Volunteers Will Join Forces to Clean Wissahickon Creek

From Wissahickon Valley Watershed:

The Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW) and the are teaming up once again to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom on Saturday, April 28 from 9 a.m. to noon.  

This spring marks the 42nd anniversary of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association’s annual Creek Clean Up, and the third year that FOW has teamed up with WVWA to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom—all 21 miles of it! Volunteers of all ages will clean the creek, the surrounding trails, and the many tributaries of the Wissahickon Creek. Armed with bags, volunteers will be assigned to sections of the creek to collect anything from plastic bags and swing sets, to mattresses and tires.

Following the clean up, all volunteers are invited to WVWA’s Talkin’ Trash picnic in its new location at the Militia Hill Pavilion in Fort Washington State Park, which can be accessed by Militia Hill Road or Joshua Road.

To help out in Montgomery County, all volunteers must be pre-assigned a section of the Wissahickon Creek or a tributary to clean; sites range from Lansdale to Flourtown. Please contact Bob Adams, WVWA Director of Stewardship, at 215-646-8866 ext. 14 or bob@wvwa.org. Please indicate the name, size and age range of your group and tell us if you plan to stay for the picnic.

To work with the Friends of the Wissahickon in Philadelphia, meet at the pavilion along Forbidden Drive, a short distance south of the intersection of Forbidden Drive and Northwestern Ave. 19118. Volunteers will help clean up along the creek, and nearby areas of the park and neighborhood. Parking is available along Northwestern Ave. and other nearby streets, but limited. Volunteers are encouraged to bike or carpool to the event. To participate, register on the FOW web site at www.fow.org. Please indicate if you plan to attend the picnic. Contact Dan Mercer with questions at 215-247-0417 ext. 107 or mercer@fow.org.

FOW and WVWA share the common mission of protecting the health, beauty, and wildness of the Wissahickon Creek and are committed to making this beautiful, natural area available to the public. Both groups actively work to protect the land that surrounds the creek by eliminating invasive plants and replanting native species, controlling storm water runoff, and creating and maintaining trails. For more information about the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association please visit www.wvwa.org. For more information about the Friends of the Wissahickon, visit www.fow.org.