2021 First Quarter Newsletter
The Park Remains Open
Mask up & please follow guidelines
Wondering where the Friends of Morris Park group has been? We’re still here! After a quiet season of transition we are back. Although COVID-19 has limited the ability to gather we have hosted a handful of cleanups pulling hundreds of pounds of trash from the park and restoring trails.
Park News
Monthly Solo Cleanups
We will be *hosting* monthly solo cleanups on the last Saturday of every month from 12-2. The next 3 cleanups will be:
February 27th
March 27th
April 24th
We have free clean-up kits will be available for pickup at the Guard House at the corner of Sherwood and 66th and will contain trash bags, a pair of reusable gloves, a reusable face mask, and the location for the cleanup area.
Trash bags can be left at the Guard House. Sign up online here.
Remember to practice social distancing and mask up!
Jawala Scouts at the winter cleanup
Greenhill Civic Association cleanup
Additional Updates
Nerd Street Gamers & Parks and Rec offer free gaming tournament.
PowerCorp PHL did some amazing work last year to remove fallen trees from the trails and replace the fencing surrounding the park
Keep an eye out for the annual egg hunt in April - social distance friendly edition!
Learn more on our website
Managing Stormwater at Morris Park
Papa Playground can expect to see new green stormwater infrastructure this spring.
By: Grace Maiorano
Morris Park can expect to see some ‘green’ additions popping up around Papa Playground.
The anticipated installations are part of a network of green stormwater infrastructure systems that has been growing across Philadelphia for nearly a decade. GSI systems are nestled throughout public and private spaces, such as parks, vacant lots and street corners—to name a few.
Developed by the Philadelphia Water Department, the continuous implementation of this technology was made possible through the City’s Green City, Clean Waters program. This 25-year comprehensive initiative works to reduce the overflow of combined sewers in an all-embracing effort to create a more environmentally sound municipality.
In 2011, Green City, Clean Waters (GCCW) was established in response to amendments made to the Clean Water Act, a U.S. federal law, specifically regarding Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO.)
Changes to the law made it mandatory for local governments like Philadelphia to establish plans designed to reduce wastewater and stormwater pollution overflowing into waterways. Combined sewers represent about 60 percent of Philadelphia’s sewer networks. These combined systems are typically found in Philly’s older neighborhoods, including West Philadelphia, where numerous GSI tools already exist.
To date, PWD has installed thousands of green stormwater tools throughout Philadelphia.
And in 2017, the Philadelphia Water Department marked its 1,000th “greened acre” or “GA.” It’s estimated that PWD will need 10,000 GAs in order to meet GCCW’s long-term goals.
The latest addition to West Philly includes five rain gardens currently under construction at Papa Playground.
Though adorned with flowers and other native greenery, rain gardens also allow water to infiltrate into the ground by collecting runoff from impervious surfaces such as roofs and parking lots. At Papa Playground, these new rain gardens will capture stormwater from Leeds Street and Lebanon Avenue between 66th & 68th Streets.
Papa Playground’s renovations also encompass a sewer disconnection project. Sewers situated on Leeds Street and Lebanon Avenue will get relined and a “stormwater sewer” will be constructed to bring runoff to the rain gardens in Morris Park. The combination of the relining and the rain gardens will prevent overflows into Indian and Cobbs Creeks.
The entire Papa Playground construction is expected to see completion by spring 2020.
This West Philly public space is just one component helping to further GCCW’s overarching goal to reduce combined sewer overflows by 85 percent. Over time, this decrease is expected to add up to approximately 9 billion gallons of stormwater through 2036.
To learn more about GCCW, contact Dan Schupsky who is the outreach specialist for West Philly’s GSI systems. He hosts meetings at Morris Park regularly and/or as needed/invited. Dan can be reached at (215) 683-3405 or Daniel.Schupsky@phila.gov. Contact Dan to receive PDF renderings of the GSI project.
Looking for ways to go ‘green’?
Take one of PHS : Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's upcoming Rain Check workshops.
Learn more about PWD’s pet waste do’s and don’ts.
Stay in touch with PWD by joining our e-newsletter here. Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram. Follow our blog here - PhillyH2O Blog