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Encouraging Exploration

On my first day, I was taken aback when I realized that this oasis existed. To say that I was genuinely surprised would be an understatement. I could not believe that Philadelphia has this large space which so many residents were unaware of. I wanted to get the word out, to get people to come to Awbury and see the great things that the arboretum offers. In my first few months there, every day that I came to work I would see something different. Whether it was a homeschool class participating in an activity outside, a new artist gallery in the Cope House, or exploring a new part of Awbury, there was always something new.

A Lovely Piece of Hatfield

Back when my sons were younger and playing Connie Mack and American Legion Baseball, I spent nearly every evening – most of spring, all of summer, and a good way into fall – at the park, sitting in the snack stand of the baseball field. The park is my favorite place to be deep in the fall, when the leaves have changed and everything is all reds and golds and oranges.

My Daily Commute

Riding my bicycle on the Hoodlebug Trail in Indiana County is beneficial in many ways. It provides me and many others equal opportunity recreational riding. I appreciate that anyone–regardless of physical condition, age, gender, or type of bike–can use the trail at their pace and feel they are in a safe place doing so. There is community value in being able to greet others on the trail doing activities that promote physical, mental, and emotional health.

Lifelong Memories

Having Vincentian allows us the opportunity to maintain the fields and grounds in terrific condition and is an overwhelming improvement to the quality of play. The fields are utilized every day throughout our spring and fall season and provide a tremendous sense of team-building and friendships for our youth and a true sense of community for our adults.

Landscape Improvements

In my time at High School Park, I have seen its wildlife diversity and habitat value markedly increase because of this work. Resident birders have reported almost four times the amount of migratory birds using the park now. Fox have been seen roaming the meadow trails and resident hawks are a near-constant presence. This past spring, I spotted a bald eagle in the creek while walking my dog. All this points to greater diversity and better stormwater management in our community.

Pure Joy

For a quarter-century, I have been censusing the birds that nest and breed in a 40-acre woods in the Pennypack Preserve. On eight mornings at the end of May and beginning of June, I have awoken at the crack of dawn, wolfed down a quick snack, power-walked 20 minutes to the tract, and then begun censusing. For the next three hours and ten minutes, I have scanned the trees with my binoculars and pricked up my ears to catch the slightest hint of birdsong.

Once Abandoned, Now Thriving

My friends and family frequently ride the trail into Martic and Conestoga townships. Eventually the trail will expand east toward Atglen and west toward Manor Township. My brother Jeff and I ride the trail together, and in the winter months we use the trail to cross-country ski and snowshoe. Every year we see an increase in summer and winter use of the trail. My wife and daughters use the trail on foot as well as wheels, and our family dogs enjoy the trail as much as we do!

A Safe Route to School

When Gettysburg High School was built in 1999, there was no safe way to walk or bicycle to the new high school. That changed with the NGT, a real community upgrade. The trail gets a lot of use from people enjoying a stroll out to the high school, as well as joggers and bicyclists. Personally, I enjoy the sight of young children and moms with strollers.

Prescription for Parks

I and many other Pittsburghers have been lucky enough to grow up with Frick Park in our backyards. As a child I spent nearly every day in the park walking and biking to school, exploring, and playing. I was astounded when I learned that Frick Park draws people in from all over the region and the world.

Connections

When Ambrose and I met, it was such a joy to find out how much he liked being in nature. He started to join the hikes and together we found new areas of Fairmount Park to explore. Now, for meditation hikes, he leads the hike portion. It has been great to collaborate with him in that project and also in life (we recently got married at Valley Green Inn). For us, the parks continue to be a source of rejuvenation: a way for us to connect with nature, and with each other.

Close to Wildlife

My wife Donna and I have been enjoying the beautiful scenery and tranquility of Trexler Preserve in Lehigh County for many years. The numerous walking and hiking trails following the high ridges and along the Jordan Creek are a wonderful place to enjoy nature and provide a good workout, especially with your dog!

A Runner’s Favorite

I’ve run in a lot of places all over the world, and this trail, right along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, is one of the nicest places to run. It offers many benefits for me and for everybody else in my running club. In fact, it is really a central part of my life in Philadelphia and is a big part of what keeps me happy.

Sparking a Love

The Schuylkill River, its trail, and all of the tributaries that feed it have been a part of my everyday life for as long as I can remember. As a child, I spent my days on and along the river with my mother and father. Somewhere along the line of my hiking, biking, fishing, swimming, kayaking, and just about anything else you can imagine, I fell in love with the trail and river, and all that they have to offer.

Reviving a Tradition

My active participation at Adams-Ricci Park started when I was appointed to the township recreation board in 1998, after many years of coaching youth sports. By then, we had a community park with a few sports fields, pavilions, and courts. It was a good base, but we needed to grow the park to meet the needs of a rapidly growing community. Two major expansions increased the park to 125 acres and incorporated more sports fields, a great system of walking paths, and pavilions.

My Favorite Park

New Hanover Community Park happens to be my favorite park in the township. It offers so many activities and amenities, including basketball, baseball, Frisbee golf, hockey, a walking trail, and a fenced-in playground. Dogs are allowed in the park on a leash, which enables me and my dog Max to enjoy the park.

Growing Blessings

Thankfully, there are multiple individuals with decades’-worth of gardening experience who, quite eagerly, have answered all of my questions. I never knew what I was missing until my very first plants (which were kale, beets, and carrots last year) had sprouted. This joy is available to anyone! In my second year, I’ve been blessed with that same irrefutable joy of witnessing my crops come to life in the soil provided by the garden.

Our Meeting Place

Through a grant from the Keystone Fund, we were able to construct a new playground on higher ground. This means the playground can stay open year round, and also provides new, safer equipment. During the construction, kids in the park would come up to me and thank me for the new playground, saying they couldn’t wait for the grand opening. I received more positive feedback on the playground improvements than any other project I’ve been involved with, and mostly from our youngest residents!

A Place of Vision

One of the things I love most about the Pearl S. Buck House is that, impressive as it is, it doesn’t feel like a museum. It is a home: warm and welcoming. It brings to life the story of a talented, energetic, woman who saw injustice and didn’t turn away. Instead, she used her talent and energy to break through barriers and nurture understanding. I have always admired Ms. Buck, both as a writer and a humanitarian, but being in her home, seeing the objects that were part of her life, I see her as a human being.

The Community Meeting Place

The facilities at Rexroth Park were perfect for our organization’s needs. Volunteer non-profits like us depend on fundraising to maintain our programs at a minimal cost to participants. Rexroth not only supplies great fields for the kids, but also has a concession stand and pavilion that provides a source of income to help support our efforts. In addition, there is a youth-oriented playground, to the delight of our parents, which allows younger brothers and sisters to have some fun during practices in a safe environment.

Sunshine and Stretching

Last summer our team hosted a class in Hoopes Park for the public and enjoyed some brunch items afterwards, which allowed everyone to spend time enjoying the park and getting to know each other. There are plenty of trees to cool us down and provide some much-needed shade on a humid summer day. We’ve seen that people really look forward to the chance to get out of their offices or homes and into a park for some fresh air and to be a little closer to nature, whether it be for yoga, running, biking, or other activities.

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