small park located at 50th and Spruce, a lot of volunteers showed up for the rescheduled event on Saturday, May 20.  Continue Reading

It wasn’t a very good start to the “Love Your Park” week on Saturday, May 13, with some of the events, like the annual Spruce Hill May Fair, being rained out. This week, there will be more chances to celebrate and help clean up your neighborhood park as the “Love Your Park” week, sponsored by Philadelphia Parks & Rec and local community groups, continues. On Friday and Saturday, festivities will be held at at least three West Philly parks – Clark Park, Cedar Park and Malcolm X Park. A couple of park cleanups have also been scheduled, and volunteers are needed. Here are more details:

Cedar Park (49th and Baltimore)

Picnic in Cedar Park: Friday, May 19, 6-8 p.m.

Residents are invited to bring their own picnic or pick up a dinner at one of the neighborhood’s great businesses and enjoy a beautiful spring evening with their friends and neighbors.

Service Workday: Saturday, May 20, 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

The service workday in Cedar Park has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 20 due to rain. Volunteers of all ages are welcome. Help is needed planting annuals and perennials, pruning, weeding, and doing general clean up. Tools and gloves will be provided. RSVP here.  Continue Reading