For our 8th National Public Lands Day on Saturday, October 6, we installed wildlife habitat plantings along the 1941 Trail in Glen Providence Park! This year, 25 lovely adults, teens, and kids volunteered a combined 76 hours digging, planting, mulching, installing deer fencing, raking, and watering. Our volunteers were so efficient, they finished planting early, and cleared trash along the trails!

The native trees, shrubs, and woodland plants help to restore the forest, protect the stream, and stabilize the hillside along the 1941 Trail, where several trees fell during storms last winter. In addition to helping control erosion, the plants benefit wildlife by providing habitat and seeds, nuts, fruits, and nectar for mammals, birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. We planted 19 native trees and shrubs, and 34 woodland plants – the complete list is below.

This short trail is named for “The Nature Guide to Glen Providence Park,” a pamphlet from 1941 that leads the visitor on a self-guided tour through the park, starting on this trail. You can view the PDF version of the 1941 Nature Guide, and take its tour!

We have so many to thank for their help with this project… starting with all those wonderful volunteers!

Delaware County Parks & Recreation provided the funding for the plants and delivered the mulch. Delaware County Conservation District delivered their Conservation Planting Trailer full of all of the tools we could need! Garden Influence and Redbud Native Plant Nursery provided invaluable expertise, Garden Influence donated additional woodland plants, and Friends of Glen Providence Park donors funded the deer fencing, posts, food and coffee for volunteers, and other supplies for this project. Neighbors of the park allowed us to run a hose downhill from their house to water the plantings. We are grateful to all of these people for making the plantings possible!

The next time you are on the 1941 Trail, look for these native plants, and check out the photos below – just click on any for a closer look or to scroll through them.

Woodland plants:

Christmas Fern, Polystichum acrostichoides – 10
New York Fern, Thelypteris noveboracensis – 2
Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense – 6
Wild Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis – 8
Sweet Cicely, Myrrhis odorata – 2
Blue Wood Aster, Aster cordifolius – 2
Spiderwort, Tradescantia – 2
Blue mistflower, Conoclinium coelestinum – 2

Photos by author, George Tate, & Marcia Tate

As we prepare for our annual fall tree planting this weekend, we are thinking of the loss this spring of the iconic White Oak on the sledding hill in Glen Providence Park. The June 23, 1937 Chester Times announced the first concert in Glen Providence, stating the conductor “has chosen for the orchestra stand a position under a large oak tree where the surroundings in part form a natural amphitheatre.” That majestic White Oak provided shade and beauty for generations of concert audiences and park visitors – and centuries of food and shelter for wildlife!

This year on March 2, that majestic tree fell in a Nor’easter. Based on its diameter, we believe the oak was over 200 years old! We are grateful that Delaware County Parks & Recreation preserved its standing, hollow portion as a natural playhouse. As a part of succession planning for the loss of it and future trees, volunteers planted trees on the sledding hill for Earth Day in April – and we continue the annual native tree plantings that we started in 2012. We hope some of the saplings that we plant grow to be canopy trees that provide shade and beauty for future generations!  

A chronological photo tribute… click on any photo for a closer look, or scroll through them all. We’ll add more photos as we come across them! 

Unless otherwise noted, current-day photos by author

We have monthly nature walks (or volunteer days) in Glen Providence Park, year-round! We’ve documented our Spring Cleanups in March and April and our Spring Bird Walk in May – here we recount our other 2016 Nature Walks (and a History Lecture!) through June, including a photo gallery. Join us for some of our upcoming 2016 events – they are always free and open to the public!

January – Tree Mapping

Shannon Davidson and Marcia Tate led us on a beautiful, cold, and fun afternoon tree mapping in the park! Thirteen volunteers added almost 50 trees by the Kirk Lane entrance to the PhillyTreeMap database, including one new species for our Park Tree List.

February – Scroggie Valley History Lecture

There was a great turnout for February’s history presentation about T. Chalkley Palmer and Scroggie Valley (the park’s 19th century name) at the Delaware County Institute of Science (DCIS) – 81 people attended! I had fun working with Roger Mitchell and Walt Cressler on this lecture, and sharing some of what we’ve learned about the the history, flora, and fauna of Glen Providence Park – and about its enthusiastic early fan, T. Chalkley Palmer.

April – Native Plant Walk

Just one week after a crazy spring snow(!), we had a spectacular spring day for our Native Plant Walk – with Black Cherry and Redbud trees in bloom, Mayapples and Trout Lilies emerging, and Flowering Dogwood and Silverbell trees getting ready to blossom. Shannon Davidson and Marcia Tate led us again,  sharing their extensive knowledge about so many interesting plants with enthusiastic (note-taking!) attendees!

June – Herpetology Walk

It was another great herpetology walk with Kyle Loucks of the PA Amphibian & Reptile Survey – the third walk Kyle has led for us! Our early morning attendees found 9 species of reptiles and amphibians, including Dusky Salamander, Northern Watersnake, Pickerel Frog, Green Frog, and Painted Turtle; a tiny American Toad(let); and new for our Park Reptile & Amphibian List, the invasive Yellow-bellied Slider. We also saw iridescent Ebony Jewelwing damselflies by the pond, and heard the distinctive rattling call of a Belted Kingfisher throughout morning.

Thank you to everyone who attended these park events, to DCIS for scheduling our history lecture, and to our wonderful volunteer walk leaders! You can see photos in our gallery below – click on any photo for a closer look.

2015 was the 80th Anniversary year for Glen Providence Park! In 1935, prominent Media Borough residents George and Eleanor Reed Butler donated the majority of land for Glen Providence, which would be the first park in the Delaware County system. The Butlers donated the park as a bird sanctuary and arboretum, and specified in the deed they signed on July 24, 1935 that the land be kept “in as natural a condition as possible.” Eleanor named Glen Providence “because of its glen-like formation and as it is located in the heart of the Providence townships.”

It was on Halloween 1935 when James Stokes, the first park guard, began work on the park under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a depression-era jobs program. The WPA built all original park structures, including the entrances, the pavilion, several footbridges, and the concert stage.

The day after the park opened, an article in the Chester Times beckoned the public: “Come with your bird glasses, your flower guides, your tree books. Bring the school children and scout groups, and let Nature teach them her ancient lessons.” Glen Providence has hosted decades of events and activities including nature walks, birdwatching, scouting events, skating, sledding, fishing, fireworks, concerts, Haunted Woods, and the Great Media Easter Egg Hunt!

In 2015, we celebrated and honored the first 80 years of Delaware County’s first park. In addition to our regular monthly events:

• At our Earth Day Celebration, we planted trees by the historical stage with Delaware County officials and Media Providence Friends School students.

• On the anniversary weekend of the park deed being signed, we held an 80th Anniversary Celebration at our July concert – with the Butler grandchildren Eleanor Reed Lewis and Clifford Butler Lewis as guests of honor!

• At our Halloween 80th Birthday Celebration, Hedgerow Theatre performed Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, and enacted the park’s 1700’s Newlywed Ghost Story and 1800’s Witch Story! A costumed audience of almost 200 enjoyed the performance (and birthday cupcakes!) before heading off for trick-or-treating.

Read more about the founding of Glen Providence Park and its Halloween birthday, or explore its rich past on our History Timeline. More photos and details about our 80th anniversary events are in the green links above.

We wish you many more wonderful years, Glen Providence Park!

Photographs by George Tate:

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.

Join us as we explore the amazing variety of trees in Glen Providence Park! There are over 50 species of trees in Glen Providence Park, which was dedicated as an Arboretum in 1935. Aura Lester will teach the kids (and their parents!) how to identify some of those trees on a hike through the park. With a degree in biology, Aura’s career experiences include environmental educator in Philadelphia, research assistant in Alaska(!), and high school science teacher.

Saturday, November 7
10:00-11:30am
Main entrance, West State Street, Media
Rain date Sunday, November 8

Logistics:

• There will be a craft for the first 20 registrants – RSVP by emailing FriendsoftheGlen[AT]gmail.com.
• Be prepared for uneven (possibly wet) terrain: wear sturdy shoes.
• Free!
• If the weather is questionable, we will post on Facebook by 9:00 Saturday morning whether we will use the Sunday rain date.

For our 5th National Public Lands Day on Saturday, September 26, we installed wildlife habitat plantings at the lovely Kirk Lane entrance to Glen Providence Park! On the day of Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia, 33 adults, teens, and children volunteered a combined 116 hours digging, planting, mulching, installing deer fencing, raking, and watering! It was a fun and fulfilling morning spent with wonderful people.

We planted 31 native trees and shrubs, and over 24 native perennials – the complete list is below. The plants benefit wildlife by providing seeds, nuts, fruits, and nectar for mammals, birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. We planted milkweed specifically to help the Monarch butterflies – milkweed is the larval host plant for their caterpillars. As the Delaware County Conservation District pointed out, the plantings should also help slow down and absorb surface storm water runoff that might be flowing off the Kirk Lane road surface into the park.

The Kirk Lane entrance felt like a fitting planting location in this 80th anniversary year for Glen Providence Park. The trees in the lawn area replace trees that had fallen, shrubs along the lawn edges extend wildlife habitat areas, and the planting beds in front of the entrance wall benefit pollinators and beautify the entrance. The Blueberry shrubs and Serviceberry and Pawpaw trees also produce fruit edible by humans! We left room in the right planting bed to install a replica of the original 1930’s “Glen Providence Bird Sanctuary and Arboretum” Kirk Lane entrance sign, which you can see in the gallery below.

We love the community spirit at these planting events, which extends past the planting day. Several local residents remarked how they would continue to enjoy the plantings, and thanked us for our project. The day after the planting, we discovered an Upper Providence resident who had asked permission to run a 150’ hose from a house neighboring the park, and he was watering the plantings! We greatly appreciate this generous and helpful act.

We have so many to thank for their help with this project… starting with all those volunteers!

Delaware County Parks & Recreation provided the funding for the plants and donated the deer fencing. Taylor Memorial Arboretum donated native trees, shrubs, and perennials again this year, and Delaware County Conservation District delivered their Conservation Planting Trailer full of all of the tools and supplies we could need! Garden Influence and Redbud Native Plant Nursery provided expertise, and Media Providence Friends School students are preparing plant labels. We are grateful to all of these people for making the plantings possible!

The next time you are at the Kirk Lane entrance, look for these native plants, and check out the fun in the photos below – just click on one to scroll through them. Thank you to George Tate and Marcia Tate for the wonderful photos of National Public Lands Day. 

Additional before and after photos by author.

At the wonderful concert with Jean Therapy on July 25, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of Glen Providence Park – with some very special guests! On July 24, 1935, George Thomas & Eleanor Reed Butler signed a deed donating the majority of land for Glen Providence Park to Delaware County. They donated the land as a bird sanctuary and arboretum, and specified that the land be kept in as natural a condition as possible.

We were honored to have as guests at our celebration the two grandchildren of George and Eleanor Butler: Clifford Butler Lewis and Eleanor Reed Lewis, or Cliff and EllieReed. Their grandparents’ gift was remarkably generous – it started the Delaware County park system, and generations have enjoyed nature walks, picnics, and community events in Glen Providence Park, including decades of Summer Concerts starting in June 1937!

The stage was built in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration, and is part of what makes Glen Providence Park eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. This summer, Delaware County Parks & Recreation resurfaced the stage for the park’s 80th anniversary, for which we are very grateful!

At our celebration, Media Borough Mayor Bob McMahon presented a proclamation to Cliff and EllieReed honoring the 80th anniversary of their grandparents’ gift – you can read the proclamation below. Cliff and EllieReed then spoke movingly about Glen Providence Park, including EllieReed’s gratitude that the park continues to be preserved in keeping with her grandmother’s intent, and Cliff’s childhood memories of running on the hill during summer concerts. It was touching to have Cliff and EllieReed there as we marked their grandparents’ enduring legacy.

We sang Happy Anniversary to Glen Providence Park, then shared delicious anniversary cake while enjoying a captivating afternoon concert with Jean Therapy!

Thank you to George Tate for the wonderful photos – click on any photo for a closer look!

Remarkably, the Butlers also brought golf to Delaware County in 1896, which you can read about here.

For the second of four concerts in our 2015 Summer Concert Series, Friends of Glen Providence Park is delighted to present Jean Therapy! A little bit retro, a little bit modern, Jean Therapy plays an eclectic fusion of Jazz-Rock, Latin, Blues, and Soul – with a strong female vocal, beautiful keys, and a really nice jazz guitar. 

Afternoon Concert & 80th Anniversary!

Saturday, July 25
4:30-6:00pm
Glen Providence Park stage, State Street, Media
Rain date: Sunday, July 26*

We will also celebrate the 80th anniversary of Glen Providence Park! On July 24, 1935, George and Eleanor Butler signed a deed donating the majority of the land to establish Delaware County’s first park as a bird sanctuary and arboretum. The Butlers’ grandchildren will join us as we celebrate the anniversary of this generous gift with a concert, and with anniversary cake!

Bring a blanket or chair, and relax on the lawn by the stage to enjoy a late afternoon concert! After the concert, head into Media for dinner and shopping, just 2 blocks away on State Street. As with all of our events, this concert is free and open to the public.

Thank you:

• Concert Sponsor Diego’s Cantina & Tequila Bar makes traditional peasant style food from the Puebla region of Mexico, on a wood burning grill. And it’s located just over 2 blocks from the entrance to the park!
• Concert Series Sponsor Media Recreation Board does so much for Media – including summer camp for kids, movies in Barrall Field, the Annual July 4th Celebration, and the Great Media Garage Sale Days.
• Concert Series Sponsor Media Rotary Foundation has been supporting the community by contributing to worthwhile organizations, groups, and projects since 1983.
• Delaware County Parks & Recreation has cared for Glen Providence Park since its creation in 1935, and their support makes these concerts possible. We are grateful that this summer, they resurfaced the historical concert stage for the park’s 80th anniversary!

*If the weather is questionable, we will post on Facebook and on our website by noon Saturday whether we will use our Sunday rain date.

For logistics, and for information on our upcoming August and September concerts, please see our 2015 Summer Concert Series announcement!

Join us for a tree walk in Glen Providence Park, in the 80th anniversary year for this Bird Sanctuary and Arboretum! We will be led by Dr. David Hewitt, who led our first tree walk in January 2012. He is a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, a research associate at the Academy of Natural Sciences, and works on developing education and outreach programs on agriculture and the environment, “and other sciencey things.”

Tree Walk with David Hewitt

Sunday, June 7
1:00-3:00 pm
Main entrance, State Street, Media
Rain or shine

We’ll walk part of the trail from the 1941 Nature Guide and compare the park’s current trees to those described in the guide, including a “nature oddity” that is still there! We may also have tree i.d. questions for David from our 2015 citizen science project, tree mapping! 

Logistics:

• Estimated distance: 1.5 miles
• Estimated time: 2 hours
• Free!
• Be prepared for stream crossings, steep hills, and uneven, possibly muddy terrain: wear sturdy walking shoes, and bring a hiking pole if you use one.
• Bring a tree book if you’d like, and you never know when you’ll want binoculars!
• If the weather is truly inclement, we will post on facebook and our website by 11:00 am whether we will cancel.