The volunteers of the Friends of Poquessing Watershed helped make an often-forgotten city park a lot cleaner on Sept. 12 when they removed 16 bags of trash and assorted other items from the paved, wooded path between the 9900 block of Hegerman St. and the 4800 block of Stevenson Lane.
Seven dedicated volunteers met at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Hegerman Street and St. Denis Drive at the rear of the Brookhaven section of Torresdale. Because of the secluded access, the park often gets less attention than other areas of the Poquessing watershed, but it was still quite messy when the cleanup crew showed up.
The volunteers worked a combined 22 hours, with many staying beyond the scheduled 1 p.m. quitting time. Participants included Hans Brolinson, Rich Glaser, Karen McCullough, Jill Sweeney, Jerrilyn Lewis, Jeanne Capone and Patty McCarthy. Nance Kerns of the Friends of Pennypack Park organized the activity.
Among the litter removed from the woods were one whole shopping cart and part of a second, a section of carpet, a red and white polka dot blanket, sections of garden hose, a barbecue grill, a bed sheet, a broken resin chair, a rubber hallway runner, a pair of sneakers, two car tires without rims and one with a rim, three golf balls, two bicycle rims, two bicycle tires, a kiddie bike, a commercial bread tray, a postal crate, a T-shirt, 14 chunks of wood, six folding chairs and a Home Depot dolly.
FOPW volunteers followed their cleanup effort with a tree-sleeving project on Sept. 20.
The next cleanup will be on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Torrey Woods near the intersection of Academy and Torrey roads across from Stephen Decatur School.
The session will last from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. All volunteers are welcome. They are advised to wear closed-toe shoes and long pants, along with long sleeves if desired. Organizers will supply tools, gloves, snacks and refreshments.
The rain date is Oct. 11.
Visit www.friendsofpoquessing.org for information about the group. ••
