It might have been one of the rainiest Love Your Park Weeks to date, but that didn’t stop Park Friends Groups from showing love for their neighborhood parks this year! More than 100 parks participated in the week-long celebration of Philadelphia parks, welcoming hundreds of volunteers to clean and green public spaces. On top of that, Park Friends Groups hosted 55 events all week long, from bird walks in Cobbs Creek Park to plant identification hikes in the Wissahickon.

Relive the love for Philly parks via these great photos from the week!

Missed out on Love Your Park Week? There are a handful of rescheduled events taking place this week and weekend! And be sure to save the date for the Love Your Park Fall Service Day on November 10, 2018.

The post Love Your Park Week 2018 in Photos appeared first on Love Your Park Week.

Originally published on the My Philly Park Blog by Melissa Romero on October 19,2018

Ready to Love Your Park? The 8th annual Love Your Park Fall Service Day is Saturday, November 10th and volunteer registration is now open!

Love Your Park is a program of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Fairmount Park Conservancy, in partnership with Philadelphia’s incredible Park Friends Network, made up of more than 100 volunteer groups who steward their neighborhood parks. Every fall and spring, thousands of volunteers come out to clean and green their parks, plant trees, clean up litter, and more to help prepare parks for the winter.

This year, Cobbs Creek Park is the signature site on Love Your Park Fall Service Day, joining nearly 100 other neighborhood parks across the city.

Why should you Love Your Park on November 10th? We’ve got seven reasons from park champions all over Philadelphia.

1. It only takes a few hours to do a lot of good in your neighborhood.
“It was amazing. Everyone was so helpful and had great passion for the community. I love opportunities like this to do some good for the area.”

2. It’s a great opportunity to get to know your neighbors.
“Everyone was very nice and friendly –I actually made one friend who happens to live across the street for me. We got a lot accomplished.”

3. Taking care of Philly’s parks means they can be enjoyed by all.
“I want to make sure that we love our park and keep our community together so we can enjoy it for generations to come.”

4. Love Your Park allows you to discover all of Philly’s many parks and public spaces.
“Philly has a lot of wonderful spaces to enjoy, and it was great to help maintain one of them!”

5. It’s a free outdoor workout!
“It felt good to volunteer and give back to the community, plus it was nice to get outside.”

6. It’s rewarding.
“It was impressive to see so much get done in a couple of hours, and to see a small and enthusiastic group of neighbors work together.”

7. It’s a learning experience.
“It was a beautiful day and I felt the project was important. The leaders were welcoming and informative. I learned a lot about planting trees and shrubs.”

Ready to Love Your Park?

Use the map below to find a Love Your Park event near you! And click here to learn more.

The post 7 reasons why Philly loves Love Your Park Fall Service Day! appeared first on Love Your Park Week.

Originally published on the My Philly Park Blog by Melissa Romero on Nov.5, 2018

Love Your Park Fall Service Day is one week away! A record number of Philly parks–107!–are participating this year, and a lot of parks are still looking for volunteers to clean and green on Saturday, November 10th.

Love Your Park is a program of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Fairmount Park Conservancy, in partnership with Philadelphia’s incredible Park Friends Network, made up of more than 100 volunteer groups who steward their neighborhood parks. Every fall and spring, thousands of volunteers come out to clean and green their parks, plant trees, clean up litter, and more to help prepare parks for the winter.

These Philly parks could use your help on November 10th! Learn a little bit about each park below, and then sign up to volunteer here.

Fisher Park

This 23-acre park is located in the most diverse neighborhood in the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania–36 languages are spoken in the Olney neighborhood. The signature site for Love Your Park Spring 2018, Fisher Park needs volunteers to come out on Nov. 10th to pick up litter around the perimeter and the interior, spread mulch, prepare the beds for winter and remove invasive vines on the fence at the community garden. Treat yourself after a hard day’s work with refreshments at noon. Register here.

Wissinoming Park

This 42-acre park in Northeast Philly just debuted a new playground, sprayground, rain gardens, and mural in spring 2018. On Love Your Park Day, lend a hand cleaning up the park and mulching, with the possibility of planting some more trees. Enjoy lunch at the end of the cleanup! Register here.

Ridgway Park

Friends of Ridgway Park, home to a tot lot and public pool, says volunteers will be cleaning, planting, and having a good time at this park at 13th and Carpenter. Refreshments will be provided for a job well done! Register here.

Market Square Park

This half-acre park in the Penn-Knox section of Germantown has roots dating back to as early as 1703! Join the Friends of Market Square Park on November 10th to “put our little gem to bed” for winter after the first year of the park’s Farmer’s Market. Lend a hand to collect trash, pull weeds, sweep and rake the leaves. Register here.

Clara Muhammad Square

Snack on some pretzels as you help clean up, trim branches, rake leaves, and plant bulbs at Clara Muhammad Square in West Philly. Originally known as Durham Square, the park was renamed in honor of Sister Clara Muhammad in 1983. Register here.

Tip Top Playground

One of the newest Park Friends groups need volunteers to come out to Tip Top Playground in the River Wards for Love Your Park Day! Volunteers will be weeding, sweeping, planting bulbs in the planters and mulching trees. You’ll also be able to learn about the long-term plan for totally redesigning and upgrading the park. Register here.

Royal Gardens in Morris Park

Royal Gardens is a small, beautiful oasis in the large 117-acre Morris Park in West Philadelphia. The Royal Gardens Association wants your help weeding and mulching flower beds and trees, plus planting bulbs! Register here and learn more about the Park Friends Group’s story stewarding Royal Gardens over the years here.

Capitolo Playground

Named in honor of Dr. Nicola Capitolo in 1959, Capitolo Playground had a special visit from Sixers star player Joel Embiid earlier this year. On Love Your Park Day, the Capitolo Advisory Council  & Community Gardeners need help raking leaves, cleaning up trash and litter, and mulching trees. Register here.

Ready to Love Your Park on November 10th? Register today! 

The post Show these Philly parks some love on Love Your Park Day! appeared first on Love Your Park Week.

Originally published on the My Philly Park Blog by Melissa Romero on November 13, 2018

The 8th annual Love Your Park Fall Service Day on Saturday, November 10 was the biggest showing of Philly’s love for parks yet – thousands of volunteers broke the record for most parks cleaned in one day: 107!

At Cobbs Creek Park, this year’s signature site, more than 60 volunteers from the surrounding community came out to clean and green the park, raking leaves, mulching trees, and planting bulbs – all to help prep the park for winter. All of the collected leaves will be composted at the Fairmount Park’s Organic Recycling Center and eventually made available for Philly residents for free!

“This is a really important day to close our parks down for the winter and it is a very long tradition we’ve been doing at Parks and Rec with our great friends at the Fairmount Park Conservancy,” said Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell.

Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Conservancy host a citywide cleanup in all of Philly’s parks twice a year in partnership with the Philadelphia Park Friends Network, a group of volunteers who steward their neighborhood parks. This was the largest showing of participating parks in the history of Love Your Park, a testament to the dedication of the Park Friends Network, said Fairmount Park Conservancy’s Executive Director Jamie Gauthier.

“It’s through the efforts of community leaders like you in concert with our city leaders that spaces like these will be sustained for years to come,” said  Gauthier. “Every year we’re amazed to see how much we can accomplish when we all work together and pitch in to love our parks.”

At the end of the cleanup, Mayor Jim Kenney said, “It’s a beautiful day to be out here. I want to thank you for taking time out of your schedules to invest back into our communities and neighborhoods. You’re terrific people and it’s a great city and we have a great park system and we want to keep it that way.”

Relive the magic of the largest Love Your Park Fall Service Day to date in 20 #loveyourpark photos!

Thank you to this year’s Love Your Park Fall Service Day sponsors, whose support makes this event possible each year: The Knight Foundation, PECO, TDBank, Bank of America, and BLACKROCK.

The post Relive the largest Love Your Park Fall Service Day, in 20 great photos appeared first on Love Your Park Week.

Spring is just around the corner and with it comes Love Your Park Week, the annual celebration of service and fun in parks all across Philadelphia. This year Love Your Park Week will take place from May 11 – 19, 2019 with the kick-off service day on May 11th. Volunteer registration for Love Your Park Week will open on April 11th so mark your calendars and sign up for our newsletter for updates!

The post Save the Date for Love Your Park Week 2019! appeared first on Love Your Park Week.

Originally published on the My Philly Park Blog by Melissa Romero on April 11, 2019

Spring is in full swing, which means Love Your Park Week is just around the corner! Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation are excited to announce that volunteer registration for the multi-day celebration of service and fun in parks all across Philadelphia is now OPEN!

This year there are 100 parks hosting clean-up service days throughout Love Your Park Week, which runs from May 11 to May 19. To lend a hand at one of the clean-ups, please register here today!

There are also 40 fun events scheduled throughout the week to help you explore new parks and revisit your favorites! Visit the full schedule here.

Questions? Here is everything you need to know about this year’s Love Your Park Week. From dozens upon dozens of free park events to multiple volunteer opportunities, there are plenty of ways to love your park this year!

1. What is Love Your Park Week?

It’s an entire week in Philadelphia dedicated to service and celebration in Philly’s parks that draws 2,500 volunteers to clean and green Philly’s parks each year. The celebrations kick off with a citywide service day, followed by 8 days of fun and free events in more than 100 neighborhood parks.

2. Who runs Love Your Park?

Love Your Park Week is a joint program of Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, and is a collaboration with more than 120 neighborhood-based volunteer groups in the Park Friends Network.

Most Love Your Park events are organized by the Park Friends Network. Park friends groups are community-based groups of neighbors who volunteer their time to host park clean-ups, plan events and activities in their park, and advocate for improvements.

3. How can I volunteer?

First things first: Register to volunteer at loveyourpark.org. The majority of service opportunities will take place on May 11, the citywide service day, but there are other dates available in various parks throughout the whole week, too.

4. Can I sign up with friends to volunteer?

Yes, the more the merrier!

5. My company wants to send a group out – how do we arrange this?

If you are signing up for a group, fill out the online registration form, and please be prepared to include names and contact information for each group member.

6. What if I can’t volunteer on 5/11?

Don’t worry: There are eight more days of Love Your Park events – including more clean-ups! – after the May 11 service day, including more than two dozen cleanups on Saturday, 5/18, too.

• You can also mark your calendar for the November 9 Love Your Park Fall Service Day. Sign up here for updates.
• Our amazing Park Friends Groups across the city host volunteer clean-ups and events all throughout the year. Click here to find your local Park Friends Group.
• Show your support by making a donation to Fairmount Park Conservancy. Funds raised will be used to support programs and projects like Love Your Park Week throughout Philly’s park system.

7. Will I get a T-shirt?

Yes, all registered volunteers will receive a Love Your Park T-shirt on the day of the scheduled clean-up.

8. What is the best place to find out about events happening that week?

All volunteer opportunities and other fun events can be found at loveyourpark.org. Interested volunteers will be able to search for events by type, neighborhood, and number of volunteers needed.

And be sure to follow Fairmount Park Conservancy on social media at @myphillypark on Instagram and Twitter and facebook.com/fairmountparkconservancy on Facebook for regular updates.

The post Everything to know about Love Your Park Week 2019 appeared first on Love Your Park Week.

The 10th Annual Love Your Park Week kicked off on a beautiful Saturday morning, with hundreds of volunteers showing up to clean and green 100 parks across Philadelphia.

At Marconi Plaza, this year’s signature site, nearly 100 volunteers from the surrounding South Philadelphia community came out to mulch and plant trees, sweep sidewalks, remove weeds, and spruce up the playgrounds in the 19-acre park that is split into two halves by Broad Street. Marconi Plaza dates back to the early 1900s and is named after Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the radio.

“Cities don’t really thrive unless they have great parks, just like Marconi Plaza,” said Connor Barwin, Board Member of Fairmount Park Conservancy. “And the one thing I think is special about Love Your Park Week is that it speaks to what makes parks special: Parks bring people together.”

Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Fairmount Park Conservancy host a citywide cleanup in all of Philly’s parks twice a year in partnership with the Philadelphia Park Friends Network, a group of volunteers who steward their neighborhood parks. Saturday’s kickoff at Marconi Plaza marked the 10th year of Love Your Park Week.

Along with Friends of Marconi Plaza, plenty of volunteers from the community, PowerCorps PHL, the Carpenter’s Union, TD Bank, Bank of America, PECO, Sports Complex Special Services District, and the Knight Foundation came out to lend a hand.

Said Barwin, “Nonprofits like Fairmount Park Conservancy, city leaders like Mayor Kenney and Kathryn Ott Lovell, corporate sponsors like PECO, TD Bank, Bank of America, and foundations like the Knight Foundation – everybody, volunteers, and friends groups coming together – that’s what makes parks special, and special parks make cities great.”

Friends of Marconi Plaza is one of the 130 Friends Groups that make up the Philadelphia Park Friends Network. At Saturday’s kickoff event, Rich Cedrone, Friends of Marconi Plaza’s president, highlighted all of the events and programming the group has brought to the park over the years, from movie nights to concerts to pony rides.

Cedrone, who lives nearby Marconi Plaza, said they want to do even more for the park, but it takes a village. After recognizing his fellow Friends of Marconi Plaza, Cedrone said, “You can move mountains when you stick together.”

Relive the magic of our the Love Your Park Week kickoff at Marconi Plaza in 10 #loveyourpark photos! For even more opportunities to Love Your Park this week, please visit loveyourpark.org.

The post 10th Annual Love Your Park Week kicks off at Marconi Plaza and parks across Philly appeared first on Love Your Park Week.

Originally published on the My Philly Park Blog by Melissa Romero on May 20, 2019

For nine days, Philly showed its love for its many parks during Love Your Park Week 2019 by cleaning, greening, and celebrating public spaces! Approximately 100 parks hosted volunteer cleanups, bringing communities together to beautify their neighborhood parks. In addition, more than 50 parks hosted events such as hikes, bilingual bird walks, bike rides, plant sales, and more fun and free events!

Thank you to all of the volunteers who showed their parks some love last week and who continue to do so every day.

Here, relive the whole week in 15 photos! And save the date for November 9, 2019 for Love Your Park Fall Service Day!

 

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Love Your Park at Ridgway Park was a smashing success yesterday! We had wonderful volunteers from the community and @mindmattersfoundation! Thank you so much for coming out to help! #ridgwaypark #ridgwayparkfriends #loveyourpark #philly #philadelphia #uwishunuphilly @myphillypark @philaparkandrec @friendsofhawthornepark #ridgewaypark

A post shared by Ridgway Park, Philadelphia (@ridgwayparkfriends) on May 19, 2019 at 8:15am PDT

 

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#weeding #seeding – we NEVER stop #believing…we get our hands dirty, #urban_farmers #communitygarden @,#ralphbrookspark #southphilly #loveyourpark #citywide

A post shared by #Phillysportsmom (@drcheryl_urbanfarmer) on May 17, 2019 at 5:39pm PDT

 

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This was a love your park event at Jefferson Square park May 11 -19. I was gardening in the Flower beds . Smells sooo good. That’s me in the back with my arms out . #JeffersonSquarepark #loveyourpark #pennsport # #dickinsonsquarewest #philly #philadelphia #southphilly #park #phillystreets #igersphilly #southphilly #Philadelphia #blockcaptain #clean #street #phillyspringcleanup #igers_philly #visitphilly #phillyliving #phillygram #cityofbrotherlylove #phillyprimeshots #whyilovephilly #howphillyseesphilly #instaphilly #phl #peopledelphia #eagles #loveyourpa

A post shared by Dickinson Square West (@dickinsonsquarewest) on May 14, 2019 at 11:51am PDT

 

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So nice to see so many garden friends working on the garden together! Thanks for coming out today! . . . #communitygardens #communitygarden #zerowasteliving #zerodechet #zerowastecommunity #zerowasteirl #zerowaste #zeroemissions #foodmiles #sustainable #sustainableliving #urbanfarm #urbanlife #urbanliving #csa #제로웨이스트 #fightforourfuture #loveyourpark

A post shared by Brewerytown Garden (@brewerytowngarden) on May 11, 2019 at 9:03am PDT

 

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Can you DIG it? 37 volunteers sure can, as that crew (including some new crew leaders, holler) came out for Love Your Park opening day and planted 200 trees in the now-closed section of the Lower Cresheim Trail. That’s 5.4 trees planted per person, well done, squad. Love Your Park kicked off all over the city and continues through next weekend with tons of volunteer days, hikes, and other events – loveyourpark.org for the deets. #wissahickon #loveyourpark #volunteer #trailmaintenance #plantatree : @greenbigfoot

A post shared by Friends of the Wissahickon (@fowissahickon) on May 11, 2019 at 12:10pm PDT

 

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A big thanks to everyone who came out today for #loveyourpark. The Point is looking great! . . #ohiladelphia #phillyparks

A post shared by Moyamensing Point (@moyamensingpt) on May 11, 2019 at 11:33am PDT

 

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It takes an army. What a great crew out there today for the “Love Your Park Trail Day”. Big thanks to the @belmont_trails for organizing. Go check out the pipeline section of the “trolley trail” to enjoy all of our hard work. #belmonttrails #loveyourpark #pioneerscycling

A post shared by Let us show you something new. (@pioneerscycling) on May 11, 2019 at 10:20am PDT

 

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What a day for #loveyourpark Celebrating the 90th anniversary of McMichael park in beautiful #eastfalls #myphillypark

A post shared by Friends Of McMichael Park (@friendsofmcmichael) on May 11, 2019 at 9:23am PDT

 

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Spent my Saturday morning volunteering to do landscaping at #loveyourpark #HowellPark in #Germantown had a wonderful time and met a great group of people. Note: Second photo is of the largest Quercus, montana | Chestnut Oak tree in PA!!

A post shared by Maurice (@ezpunx) on May 18, 2019 at 8:34am PDT

 

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#KMLCarpenters in #Philadelphia joined other local volunteers and the @philaparkandrec department for #LoveYourPark week. Thank you to our members for their hard work. #communitycarpenters

A post shared by KML Carpenters (@kmlcouncilcarpenters) on May 16, 2019 at 8:50am PDT

 

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A successful haul of trash out of the lemon hill trail on #loveyourpark service day! Please keep #lemonhill and #Philadelphia clean! #lemonhilltrail #fairmountpark

A post shared by Lemon Hill Neighbors (@lemonhillneighborsassoc) on May 15, 2019 at 8:39am PDT

 

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#LoveYourPark @ Hawthorne Park in Philadelphia @philaparkandrec @cityofphiladelphia @friendsofhawthornepark

A post shared by Brian (@briankiz) on May 11, 2019 at 10:11am PDT

 

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#LoveYourPark #volunteers plant #natives in our new #Olney #gateway in #TaconyCreekPark. @philaparkandrec @myphillypark Go Phaedra & Sean! @thecircuittrails

A post shared by TTF Watershed Partnership (@ttfwatershed) on May 11, 2019 at 7:57am PDT

 

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#loveyourpark happening now @brewerytowngarden !! Come out to help plant and enjoy #dunkindonuts

A post shared by Brewerytown Garden (@brewerytowngarden) on May 11, 2019 at 7:06am PDT

 

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Planting crew for Love Your Park week! #phillyrunners #loveyourpark

A post shared by Philly Runners (@phillyrunnersclub) on May 11, 2019 at 8:42am PDT

The post Love Your Park Week 2019, in 15 photos appeared first on Love Your Park Week.

Join thousands of volunteers across the city for Love Your Park Fall Service Day on Saturday, November 9th! Volunteer registration opens October 9th.

Led by our Neighborhood Park Friends groups, volunteers will tackle a variety of projects to prepare our parks for winter, including leaf collection, trash and litter clean-up, planting trees and bulbs, and more!

Love Your Park is a partnership among Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, Fairmount Park Conservancy, and the Philadelphia Park Friends Network, made up of committed neighbors across the city who help to maintain their local park!

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date!

The post Save the Date for Love Your Park Fall Service Day! appeared first on Love Your Park Week.

Originally posted on the My Philly Park Blog by Melissa Romero on October 9, 2019

Want to do some good for your community? Show your neighborhood park some love! Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation are excited to announce that volunteer registration for Love Your Park Fall Service Day is now OPEN!

This fall there are 100-plus parks hosting clean-up service days on Saturday, November 9th for Love Your Park Fall Service Day. To lend a hand at one of the clean-ups, please register here today!

Love Your Park is a program of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Fairmount Park Conservancy, in partnership with Philadelphia’s incredible Park Friends Network, made up of volunteer groups who steward their neighborhood parks. Every fall and spring, thousands of volunteers come out to clean and green their parks, plant trees, clean up litter, and more to help prepare parks for the winter.

This year, Kemble Park in the Ogontz Area in Lower West Oak Lane is the signature site on Love Your Park Fall Service Day, joining nearly 100 other neighborhood parks across the city.

Questions? Here is everything you need to know about this year’s Love Your Park Fall Service Day.

What is Love Your Park Fall Service Day?
It’s one day in the fall dedicated to service and celebration in Philly’s parks. Volunteers are encouraged to come out to their neighborhood park and lend a hand, helping prep our public spaces for winter by raking leaves, mulching, planting trees and flower bulbs, cleaning litter, and more.

Who runs Love Your Park?
Love Your Park is a joint program of Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, and is a collaboration with more than 120 neighborhood-based volunteer groups in the Park Friends Network.

Most Love Your Park events are organized by the Park Friends Network. Park friends groups are community-based groups of neighbors who volunteer their time to host park clean-ups, plan events and activities in their park, and advocate for improvements.

How can I volunteer?
First things first: Register to volunteer at loveyourpark.org. All participating parks will be hosting cleanups on Saturday, November 9th.

Can I sign up with friends to volunteer?
Yes, the more the merrier! Send them the link to sign up to volunteer and/or share that you’re planning to attend Love Your Park Fall Service Day on Facebook!

My company wants to send a group out – how do we arrange this?
If you are signing up for a group, fill out the online registration form, and please be prepared to include names and contact information for each group member.

What if I can’t volunteer on November 9th?

Don’t worry: There are other opportunities throughout the year to volunteer for Philly’s parks:

• Mark your calendar for Love Your Park Week next May! Sign up here for updates.
• Sign up to volunteer at the next Second Saturday Service Day here.
• Our amazing Park Friends Groups across the city host volunteer clean-ups and events all throughout the year. Click here to find your local Park Friends Group.
• Show your support by making a donation to Fairmount Park Conservancy. Funds raised will be used to support programs and projects like Love Your Park throughout Philly’s park system.

What is the best place to stay up to date?
Once you’ve registered to volunteer, you will be connected to your respective Park Friends Group via email with more information. And be sure to tell your friends and family that you are volunteering for Love Your Park on Facebook!

For regular updates, follow Fairmount Park Conservancy on social media at @myphillypark on Instagram and Twitter and @fairmountparkconservancy on Facebook.

The post Everything to know about Love Your Park Fall Service Day 2019 appeared first on Love Your Park Week.