Earlier this month, over 40 volunteers joined us to plant 260 plus trees and shrubs on the grounds of historic Friends Hospital. (Did you know that the original hospital building is a National Historic Landmark?) Native trees and shrubs were planted at two different locations on the Friends Hospital campus. A grant from TreeVitalize provided the trees and materials, and students from Drexel University and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Young Member Forum, as well as individuals and families, provided the time and energy! Thank you, all!
The first site is along a spring that flows into Tacony Creek. Here, volunteers planted native trees and shrubs along the creek to reduce creek temperature, reduce creek bank erosion, and provide habitat for native species. Species included silky and gray dogwood, buttonbush, and river birch, all species which thrive in and around creek banks. These species will grow quickly and have a positive impact on the health of this small stream. Magnolia and white fringe tree (which are quite beautiful) were also planted to provide additional habitat. On Friday, the first day of the planting, Drexel students joined in to explore macroinvertebrate life in the creek and lend a hand a most-appreciated hand in planting.
The second site is an upland area above Tacony Creek, on which a pump track was illegally built. This disturbance led to a loss of understory trees, and resulted in sloped areas highly susceptible to erosion. On Saturday, ASCE planted a mixture of understory trees such as red maple, redbud, blackgum, and hop hornbeam. Tree tubes were then added to these plantings to prevent damage from deer. Sixty five trees were strategically planted at this site strategically to fill in the understory and assist in retaining soils in areas of severe erosion from the track activity.
The Scattergood Foundation is a long-time partner and supporter of Tacony Creek Park and TTF! Friends Hospital created an easement to enable the Tacony Creek Park trail (part of The Circuit) to be constructed and in 2018, worked with Natural Lands to create an easement to preserve an additional 49 acres of property. This land is critical, as it is one of the largest undeveloped areas near Tacony Creek Park.
The Scattergood Foundation partners with TTF to provide maintenance services for the Green Stormwater Infrastructure project installed behind the hospital through a grant from the Philadelphia Water Department’s Stormwater Management Incentive Program (SMIP). This grant included improvements to the pond, stream channel, and swale and the creation of a bioretention facility to manage polluted runoff from campus parking lots.
Looking for a volunteer project for yourself or a group? Call us at 215-744-1853 or visit here.