The Natural Lands Restoration and Environmental Education Program (NLREEP for short) was established through a $26.6 million grant  from the William Penn Foundation to the Fairmount Park Commission .  NLREEP is charged with making improvements to seven parks within the Fairmount park system-- the Wissahickon, East and West Fairmount Park (flanking the Schuylkill River), the Pennypack, Poquessing, and Tacony Parks in northeast Philadelphia, Cobbs Creek Park in West Philadelphia, and FDR Park in South Philadelphia.

FIRST PUBLIC MEETING HELD ON WISSAHICKON RESTORATION PLAN

By Bill Hengst

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A longer version of this article appeared earlier in the Mt. Airy Times Express.

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            The first of three public meetings to be held this year on the Wissahickon Natural Lands Restoration Master Plan took place on May 24th at the Andorra branch of the Free Library.

            Members of the Academy of Natural Sciences staff spoke on the environmental health of the Wissahickon, and members of the Fairmount Park Commission's staff from the Natural Lands Restoration & Environmental Education Program (NLREEP) outlined the process for public input into the Wissahickon restoration plan.

            With the assistance of the scientific staff at the Academy of Natural Sciences, NLREEP has been busy, over the past three years, assessing the environmental health of the Wissahickon and the six other parks it is responsible for. Restoration plans have already been prepared for five of the parks, and this year a plan for the Wissahickon will be prepared.

            During her welcoming remarks, NLREEP's director, Nancy Goldenberg, held up a three-volume copy of one of the master plans, characterizing it as "a road map for restoration, that identifies sites, activities, and actions that together we can make happen."

There will be two more public meetings this year--one in September and another in December-- at which proposed activities and restoration sites for the Wissahickon will be presented and discussed.

            Given that the meeting was sparsely attended, mostly by already well-informed park advocates (members of the Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Restoration Volunteers), her remarks and those of the other speakers were more like preaching to the choir than converting the heathen.

            For those who missed the meeting and who care about the Wissahickon, there will be two more public meetings this year--one in September and another in December. Proposed activities and restoration sites for the Wissahickon will be presented and discussed at these meetings.

            Dr. Richard Horwitz, who heads the Academy's team of scientists, provided an overview of the Wissahickon's environmental health, related to the stream, fauna and forest.

            He noted that the Wissahickon Park, itself, preserves only a narrow portion of the watershed and because of surrounding urbanization and upstream development, the Wissahickon Creek suffers from high stream flows during rainstorms that scour the stream bank and create wide channels. The Academy's research shows that aquatic wildlife, such as the land snail, have diminished in numbers.

One intervention under consideration by NLREEP, 
is the removal, or modification, of some of the old dams to even stream flow and facilitate fish migration. 

            During dry periods, the creek also suffers from very low water flows. Dr. Horwitz mentioned one intervention under consideration--the removal, or modification, of some of the old dams to better balance stream flow and facilitate fish migration.

            Dr. Horwitz characterized the Wissahickon forest as "one of the largest continuous woods in the region." But he cautioned that the lower shrub and herb layers of the Wissahickon's woods are missing and that ground nesting birds have declined. He cited deer and invasive plants as prime causes for the depletion.

            "The Wissahickon," he stated, however, "maintains more of its biodiversity than the other city parks, but the numbers of native flora and fauna have declined."

            Nancy Goldenberg, closed the meeting by announcing that over the summer, NLREEP will sponsor a process called "community mapping" in which people will be invited to help identify how certain natural areas of the park are used by the public. This process will assist in refining the restoration plan. Dates for community mapping will be announced.

            For further information on NLREEP's activities, call 215-685-0274.   

NATIVE PLANT NURSERY SLATED FOR ANDORRA

            Thanks to a recent $15,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, matched by $5,000 from Fairmount Park's NLREEP, a small portion of the Andorra Natural Area will be returned to its function as a nursery. Here a variety of native plants will be grown for use on the many restoration projects that are planned for the park.

.           For over 80 years, half of what today is the 210-acre Andorra Natural Area was a commercial nursery, one of the largest on the east coast.             

            The native plant nursery, located behind Tree House, will be used to grow a variety of plant types, from small woodland herbaceous species and meadow grasses, to woodland trees and shrubs.  In addition, the nursery will contain wet beds to allow for the propagation of wetland plants.  To the extent possible, seeds and cuttings for propagation will be harvested from the Wissahickon.

            Staffed cooperatively by Fairmount Park staff and volunteers, the native plant nursery will be a partnership-driven project.  "We're counting on volunteers from the Friends of the Andorra Natural Area, Friends of the Wissahickon and Wissahickon Restoration Volunteers to play an active role in maintenance and programs at the nursery," said NLREEP's Nancy Goldenberg. 

            "We also know that this native nursery will benefit the conservation efforts of our volunteer groups in that they will have access to local genotypes and be better able to accomplish and sustain many of the smaller-scale restoration initiatives that are planned for the Wissahickon."

WISSAHICKON BIOBLITZ DRAWS OVER 500 FROM PHILADELPHIA SCHOOLS

            The weather was perfect the first Friday in June as over 550 students from the Philadelphia School District got out of the classroom and into the Wissahickon for BioBlitz 2000, the Fairmount Park Commission's annual environmental festival. The event was supported by the Friends of the Wissahickon and other local environmental organizations.

            "BioBlitz isn't an original idea," explained Nancy Goldenberg, NLREEP director, noting that Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh and Hartford are among cities that have conducted such events.  

            "Typically, BioBlitz is an event where scads of scientists fan out across an area to record all the species they can find within a 24-hour period.  But for BioBlitz 2000, we put a differentspin on the usual format and offered students an opportunity to observe or participate in various field walks and restoration projects, in addition to interacting with local exhibitors and enjoying live entertainment."

            Many students took advantage of these offerings, and as a result nearly 300 plants were planted around the frog pond at the Andorra Natural Area.  A deer exclosure was also erected on a half-acre plot at the Andorra Natural Area, inside of which Park staff and student volunteers planted 38 trees. Work also began on the removal of invasive vegetation and stabilization of a hillside just off Forbidden Drive near Northwestern Avenue. 

            "Not only were we able to initiate restoration projects during BioBlitz 2000, but perhaps most importantly, we were able to transform field work into hands-on, experiential learning adventures for students," said Goldenberg. "While working, students spotted salamanders, mallards, woodpeckers and even a red tailed hawk.  Many teachers commented that they hadn't seen their students this engaged in a project before!"