Fairmount Park Conservancy

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Clearing away invasive plants around Centennial Lake

Growing the Neighborhood

Founded in 2004 by ACE Group and NovaCare Rehabilitation, Growing the Neighborhood is a program of citizen-initiated park improvements to the neighborhood parks of the Fairmount Park system.

Growing the Neighborhood pairs corporate volunteers with neighborhood residents for an annual day of volunteering in the park. This empowering work helps neighbors work together with the business community to bring new life and community to their neighborhoods, to improve the parks' ability to attract and retain neighborhood residents, and to significantly contribute to Philadelphia's quality of life.

Year 7 (2010) Project: Hunting Park

This year Hunting Park has been selected for the program.  Hunting Park is an 87-acre, Class One recreational park in eastern North Philadelphia.  The park is bordered by Roosevelt Boulevard on the north, Old York Road on the west, W. Lycoming Street on the south and on the east by N. 9th Street. 

This year's project will make capital improvements to the park based on the recent Master Plan for the revitalization of the park completed by the Fairmount Park Conservancy.  These improvements will help connect the park to its adjacent neighborhood by improving the safety of the park and the quality of the amenities that it provides for the local community.  These capital improvements will lay the foundation for community and educational programming. 

Proposed improvements:

  • Renovation of the park's baseball field
  • Landscape maintenance throughout the park – pruning, removal of diseased trees, earthwork
  • Community mapping projects - native plantings, erosion restoration, sidewalk improvements, post and rail installation

Impact:

The communities surrounding Hunting Park have taken part in the development of the Master Plan and have formed a friends group - Hunting Park United - whose mission is to maintain and preserve their park in partnership with the Department of Parks and Recreation. The improvements will attract more families into the park, increase proper usage of the park, and make the park a safer and more hospitable environment for everyone. The restoration of Hunting Parkwill transform the park into a valuable asset and source of pride for the neighborhood.

Year 6 at Concourse and Centennial Lakes a Success

In 2009, Concourse and Centennial Lakes were the focus of Growing the Neighborhood. The lakes, bordered by Parkside Avenue, Belmont Avenue and 52nd Street are adjacent to the West Parkside neighborhood.  This is a section of the larger West Fairmount Park and a part of the Centennial District. In August, Concourse Lake was completely drained so garbage and general refuse that collected at the bottom of its waters could be removed, and also to allow the formation of a marsh area around the island within Concourse Lake. Development of this marsh area will introduce a number of wetland and meadow types of plants that will enhance the ecology of the Lake. The Lake would be continually filled by stormwater. In September, a Volunteer Day was held that included both corporate and community supporters, who joined together in sprucing up the area around the lakes. Invasive plants were uprooted while trash and debris was cleared away from around the lakes, making room for a variety of non-invasive species to grow.

The project ultimately succeeded in connecting the park to its adjacent neighborhood by improving the physical access to the area, increasing the usability of the lakes and laying the foundation for community and educational programming that focuses on the lakes in the future.   

Completed projects:

  • Restoration of Concourse Lake
  • Removal of invasive trees and shrubs around Centennial Lake
  • Marsh planting at Concourse Lake

Past Parks & Neighborhoods of the GTN Program:

  • Year 1 (2004): Fernhill (SW Germantown), Kemble (West Oak Lane), Palmer (Fishtown)
  • Year 2 (2005): Fisher (Olney), Cloverly (Germantown)
  • Year 3 (2006): Wingohocking (Logan), Girard (South Philadelphia)                                                  
  • Year 4 (2007): Penn Treaty (Fishtown), Cobbs Creek (Callowhill)
  • Year 5 (2008): East Park (Strawberry Mansion), Tacony Creek Park (Lawncrest – North East Philadelphia)
  • Year 6 (2009): Concourse and Centennial Lakes, West Fairmount Park (West Parkside)

Lead funding is provided by ACE Group and NovaCare Rehabilitation.  Additional funding is provided by MedRisk, PRWT Services Inc., TD Bank, U.S. Facilities Inc. and the Albert J. Lofgren & Antoinette Farrar Seymour Donor-Advised Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation.  Growing the Neighborhood is administered by Fairmount Park staff and the Fairmount Park Conservancy.  

 

Baseball field before and after the 2008 GTN Volunteer Day at Tacony Creek Park