Join us as we explore the amazing variety of trees in Glen Providence Park, which was dedicated as an Arboretum in 1935. We will launch our 2016 Calendar of Events with the next session of our Citizen Science Project, Tree Mapping in the park!

Volunteers have been cataloging and digitally mapping the trees of Glen Providence Park since 2011, contributing to a worldwide database of trees. We are documenting the species, diameter, location and other data for individual trees in the park.

The data is entered on PhillyTreeMap, a subsection of the worldwide OpenTreeMap, a web-based map database of trees. As of October 2015, we have identified 53 species of trees in the park. You can see the latest map showing Glen Providence Park on PhillyTreeMap.

No experience necessary! Come out to learn about tree identification and the many benefits that trees provide to our community and the environment.

Citizen Science: Winter Tree Mapping

Saturday, January 30
2:00-4:00 pm
Snow or shine
* Park entrance at 3rd Street & Kirk Lane in Upper Providence *

Logistics:

• * Please note the location- we are starting at the Upper Providence entrance at Third Street and Kirk Lane. *
• Estimated time: 2 hours
• Snow or shine
• Free!
• If you have a smartphone, it would be helpful to download the OpenTreeMap app – it’s the easiest way to add trees to the database.
• Be prepared for steep hills, and uneven (possibly wet) terrain: wear your hiking shoes, and bring a hiking pole if you use one.
• Bring binoculars, tree ID guides, & measuring tape if you have your own, but not necessary.

Goblins, ghosts, and witches returned to Glen Providence Park for its Halloween 80th birthday party! Amidst the deepening shadows on the last evening in October, more than 160 revelers came out to celebrate the 80th birthday of Glen Providence Park. 

Witches, scarecrows and the young at heart, making their way toward the glimmering stage filled with jack o’lanterns, descended from the main entrance to Glen Providence Park along a path lighted with glowing luminarias. Trees in full fall splendor reflected the glow of sun setting into the valley below. Lions and tigers and bears clambered up a trail out of the glen to join the spectacle of other brightly colored merrymakers anticipating the first Halloween event in the park in more than twenty-five years.

The lilting voice of Hedgerow’s Grey Kelsey, accompanied by her guitar, filled the air with a medley of spooky songs warming up the crowd for an evening of both tricks and treats by the resourceful and talented actors of Hedgerow Theatre in Rose Valley, America’s first repertory theatre.

The entertainment took a dramatic turn with the narrative “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping…” During his spellbinding performance, Brock Vickers’ footsteps hammered out across the stage, the haunting syncopated rhythm of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”. Vickers captivated the audience – that spanned all ages, from the first line to the last ‘nevermore.’ Still one of the most memorable poems of all times, it was published by Poe in 1845.

Following the lively “Witches’ Play” with Susan Wefel, Glen Providence Park Board President Stephanie Gaboriault invited the children on stage to blow out a candle on one of the cupcakes commemorating the park’s birthday. Cupcakes were then distributed among the audience and actors who still had room for a little more sugar!

Work started on Glen Providence Park on October 31, 1935 – a fitting birthday considering the glen’s haunted past, as recounted in 1909 in a scrapbook of prominent local physician and historian Dr. Anna Broomall. Two stories of local folklore documented in that scrapbook took place in Glen Providence Park long before 1935, back when it was called Scroggie Valley: a 1700’s Newlywed Ghost Story and the 1800’s Witches Ride. The Hedgerow Ensemble enacted both of these eerie tales,  also recreating a scene from the tavern in one of the stories, with Hedgerow Executive Director Penelope Reed as Dr. Anna Broomall.

Twilight enveloped the park as the evening concluded with Grey Kelsey leading the audience and Hedgerow actors in singing the Hallowe’en song. A parade of costumed characters departed the park for a night of trick or treating on the town.

This celebration exceeded all our expectations and we are so grateful for the many people and organizations that supported this wonderful community event.

Thank you to our Event Sponsor Sterling Pig, the exciting new restaurant and brewery located on the border of Glen Providence Park, just one block from the main entrance. The amazing ensemble actors of Hedgerow Theatre, our wonderful partner in this dramatic event, made the experience fun and brought history to life. Delaware County Parks & Recreation restored the historical stage this summer for the park’s 80th anniversary. They have cared for Glen Providence Park since its creation in 1935, and their support makes our events possible.

And a special round of applause to the many families, friends, neighbors and members of the community who participated whole heartedly in this event!

See the wonderful photos by George Tate for a taste of this bewitching event! Click on any for a closer look, or scroll through them all…

Most photos by George Tate, with additional photos by Stephanie Gaboriault, Holly Hoffmann, and Friends of Houtman Park.

Did you find a painted fairy and a golden knight in Glen Providence Park on Sunday afternoon, October 12? If you were one of nearly sixty sleuths searching for the man-made objects hidden in plain sight amidst the rainbow of fall colored leaves, you may have found a LEGO alligator too.

After a preview of the program, Teacher Holly and Master Naturalist Chris lead the first wave of participants gathered at the park entrance, down the hill to the hunt site near the pavilion. Rescheduling this event to the rain date, due to an all day downpour on Saturday, didn’t dampen the spirits of the intrepid explorers in pursuit of manufactured objects on the Scavenger Hunt list. With pencils poised on clipboards in hand, it was obvious that both children and adults were serious about having fun.

It took a keen eagle eye and some patience, to unearth all thirty things on the checklist cleverly camouflaged among the natural elements on the woodland floor. Finding a thumbtack – item #29, in this environment was like finding a needle in a… well, you get the picture.

Some of the more adventurous detectives set off to root around for a twig shaped like the letter Y, a wild bird feather (a rare find in this habitat of dense vegetation) or something that makes noise. From the first object to look for or collect on the Nature Scavenger Hunt – find and identify a tree that’s shorter than you are, to the last – a big smile, there was something for everyone to discover at this fun, family event. Participants shared warm apple cider and lively conversation at the end of their search.

Many thanks for the engaging and enlightening program provided by event leaders Pennsylvania Master Naturalist Chris McNichol and Media Providence Friends School science teacher Holly Hoffmann at this second annual Scavenger Hunt. They are already planning some new and exciting activities for next year!

Check out photos of the fun below – click on any for a closer look! 

The sound of music was heard deep in the narrow valley of Glen Providence Park on a warm, sunny afternoon at the tail end of a beautiful summer. Despite a rescheduling to the Sunday, September 7 rain date prompted by stormy weather the previous day, an audience of nearly one hundred adults and children, seated on the bucolic lawn in front of the stage, savored an eloquent and diverse classical music program. ViVaCe Strings, one of the most requested string chamber ensembles in the region, contributed a touch of elegance to this woodland setting.

You can scroll through the concert photos by George Tate…

On June 28, a beautiful early summer day, environmental science and biology teacher Aura Lester delighted an audience of 18 children and adults with fascinating facts about the flora and fauna of Glen Providence Park. Walking down the hill from the entrance to the park, we stopped to identify a few of our native plants including a sassafras tree by its mitten shaped leaves, the spicebush by the fragrance of its bark and poison ivy by its “leaflets three”.

As we walked toward the glen basin, we spotted native Jewelweed, used as an antidote to the itch of poison ivy. Also identified were some unwelcome invasive plants creeping along the stream edge including multiflora rose, Japanese honeysuckle and common privet.

Nearing the pond, Mrs. Lester reminded the children to approach quietly as nature detectives. Standing still observing from the perimeter, a green patina on the shallow, slow moving water came to life as fish darted just below the surface glinting in reflected daylight and turtles were spied sunning on logs, dragonflies flitting above it all at the marshy edges.

We circled the pond to the other side hoping for a glance of our resident muskrat, but  he did not come out of his burrow this time. The children spotted frenzied activity at ground level and then a profusion of tiny frogs began to emerge from the turf. We watched our step from that point on!

Heading back up the hill to the stage area, Aura led the children in a game of dragonfly tag. The theme continued with an entertaining craft making dragon flies out of spring clothes pins. All went home with glitter glue rainbow colored fingers and a hand made reminder of a sunny summer day!

Hearty thanks to our resident biologist Aura Lester and all who attended for an educational and fun filled event.

Check out the photos of the fun below!