Clean Up, Stewardship Weekend Planned In Wisshahickon Valley Park

PHILADELPHIA — This weekend, Friends of the Wissahickon are inviting the public to learn how to use Wissahickon Valley Park while keeping its offering pristine.

Friday through Sunday, the park will be a “Hot Spot” for Leave No Trace Activities.

Friends of the Wissahickon and Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics (LNT) are hosting a weekend of programming to help community members learn how they can conserve and protect the urban oasis for generations to come.

The key message is "What you do in nature affects everything around you."

The less imprint you make, the less impact in the park, according to Friends of the Wissahickon.

LNT, national organization that protects the outdoors by teaching people how to enjoy it responsibly, identified the park — particularly the high-traffic areas around Valley Green Inn, Magargee Dam, and Devil’s Pool — as one of its Hot Spots. Hot Spots are areas suffering from severe human-related impacts and with the potential to thrive again through LNT grass roots solutions and prevention measures.

As a designated LNT Hot Spot, the Wissahickon Valley Park joins some of the country’s most significant parks, including Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming and Joshua Tree National Park in California.

Friday will feature a Wissahickon History Hike with Brad Maule form 9 a.m. to noon then a Leave No Trace Quizzo & Opening Ceremony of the Trash Smash World Championship from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

On Saturday, there will be a clean-up event from 9 a.m. to noon, followed by and after-clean up celebration. Additionally, kid-friendly Watershed Lessons with Let’s Go Outdoors will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Then, Sunday brings a Leave No Trace Water Walk from 9 a.m. to noon then a public workshop on Community Building and Leave No Trace Practices from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Full details on the weekend's event are available here.