TTF Watershed Partnership: 2023 Photo Contest

Details & Rules TTF and the Olney Culture Lab are happy to announce our third biannual photo contest, made possible by the Philadelphia Water Department, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, The Circuit Trails, and the William Penn Foundation. For the second time, we’ve expanded the eligible coverage area to the whole TTF Watershed. We welcome your

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5 mins read

Wissahickon Trail Classic

The Wissahickon Trail Classic is back for the 2023 season! Back for its 14th anniversary after a 3 year hiatus, the Wissahickon Trail Classic is back and ready to provide a unique race experience for hundreds of runners! Benefiting Friends of the Wissahickon, funds raised through the Trail Classic will go directly back into the

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1 min read

Hybrid Valley Talk: Empowering Philadelphia’s Parks with Alex Doty

What can the next mayor do to create a great park in every neighborhood? The past two decades have seen the creation and revival of great parks, like Bartram’s Garden and the Discovery Center, and historic capital investments through Rebuild. However, funding for operations for Parks & Rec is absurdly low. We spend $50 per

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1 min read

Resistance Futile?

Emerald ash borer beetles target ash trees, like this one at Fairmount Park’s Smith Playground. | Photo by Christian Hunold
Tiny green beetles are coming to kill our ash trees
You might expect something as scary as the emerald ash borer to be much larger than it is. The shiny green beetles from East Asia top out

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2 mins read

Drier Ground

Venice Island's underground basin can temporarily store up to four million gallons of stormwater runoff. | Photos courtesy The Philadelphia Water Department
In the works for the better part of a decade, Venice Island opened in early October. The five-acre site is sandwiched between the Lock and Cotton Street bridges in Manayunk, and lies downhill of

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1 min read

Lending a Hand

Library activist engages her community with an award-winning garden
Sheila Washington joined Friends of the Haddington Library after protesting to save it from closure in 2008. | Photo by Jared Gruenwald
On a typical Saturday morning, Sheila Washington can be found in the garden at the Haddington Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, watering flowers and

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2 mins read