Spring 2022 ushered in the second year of FoPP’s expansive restoration of Pastorius Park. FoPP’s planting plan, crafted by Paul Meyer, was executed in late-March and April in park Areas 3 & 4, and on the edge of the central meadow (see our restoration map). Contrasted with the legacy trees which are aging out, this rich and vibrant mix of new oaks, black gums, redbuds, magnolias, oriental spruce, plane trees, dogwoods, and shadbush show the public in real time what the park will become in the future.
FoPP’s Fall 2022 plantings cover Areas 2 & 3 on the restoration map. Featuring Appalachian red redbuds, creamy yellow-flowered Lois magnolias, various flowering dogwoods, sugar maples, and gorgeous Yoshino cherry trees, this Fall planting plan fulfills one of FoPP’s key restoration goals: to expand and enrich Pastorius’ palette to contain many more flowering trees, both to enhance seasonal beauty and benefit pollinators and wildlife. Also included in this plan are 3 Debonaire pond cypresses, appropriately for the upper stream area of the park, as well as 2 willow oaks along the central meadow.
The ongoing restoration of Pastorius Park is a successful collaboration of volunteers, community groups, generous donors, large and small, and local arborists. Restoration projects at the park have created interest, excitement, and pride in our park community.
New community engagement with the park was amply demonstrated on Arbor Day 2022, when 4 local arborists, the Hedgerows Arborist Services, John B Ward Tree Experts, McFarland Tree, Landscape & Hardscape Services, and Shechtman Tree Care, LLC volunteered their crews from early morning to early afternoon to prune legacy trees in Pastorius’ central meadow. This is work that FoPP had been doing annually but piecemeal at the park for decades, hampered by lack of funding and other priorities. These arborists did a phenomenal amount of long-overdue tree work, and their efforts have transformed that portion of Pastorius, helping keep these old trees as healthy as possible in their decline.
The Garden Club of Philadelphia and Wissahickon Garden Club, staunch supporters of FoPP restoration efforts, have been generous both with donations and their volunteers who are responsible for planting many of the new native shrubs at the park, as well as removing much of the invasive plants that plague Pastorius.
CHCA’s Green Space Committee has awarded FoPP several matching grants since restoration work began at the park in Spring 2021. These matching grants have allowed FoPP to keep up the momentum of both Spring and Fall projects for the past 2 years. But restoration of a 16 acre park is a multi-year endeavor. In order to continue our progress at Pastorius with our great advisors, Paul Meyer and Rob Fleming, FoPP requires reliable, regular funding to help harness future grants towards seasonal restoration work, and to enable our organization to do the regular maintenance of Pastorius Park’s assets (such as the pond, masonry, and existing plantings) that people may take for granted. This is a huge, decades-long responsibility that our all-volunteer non-profit organization has taken on for the benefit of our community and our beloved park. Please help us continue our work to keep Pastorius Park the gem that it is, and consider making a yearly donation.
Your donation is fully tax deductible, and much-appreciated.
Sincerely,
Tracy Gardner
President, Friends of Pastorius Park
