By AeLin Compton, Community Initiatives Specialist, Parks & Rec Stewardship Unit
2019 is shaping into a great year for park stewardship! Earlier this month, the Park Friends Network joined Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Fairmount Park Conservancy (FPC) staff for a kick-off meeting at the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center. There, they received important updates and helped celebrate the eleven new Park Friends groups that joined in 2019.
We want to give a big shout out and warm welcome to Parks & Rec’s newest community partners:
- Friends of Carroll Park
- Cobbs Creek North Litter Patrol
- Friends of the East Falls River Landing
- Friends of Howell Park
- Friends of June 5th Memorial Park
- Friends of Lanier Playground
- Friends of Letterly Green
- Friends of Price Street Park
- Friends of the Rail Park
- Friends of Ralph Brooks
- Friends of Three Bears Park
Philadelphia’s Park Friends Network now includes 120+ volunteer groups dedicated to caring for parks and gardens across the city. Each Friends group works with Parks & Rec and FPC to create welcoming public spaces and positive experiences with nature in their communities. Friends groups help:
- organize park clean ups and gardening days
- host community events, like concerts, movie nights, and kids’ games in the park
- coordinate public meetings to keep their communities informed and engaged… and much more!
Each Park Friends group boasts a different shape, size, and project list– but they all exist to enrich their local park.
If you have questions on how to start a Friends Group for your park, reach out to pprstewardship@phila.gov.
