Media Borough is again seeking public input about the Broomall’s Dam/Third Street Project. If built, a new dam would have a devastating impact to the northern end of Glen Providence Park.

Recognizing the threat of this project to its county-owned park, Delaware County Council has declined to sign a PennDOT environmental document stating that the project would have “no adverse impact” to Glen Providence Park. In addition, neither the County, the Borough, nor Broomall’s Lake Country Club has agreed to sign as owner of the dam to get a PA DEP permit to build it. As a result, the project is on hold, and its outcome is uncertain.

Media Borough’s Open Space, Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee will be launching a public survey online, seeking input on priorities, facilities, programs, and budget allocation.

Two of the questions will be about Broomall’s Dam, which was partially removed by the PA DEP in 2017:

1. Whether there should be a new dam — or a bridge over a restored stream — at Third Street
2. What type of roadway should connect Media and Upper Providence

The questions are labeled under “Third Street Dam” in Section Three of the survey, “Programs & Facilities. ” The link to the survey will be going live the week of December 21 and will remain active through February: http://metroquestsurvey.com/xe5n5d The survey itself is space-restricted, and gives minimal information. As anyone who has been following this project knows, the legal case and underlying issues are complex.

Some important points:

• A new dam is not necessary for a roadway. A bridge could instead reconnect Media and Upper Providence, and would be drastically less damaging to Glen Providence Park than a dam. We believe there should be community input into whether that is a one-way, two-way, or pedestrian and bike roadway.

• While a new dam would again retain water, it would not fully restore Broomall’s Lake. The lake had filled with sediment since it was formed by Broomall’s Dam in 1883, diminishing from a depth of 30-40 feet to an estimated 8 feet. Expensive dredging would be needed to restore the lake. The past president of Broomall’s Lake Country Club stated at a public meeting that the Club would sue Media Borough to pay for that dredging after the dam is built.

• The new dam would, however, destroy the northern end of Glen Providence Park. According to a site visit with the engineer who designed the dam, earthfill to create the new, larger dam would bury the northern end of the park. The new dam would extend over 70′ farther downstream than the previous dam, filling in wetlands and natural springs, and encasing the waterfall and stream in concrete, including – and past – the masonry footer from one of the park’s original footbridges. The construction area would be larger than an acre, with more than 70 mature trees removed. For dam safety reasons, the massive new dam slope, and a 10’ perimeter past it, could not be replanted with anything but closely mowed grass. What is currently a serene, wooded entrance to the park would look like a highway exit berm.

• The new dam would be classified as a high hazard dam. Under legal definitions, this classification is due to the potential loss of life and property at the homes downstream of the park, in the event of a dam breach. This does not even take into consideration the danger to anyone using the park. With “100 year” weather events happening with increased frequency, we take this threat seriously.

Friends of Glen Providence Park organized in July 2011 in response to the threat to Glen Providence from the proposed dam, and we have continued to advocate to minimize the project’s damage to the park’s wetlands, wildlife, and plants. You can see photos of the section of the park that would be destroyed on our website in our 1.1 Acre Project.

To minimize destruction to the park, Friends of Glen Providence Park continues to support dam removal, stream restoration, and a local discussion of an environmentally-sensitive bridge between Media Borough and Upper Providence.

For more information, explore the Third Street Project overview and the many Dam/Bridge articles on our website.

PennDOT confirmed funding of the project the previous week, so Schnabel is now working on updating the dam design. Larson Design Group will design the roadway, box culvert, and stormwater system that goes under road. Schnabel and Larson will work together, and consult with the PA Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), PennDOT, and the Army Corps of Engineers on various aspects of the project.

Wetlands

Schnabel will seek approval from the Army Corps and PADEP of the wetlands mitigation site. Because wetlands in Glen Providence Park would be destroyed* for the dam construction project, it is required that a comparable area of wetlands be established elsewhere (referred to as “wetland swapping”). Schnabel proposes converting the upstream part of the park’s pond, and the flat area upstream of that, into a wetland (as we have written about in Upcoming Changes: Pond & Wetlands).

Aesthetics

A landscape architect from Larson will work on the aesthetics of the new dam. Mr. Harrison indicated the new spillway (waterfall) will not be that visible, but that the box culvert on the downstream side will be a big structure and very visible – they plan a design using form liners so that any exposed concrete looks like stone. They also propose black metal fencing as a more attractive alternative to a cyclone fence to protect the 20 foot drop. The PA DEP does not allow any trees or shrubs on the dam slope, so the fence and large culvert would be quite visible within Glen Providence Park and from the Third Street park entrance. There may be opportunity for public input into the aesthetics.

Time frame

• According to Larson, the design process should take 18 months from now to final design – which would take us to October 2016.
• Then Schnabel says the DEP will take 6 months to a year for approval, which would put final approval sometime between April and October 2017.
• According to a June 13, 2011 PA Fish & Boat Commission Letter, “any construction activities affecting the waterway should take place between April 15 and October 15 in order to allow turtles to avoid the project area while they are active.”
• Depending on the timing of PADEP approval, construction could start as soon as April 2017, or as late as April 2018 – likely finishing in 2018 or 2019.
• Council asked Schnabel to give a brief status of the project monthly that could be posted on the Borough website.

*You can read about and see pictures of the proposed 1.1 acre construction area for the new dam, including the approximately 2/3 acre of Glen Providence Park that would be buried under earthfill, in our 1.1 Acre Photojournal.

The Friends of Glen Providence Park continues to support dam removal, stream restoration and a local discussion of an environmentally-sensitive bridge between Media Borough and Upper Providence.

What a lovely, unseasonably cool summer morning for our fun Herpetology Walk in Glen Providence Park on August 9! Kyle Loucks led the more than 20 adults and children who attended our early (7:30am!) morning walk. We saw Two-lined Salamanders, Dusky Salamanders, Pickerel Frogs, a baby Wood Frog, American Toads, and a Northern Water Snake. We were able to safely pass the amphibians around for a closer look, before gently returning them to their habitat, in a clean plastic container – any lotion, soap, and even oil on our skin can harm them. It seemed to be too cool for the numerous turtles that normally bask at the pond – we didn’t see any!

It was a privilege to have Kyle lead us – he is the South East Regional Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Amphibian and Reptile Survey (PARS), and the one who first told us about it! Launched in 2013, PARS is a joint venture between the PA Fish & Boat Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Center for Herpetology and Conservation, to provide them with valuable data for study and conservation of amphibians and reptiles (*”herps”). PARS is our 2014 Citizen Science project – you can see our results so far and a species list and photo gallery!

A tremendous thank you to Kyle Loucks for leading us, and for his work for PARS!

*Herpetology is the study of amphibians and reptiles, and herps is slang for amphibians and reptiles.

Check out the photos of our Herpetology Walk below!

As we visited the park’s 1.1 Acre construction area for Broomall’s Dam throughout the month of April, it was exciting to watch how quickly the woods and wetlands transformed! You can see in the first 1.1 Acre vista photo below that the trees were almost bare on April 3, and Skunk Cabbage leaves were just emerging in the wetlands. By the end of the month, the acre was lush and green, and the views across the valley were blocked until Fall.

Before the rapidly emerging foliage and Skunk Cabbage obscured the way, we traced the spring-fed streams to their source by the historical drinking spring. When Media was founded in 1850, and through the 1870’s, the springs feeding Broomall’s Run provided the drinking water for the Borough!

1945 Plan of Glen Providence Park

At least one of those springs continued to be a drinking source into the 1960’s- in Glen Providence Park along the border of the 1.1 Acre! This was an official supply of drinking water for the park, as described in Chester Times articles and marked on this 1945 map. The 1941 Nature Guide to Glen Providence Park also describes the drinking spring and its  surrounding wildflowers and fernery. While the area around the spring has largely overgrown, wildflowers and ferns remain!

Our photos below show the remnants of a masonry wall by the spring, and what appear to be two spring sources that merge into one stream. One of those sources is within the 1.1 Acre, and the other is just outside of the 1.1 Acre. It is sad that these historical springs will be destroyed or impacted by the Broomall’s Dam construction area.

Throughout the 1.1 Acre, there was plenty to appreciate- the morning sunlight often gives the wetlands a magical air. There are robust colonies of native May-apple and Trout Lily, with patches of False Solomon’s Seal, Wild Ginger, and the dreaded Poison Ivy– which is actually native and beneficial to birds! There are two Umbrella Magnolias, which we did not catch in full bloom. Wildlife visitors that we managed to photograph were a White-tailed Deer and Carolina Wren. 

For an explanation of the 1.1 Acre and its boundary, see our introduction to the 1.1 Acre Project.

You can scroll through our chronological pictures below, and you can also view them with descriptions on our flickr page! You can see more pictures in our facebook albums and in our photojournal.

December 2020 update: We will be updating our website to enable our Flickr galleries to again display here. Until then, you can view our April 1.1 Acre photos on Flickr.

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We were delighted and amazed to find a copy of the 1941 Nature Guide to Glen Providence Park in the Media Historic Archives, after reading about it in the June 7, 1941 Chester Times.  It was wonderful on a cool, blustery, beautiful day last Saturday to walk the trail described in the guide, comparing plants and features from 1941 and now!  Along the way we referred to early park photographs and descriptions, while searching for ephemeral spring flowers.

The 1941 Glen Providence Park Supervisor James Stokes wrote, “This guide has been prepared as a seeing eye for nature lovers, in order that they may enjoy the abundance of shrubs, flowers, trees and wild life found in this lovely Glen.”  There are quotes from the Delaware County Park and Recreation Board President Samuel L. Smedley, and National Recreation Association Specialist L.H. Weir.

The self-guided 1941 trail starts by the main entrance on State Street, heading down the sledding hill past the concert stage and turning right along the Ice House Trail towards the Broomall’s Dam waterfall.  Some of the still-existing trees and plants described include Flowering Dogwood, Hemlock, large Sassafras trees, Birch, Skunk Cabbage and Iron wood (Hornbeam).

In 1941, we could have crossed “an arched rustic bridge which commands a beautiful view of the Falls”, to pass a fernery and get to the drinking spring by Broomall’s Dam.  As that bridge fell long ago, we made a stream crossing over the stepping stones, past a scenic view of the wetlands fed by the numerous natural springs along Broomall’s Run. We made our way near the drinking spring, and saw the emerging Bloodroot flowers along the trail where indicated by the 1941 Guide.  We first spotted the Bloodroot on April 3 this year during this cold spring, 17 days later than last year’s warm spring!

By the pond is the lovely but now-dry Eleanor Reed Butler waterfall, and in the pond we saw turtles and fish- but it would be two days before the American Toads first emerged.   We took the lower Shingle Mill Trail to its end along Broomall’s Run, where there was once a children’s wading pool with “a very fine view of meadowland” stretching to Ridley Creek Road.  There was also a 100′ rustic footbridge over the marsh and stream!  Still growing is an “Oddity of Nature – nine trees growing from one central root of a Sycamore tree.”

In the absence of the footbridge, we made another stream crossing and connected with the lower Mountain Laurel Trail,  abundant with the state flower Mountain Laurel, and an enchanting patch of Partridge Berry on a fallen tree.  The 1941 trail ends at the pavilion, near our Earth Day Plantings.

While it was a late-blooming Spring, it was beautiful to get a clear view of the park’s landscape with early Spring colors, before the foliage emerges. Thank you to the 14 adults, 2 lovely children and the delightful dog who joined us on our walk!

You can view the PDF version of the 1941 Nature Guide to Glen Providence Park, and you can view and print our Annotated Trail Map with trail names and historical annotations!

I have always noticed the Skunk Cabbage in Glen Providence Park, but only this year did I learn how remarkable these plants are.

Eastern Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) is native to eastern North America. It grows in soft wetland soils- you can find it growing in the wetlands along Broomall’s Run throughout the park. It flowers in late winter and early spring, when only the flowers and their protective covering are visible above the mud. The stems remain buried below the surface of the soil with the large, cabbage-like leaves emerging later.

We found it emerging in the park on a bitterly cold day this January. How does it bloom in such cold conditions? Amazingly, Skunk Cabbage can generate temperatures of up to 15-35°C above air temperature: it literally melts its way through frozen ground, ice and snow. The heat it produces may help to spread its odor in the air, attracting early-emerging pollinating insects.

Skunk Cabbage gets its name from the pungent odor produced by breaking or tearing a leaf.  This odor attracts its pollinators: scavenging flies, stoneflies, and bees.  Its intriguing flowers are tiny, covering a yellow-green spadix, and are protected by an eggplant-like shell called a spathe.  

In the 19th century the U.S. Pharmacopoeia listed Eastern Skunk Cabbage as the drug “dracontium“. It was used in the treatment of respiratory diseases, nervous disorders, rheumatism, and dropsy. It is not considered edible raw, because the roots are toxic and the leaves can burn the mouth.  The Lenni-Lenape, or Delaware Indians, are among the Native Americans who used Skunk Cabbage medicinally.  The Okehocking were the local tribe of the Lenni-Lenape who lived along Ridley and Crum Creeks, and they could have used Skunk Cabbage along Broomall’s Run.  

The documented uses of Skunk Cabbage by the Delaware Indians are:

– Poultice of crushed leaves applied for pain
– Small portions of leaves chewed for epilepsy
– Infusion of roots used for whooping cough
– Infusion of leaves taken as a cold medicine

Not bad for one plant!  You can follow the plant’s stages in our photo gallery below.  The first image was taken in January, but the rest were taken yesterday- so you can see multiple stages of this intriguing plant during one visit to Glen Providence Park.

Perhaps I should let Henry David Thoreau have the last word:  “If you are afflicted with melancholy at this season, go to the swamp and see the brave spears of skunk-cabbage buds already advanced toward a new year…There is no can’t nor cant to them. They see over the brow of winter’s hill. They see another summer ahead.”

For more fun facts about Skunk Cabbage, read this entertaining article on TheNaturalCapital.com.

Information from wikipedia unless otherwise linked.

There were some exciting wildlife sightings in Glen Providence Park this January, with this lovely Red Fox, and a Great Horned Owl being pestered by American Crows!  In both instances, by keeping my distance, I was able to observe them for several minutes.

There were some bitterly cold days, but the wildlife is amazingly well adapted: on a hike in 14 degree weather, the birds were active and downright noisy around the pond!  It was also mighty cold the day of our Winter Tree Walk– but we had an amazing time nonetheless!  Our fingers were too cold to capture the Great Blue Heron perched nearby.  But on that hike we discovered that the Skunk Cabbage in the wetlands along Broomall’s Run was up remarkably early, which shows how mild this winter has been overall.

Great Horned Owl & American Crow

It is appropriate that many of our sightings were birds: as we started our Birding Big Year on January 1! We are up to 74 total bird species documented in Glen Providence Park (35 this year), and counting…  The Red-bellied Woodpecker may be the bird species I most consistently see (and hear) in the park. To learn its calls, click here.

After our only real snowfall so far this winter, I spotted the Great Horned Owl.  It is understandable (and brave!) that crows pester the owl, as Great Horned Owls are known to prey on crows, and in fact we have found the feathers of an unfortunate crow along a trail in the park.  It is common to see crows “mobbing” hawks in the park.

Sledding on wet snow

It’s a good thing that people enjoyed the snow on the sledding hill while they could, because it didn’t last long! By the end of the month, the weather was so warm that Spring seemed imminent.  And alas, we found our first tick of the season (in January!).

Here’s hoping for more snow this winter… we have sledding and cross-country skiing in the park to do!

Click on any photo for a closer look, or scroll through the photos below.  You can view more photos in our Facebook Albums: including Wildlife, Scenery, and History.

Rocks helping to minimize stream erosion under bridge near the pond

The Pond:

The pond is man-made, created in 1936 after the park was established.  But this pond is not a healthy ecosystem. And there are worsening erosion problems, on the stretch of land between the pond and Broomall’s Run, which threaten the pond’s existence.

County Parks & Recreation and the County Conservation District are assessing the erosion around the pond and stream, and ways to make the pond and stream both healthy and sustainable.  This includes the possibility of  converting the pond (all or in part) to wetlands.

Downstream dam wall & wetlands: this area will be filled with earthfill for the new dam

Wetlands:

There are .16 acres of wetlands at the base of the dam which are anticipated to be destroyed by the 3rd Street Dam project.  This is part of the 1.1 acres of park that will be destroyed or impacted by the construction. Per state regulation, .16 acres of wetlands will need to be created or remediated elsewhere.  One possible remediation location is around the pond in Glen Providence Park, in the area around the island.

The dam designer Schnabel Engineering is assessing this possibility, and will sketch a proposed approach.  Schnabel will meet with Media Borough and the County to get approval, then submit their plan to the PA Department of Environmental Protection and the US Army Corps of Engineers for final approval.

Delaware County Open Space Plan:

Glen Providence Park is one of six parks in the Delaware County Open Space, Recreation, and Greenway Plan.  County Planning will be evaluating the future use of the park, and there will be public hearings about the Open Space Plan early this winter. This could be an opportunity to discuss the future of the pond.

Tying it together:

On October 13, the Friends of Glen Providence Park met at the park with County Parks, the Conservation District, County Planning and Schnabel Engineering.  This was a brainstorming session to see how the wetland swapping could dovetail with erosion control projects, and also with the County’s Open Space Plan, to holistically address the park’s ecosystem and sustainability.  This included the possible redesigning of the pond and stream area.

We were impressed with the thoughtfulness of all parties, which included a wetland specialist, a watershed specialist, a native plant specialist and an environmental planner.  We also had a fortuitous encounter with a Penncrest High School science teacher who has been testing the water in the park for 15 years, and he had some observations about the pond’s water flow and biodiversity.

What next?

It is our understanding that the next step is for Schnabel to propose a wetland mitigation plan to the Borough.

What is the timing? 

Work may begin on the 3rd Street Dam as early as spring 2013, and the pond mitigation work would ideally begin before then.

What about the pond?

We understand the intention is to preserve the pond in some form, and that there would be a public meeting before any drastic changes to the pond were undertaken.  Something needs to be done to make the pond and adjacent stream healthy and sustainable, and we hope that thoughtful planning and community input can lead to an optimal solution.

We will keep you posted on developments with the wetland mitigation, the pond, and the County Open Space Plan!