In honor of Earth Day, community volunteers, elementary school students, and local government officials worked together to plant canopy trees on the sledding hill in Glen Providence Park. Thank you to The Rotary Club of Media, Media Providence Friends School students and teachers, Delaware County Council, and Delaware County Parks & Recreation for planting seven trees with Friends of Glen Providence Park this Wednesday!

This winter, Media Rotary had reached out to Media Providence Friends School (MPFS) and Friends of Glen Providence Park about collaborating on an educational tree planting in the Glen for Earth Day. On March 2, when the iconic White Oak on the park’s sledding hill fell in a Nor’easter, we knew where we would plant! This beloved tree was estimated to be well over 200 years old, and the community profoundly felt its loss. As a part of succession planning for the loss of this and future trees, we planted six canopy trees – including four oak species which are particularly beneficial to wildlife – and a Flowering Dogwood to replace one that is nearing the end of its expected life. 

The native trees help control erosion, provide food and habitat for wildlife, and beautify the park. This supplements the two trees planted for Earth Day in 2015 after another large tree had fallen by the stage. The species planted are White Oak, Black Oak, Chestnut Oak, Swamp White Oak, Black Gum, Black Birch, and Flowering Dogwood – we hope some of these saplings grow to be canopy trees that provide shade and beauty for future generations!

Volunteers from Rotary, MPFS, and Friends of the Glen worked together with Delaware County Parks & Recreation to organize the planting. Rotarians and Friends arrived early on Wednesday to prepare the site and start planting the trees. MPFS 3rd and 5th grade students helped dig the holes, plant the trees, mulch, and water – in addition to adding educational plant tags to our National Public Lands Day plantings from last fall! We were joined by Delaware County Parks & Recreation, and County Councilmen Michael Culp and Kevin Madden helped plant the final tree. 

In addition to all of the wonderful volunteers and students who helped with the plantings, we would like to extend tremendous thank you’s to:

The Rotary Club of Media originated the idea, and the Media Rotary Foundation and Gundaker Foundation funded the native trees and the deer fencing to protect them. Media Providence Friends School is creating educational tree tags for these and last year’s plantings, and its teachers regularly use the park as an outdoor classroom to educate and inspire their students. Delaware County Parks & Recreation provided the mulch, and a portalet so the students could extend their class time in the park. Delaware County Council helped plant the Chestnut Oak (in their suits!) and spoke thoughtfully about Earth Day. 

Seven Stones Cafe donated delicious coffee that fueled the early-arriving volunteers, and Pinocchio’s Restaurant donated enough pizza for the students and adults! Additional supplies were donated by AllScapes, Inc.; Honey Fix It, Inc.; and Pierce L. Shallis Landscaping & Design LLC. Last but not least, Garden Influence and Redbud Native Plant Nursery provided invaluable guidance on the best species to plant, and how to properly plant the trees.

Check out the photos of the morning below! 

Photos by Media Providence Friends School and Friends of Glen Providence Park

What better way to honor and celebrate Earth Day and the 80th Anniversary year of Glen Providence Park than by planting trees? Yesterday we did just that with Delaware County Parks & Recreation, 2nd and 3rd grade students from Media-Providence Friends School (MPFS), and so many groups who help care for Glen Providence Park!

Long before the first Earth Day, in 1935 George and Eleanor Butler donated most of the land for Glen Providence Park to Delaware County as the county’s first park. The Butlers dedicated the park as a bird sanctuary and arboretum, and specified in the deed that the land be “kept in as natural a condition as possible.”

Yesterday’s Earth Day Celebration honored that spirit as we planted two native trees: a White Oak by the historical concert stage to replace the 110-year-old White Ash that fell in a storm last year, and a Pagoda Dogwood to add an understory tree. Michael Culp of Delaware County Council presented us with thoughtful a resolution honoring the 80th Anniversary of Glen Providence Park, which you can see in the photo gallery below.

A highlight of the celebration was the poetry read by the 2nd and 3rd grade science students of MPFS. Their poems written for Earth Day added meaning and inspiration to the event. You can read all of them in our link below – here are just two examples:

Trees   by MPFS 2nd grade student

The trees we plant thank us by giving oxygen and they also produce food like apples, oranges, tangerines and more!

My Evergreen Tree by MPFS 3rd grade student                        

Spiky as a porcupine and
Hard as a turtle shell
Green as a turtle
Brown as mud!

The MPFS students helped plant the two trees, and their water bucket brigade carried water uphill from Broomall’s Run to the stage to water them! After installing deer fencing to protect the trees, we ended it all with a pizza lunch in the picnic area by the stage.

Thank you to everyone who shared in the celebration, and all that they do to support Glen Providence and the other Delaware County Parks:

• Delaware County Parks & Recreation for providing the inspiration, native trees, supplies, digging(!), and pizza – and maintaining this lovely park for 80 years!
• Delaware County Park Board for all it does to support Delaware County Parks & Recreation.
• Delaware County Council for the resolution honoring the 80th Anniversary of Glen Providence Park, for making all of the County’s parks possible, and for approving the emergency streambank repairs last summer!
• Delaware County Planning for its thoughtful work on the Delaware County Open Space Plan, which was officially approved yesterday!
• Delaware County Conservation District for its guidance and Mini-Grants for two of our planting projects.
• Chester Ridley Crum Watersheds Association for its stewardship of all of our local creeks, and for donating deer fencing for the trees.
• Friends of Glen Providence Park volunteers for their ongoing work removing invasive plants and helping with 12 volunteer days since 2011 – this weekend’s cleanup will be our 13th!
• And a very warm thank you to the lovely students, parents, and teachers of Media Providence Friends School, led by science teacher Holly Hoffmann – your words were inspiring, and your enthusiasm contagious!

Photos & links:

Read all of the wonderful MPFS 2nd grade poems and 3rd grade poems! You can see more photographs on Delaware County Council’s Facebook page, watch a short news clip on CBS3 (which does not mention Glen Providence Park by name, but does include footage of the students!), and nice articles on the Delaware County website and in the Daily Times.

Thank you to George Tate for the fabulous photos – scroll through them all, or click on any for a closer look!

The Earth Day celebration was a collaborative effort between Delaware County Parks & Recreation, Friends of Glen Providence Park, and Media Providence Friends School.