For the first time since 2011, the Friends of Pennypack Park were forced to cancel their monthly cleanup on June 27 due to an ominous weather forecast, but the Friends of Poquessing Watershed beat seasonal storms to hold their own park cleanup on June 13.
Six dedicated volunteers spent a collective 20 hours cleaning debris from a green patch along Knights Road, between Frankford Avenue and Ellicott Road in Crestmont Farms. They collected 15 bags of trash along with a random assortment of unique items such as a shopping cart, a laptop computer, a broken coffee mug, two empty grass seed bags, a section of blue carpet, black sweatpants, socks, hospital slippers, an inner tube, a section of tire, a basketball, an electrical transformer and a lot of yard waste.
It is illegal to dump grass clippings, weeds or other yard waste on public property, and it’s bad for the environment. Yard waste inhibits the growth of native plants. In this case, some of the yard waste had been set on fire, becoming a safety threat. Volunteers reported the dumping to a Department of Parks and Recreation official who assisted in removing the trash. Any illegal dumping should be reported to 911 immediately.
The Friends of Poquessing held another group cleanup on July 11 along a portion of the creek near Philadelphia Mills mall (a.k.a. Franklin Mills). A report on that effort is forthcoming. The next cleanup date has not been posted. For information about all Friends of Poquessing cleanups, call 215–638–0832 or visit the Friends of Poquessing Watershed page on Facebook.
Meanwhile, the Friends of Pennypack were planning to clean up the area of Welsh Road and Cresco Avenue on June 27, but forecasts of rain and flash flooding put a damper on the event. The last time the group cancelled a monthly cleanup was in August 2011.
The next Pennypack cleanup is planned for Saturday, July 25, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. with volunteers meeting at Frankford and Solly avenues under the railroad trestle next to the picnic area. Parking is available on Solly. The FOPP will bring gloves, tools, refreshments and snacks. Volunteers should wear long pants (and sleeves if preferred) and comfortable shoes or sneakers with closed toes. Those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Call 215–934-PARK for cancellation information. Email to FOPPMonthlyCU@aol.com for information. ••
