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2024 Volunteer Workdays
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Cresheim Trail Volunteer Workday Sat 7/20
Volunteer Workday Sun 6/9
Cresheim Valley Drive Spring Cleanup – Love Your Park – Sat 5/18
Earth Day volunteer event Sun 4/21
Philadelphia and Montgomery County Communities Unite to Extend Cresheim Trail

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We encourage you to join our group by making a donation ($50 suggested) online at our Square page or by mail to:

Friends of the Cresheim Trail

PO Box 4341

Philadelphia, PA 19118

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Email: info@cresheimtrail.org

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Once again a huge THANK YOU to the 11 volunteers w

Once again a huge THANK YOU to the 11 volunteers who joined us yesterday for some light summertime trail work. We trimmed vegetation along the Cresheim Trail corridor from the crossing at Cresheim Road (next to the outdoor classroom) all the way out to Stenton Avenue, including the thick stuff on the new rail trail portion.

Just a reminder, the rail trail will be in “rough draft” mode for a few years while we plan, design, fundraise, and construct the real thing, which will be part of the @circuittrails network when completed: 10 feet wide, paved, and accessible. There are also two major projects planned for the corridor between Germantown and Stenton in the next couple years (one from @phillyh2o and one from @septaphilly), so there will be necessary growing pains with great results as the trail marches slowly toward Fort Washington.

Our small crew was so busy working yesterday that we forgot to take photos of volunteers in action, but here are a few photos after the fact. The last two pics are a rough before-and-after of the upper end of the rail corridor. And thanks again to @philaparkandrec for the huge assist in mowing the big stuff two weeks ago.

#cresheimtrail

Ain’t no outages on the Cresheim Trail! Slam you

Ain’t no outages on the Cresheim Trail! Slam your laptop shut and join us TOMORROW for our July volunteer workday. We’ll meet at 9am at the old standby CT meetup spot, on *northbound* Cresheim Valley Drive opposite Navajo Street. If you’re driving, there’s plenty of parking in the area (please do NOT park on southbound). And if you’re hiking, biking, or riding the 23, right on. It’s a 3-minute walk from the Germantown Avenue trailhead.

Pictured here, a very happy red maple tree that we planted in the Fall 2022 planting. Tomorrow, we’ll be watering it and all our recent plantings, trimming back summer vegetation from the trail, and handling other various summery trail tasks. Hope to see you there!

#cresheimtrail

What better time than the hottest day of the summe

What better time than the hottest day of the summer (so far) to think about the July Cresheim Trail volunteer workday. GOOD NEWS: It’s this Saturday, the 20th, and the early forecast looks much cooler than today, almost perfect in fact.

We’ll meet at 9am at the classic Cresheim Trail workday spot, on *northbound* Cresheim Valley Drive opposite Navajo Street. There’s plenty of parking on that side (no parking on southbound, please), and it’s only a 3-minute walk from the recently improved Germantown Avenue trailhead.

As pictured in slide 1 by our own Johnny J Appleseed, we’ll be giving our thirsty plantings a drink, among other trail duties like clearing sight lines (i.e. removing summer vegetation encroachment into the trail) and cutting additional knotweed in our focus area along Cresheim Creek. We’ll also scout the area around the log ride for fallen timber to use on a project this fall to replace rotting pieces. Hope to see you there.

Our August workday will happen Sunday, August 18th.

#cresheimtrail #volunteer

Hi dilly ho, neighborinos. Here are some recent pi

Hi dilly ho, neighborinos. Here are some recent pics along the Cresheim Trail and a reminder that our next volunteer workday is coming SATURDAY, JULY 20TH. We’ll meet at 9am as usual, exact location and tasks TBA.

We’ll likely scout out a project for later in the year to repair the log ride which is showing its age. And, as it’s July in an already hot year, the vegetation is behaving thusly, so we’ll likely have some trail trimming to do. Relatedly, we’re working with our friends at @philaparkandrec to get the new rail trail section a haircut as well. Anyway save the date for us and we’ll announce details the week of the event.

Summer summer summertime. Watch for poison ivy, check for ticks, and if you see groups of hornets hovering near the ground, best to keep going.

#cresheimtrail #volunteer

Hello to all our new friends! And thank you very m

Hello to all our new friends! And thank you very much indeed to @fowissahickon for sharing our story in this week's newsletter.

If you've never been on the Cresheim Trail, we recommend starting at the beginning - the trailhead at Lincoln Drive & Allens Lane, where we started building the trail in 2012. This trailhead serves as a gateway into the Mt Airy neighborhood and features one of FOW's kiosks installed in 2016, and lots of native plants sourced by Friends of the Cresheim Trail and neighbors alike. White hydrangea and evening primrose are currently in bloom (as are nonnative day lilies), and a small stand of Kentucky coffee trees straddle the entrance.

If you missed it, check out the CT backstory on FOW's website, linked in our bio.

#cresheimtrail #wissahickon #gomtairy #nativeplants

Once again, a very huge THANK YOU to the 30 people

Once again, a very huge THANK YOU to the 30 people who joined us for a terrific volunteer workday this morning. That gratitude extends to @fowissahickon and @mtairylearningtree who brought out lots of folks today to help AND learn.

Next time you enter Cresheim Trail from Germantown Avenue, look down and notice the new rock footing. Dave, Dave & Dave (pic 1) raised the tread to almost even with the sidewalk and we think it looks nice to boot. And we removed that dang pipe that was next to the trail post. We also got metal cages around recently planted trees to protect them from deer grazing, and we cut back vegetation on the trail from the Chestnut Hill West train bridge all the way to the Friends Loop, including the rail trail south of Germantown Avenue.

From Germantown north to Stenton, the vegetation is still tall in some parts, but it’s passable. Wear long pants and boots, check for ticks when you’re home, and you’ll be fine. And again, we’re working toward a plan to have it mowed while we continue the planning and design phase of this section, with hope to be in construction within a couple years. This stuff all takes time and support, so we are grateful for yours!

The next volunteer workday will be Saturday, July 20th at 9am. Save the date and we’ll share details when we know em.

#cresheimtrail #volunteer

Just a reminder, folks: Our June volunteer workday

Just a reminder, folks: Our June volunteer workday is a week early this month, i.e. it is THIS SUNDAY. We’re leaving the following week open for dad.

Sunday’s workday will feature a mishmash of options for all skill sets: We’ll be cutting back invasive vegetation, protecting new plants with metal cages, and we’ll focus some attention on the trailhead at Germantown Avenue, where there is a drop from the sidewalk and a very stubborn pipe that we’ll get out of the ground once and for all.

We’ll meet at the Cresheim Valley Pergola (corner of Cresheim Valley Drive & Germantown Ave) at 9am on Sunday (June 9th), and we’ll have some of our favorites along from @fowissahickon’s Sunday Q-Team crew. We’ll also have coffee and donuts, and we’ll have some of our Cresheim Trail hats and stainless steel pint cups available for purchase.

For this workday, we ask that you please sign up on FOW’s website, linked in our bio.

* * *

Also, a big welcome and thank you to @mtairylearningtree, fresh off their popular annual Hidden Gardens Tour, who will be with us at 10am for a guided hike exploring the future of the Cresheim Trail. (Ticketed guests only — see mtairylearningtree.com for more info.)

AND, finally, a shoutout of gratitude and appreciation to @mt.airy.bid, who in their duties to clean and green Germantown Avenue from Washington Lane to Cresheim Valley Drive, give a little extra love to the pergola by keeping its planters fresh and colorful. See you Sunday!

#cresheimtrail #volunteer

Happy National Trails Day®! Each year on the firs

Happy National Trails Day®! Each year on the first Saturday of June, @americanhiking Society hosts NTD to raise awareness of trails, how they connect people and communities, and how to take care of them. The Cresheim Trail came about as a way of reusing a long abandoned rail corridor to connect Wissahickon Valley Park in Philadelphia and Fort Washington State Park in Montgomery County, and all the communities along the route: Mt Airy, Chestnut Hill, Wyndmoor, Laverock, Oreland, Flourtown.

The first section of single track, natural surface trail was built by volunteers in 2012, and since then we’ve added spurs, loop extensions, and features like the boardwalk, outdoor classroom, and mountain bike infrastructure. The first mini section (⅛ mile) of the future rail trail opened last year south of Germantown Avenue, and in March we opened the rough draft of rail trail north to Stenton Avenue, with a single track loopback on the northern end.

Friends of the Cresheim Trail continues to work with our partners at the City of Philadelphia, Springfield Township, Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, SEPTA, and PECO to plan future phases of the trail. It’s a long and bureaucratic — and necessary — process that requires patience and diligence.

In the meantime, we host monthly volunteer workdays on the third weekend of each month, alternating Saturdays and Sundays. Join us next Sunday, June 9th for the next one. We’ll meet at the pergola at Cresheim Valley Drive & Germantown Avenue for a morning of work around the Germantown Ave trailhead.

#cresheimtrail #nationaltrailsday

(c) 2024 The Friends of the Cresheim Trail

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