The nation’s Centennial Exposition was held at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia in 1876, and more than 10 million people attended the trip there.
Today, the area continues to provide a haven for those seeking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city by preserving tranquil natural landscapes within easy reach of both inhabitants and tourists.
Fairmount Park’s east and west sides are separated by the Schuylkill River, which allows the preservation of various natural landscapes within the park. The natural landscape includes more than 2,000 acres of undulating hills, gentle paths, a calm shoreline, and shady trees.
Mission
The Fairmount Park Conservancy is responsible for reviving parks. They collaborate with the City of Philadelphia and the people within it to protect and improve their shared environment, cultural resources, and public health via the stewardship of their parks.
Vision
They envision a thriving park system in Philadelphia of excellent quality and accessibility to all residents and visitors.
History
The Fairmount Park Commission in Philadelphia was the progenitor of the nonprofit organization now known as the Fairmount Park Conservancy. The Commission was a city agency established in 1867 to purchase land for Fairmount Park around the Schuylkill River. This was done to safeguard the city’s water supply and provide a place for the people of Philadelphia to engage in activities outside. It was by the “green country town” ideal that William Penn had initially envisioned for Philadelphia.
By the late 1990s, the Fairmount Park Commission was responsible for managing more than 8,000 acres of public parkland, including not just Fairmount Park but also neighborhood parks and inside watersheds. It commissioned a study to investigate the possibility of luring private investment into the city’s park system, and the report concluded that an independent 501(c) (3) organization needs to be established. This brand new organization was first established in 1998 as the Fairmount Park Foundation, but in 2001 it was rebranded as the Fairmount Park Conservancy.
In 2015, the Fairmount Park Conservancy merged with the Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust. The Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust was a charitable organization that had been established in the past by an act of the City Council to support the preservation of city-owned architectural resources in Fairmount Park. The Trust started generating cash for historic preservation by offering investment options for properties inside Fairmount Park that were unoccupied and underused. Subsequently, the Trust began to provide fee-based services via a professional team of conservators.
During the period above, the responsibilities of the City’s Fairmount Park Commission and those of the Department of Recreation were merged to form a new department, now known as Philadelphia Parks & Recreation. This new department manages parks and recreational spaces in the city. The President of the City Council and the Commissioners of relevant agencies were invited to join the newly established Commission on Parks and Recreation, which serves in an advisory capacity and is comprised of professionals with expertise in the relevant fields.
Today, Philadelphia’s enormous park system is championed by the Fairmount Park Conservancy, which works closely with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation to protect the natural and physical assets of the city’s parks. The Fairmount Park Conservancy spent more than $20 million over its first ten years to enhance the Philadelphia park system while also increasing public awareness of the part parks play in promoting the overall well-being and vitality of the Greater Philadelphia region. More recently, their mission and work have expanded beyond fundraising to position them as collaborative leaders and partners in the park system. They strategically focus on planning, project management, program development, and community outreach endeavors. This allows them to position themselves as collaborative leaders and partners in the park system.
Programs
Neighborhood Park Stewardship
The Neighborhood Park Stewardship Program has received physical improvements at twenty neighborhood parks. More than one hundred thirty volunteer groups have registered with the Park Friends Network, indicating a growing interest in gardens as an essential component of local revitalization and community investment.
The Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation employees support the Park Friends Groups by holding monthly meetings, holding skill workshops, lending out equipment, and providing small grants for monetary contributions to special events and improvements to the park’s infrastructure.
Love Your Park
The Love Your Park Week event, which takes place in the spring at over one hundred different park locations around the city, is the most noteworthy aspect of this initiative. Movie evenings, plant sales, old-school game nights, bird walks, yoga in the park, art fairs, and much more are some activities that will take place this week, beginning with a city-wide volunteer day. This is a beautiful opportunity to discover new parks in Philadelphia, which has a park system that spans over 10,200 acres, and to learn how local communities work to make their gardens an active part of their community.
Tree Philly
TreePhilly is an initiative started in 2011 in response to the Greenworks Plan that the Office of Sustainability developed. Its goal is to have a tree canopy coverage of thirty percent in each Philadelphia neighborhood by 2025. TreePhilly assists local citizens in establishing connections with the resources they need to plant trees and maintain the urban forest in Philadelphia.
TreePhilly holds unique yard tree giveaways with the help of community partners every year in the spring and autumn. TD Bank’s generous sponsorship has these giveaways at more than 20 sites around the city. Residents who qualify for free yard trees will get comprehensive instructions on adequately planting and caring for their new trees. In addition, the initiative is becoming increasingly successful. With Masterminds, a local branding agency, TreePhilly is reaching an increasing number of households in the Philadelphia area through creative and entertaining campaigns such as “The City of Arborly Love” and “TreeHarmony.”
Farm Philly
Children and teenagers’ educational programs are at recreation centers all over Philadelphia. In addition, it lends its support to community gardens located on city parkland, makes opportunities for greenhouse propagation available, and works on a long-term garden preservation policy. Farm Philly hopes to increase the significance of urban agriculture and encourage its growth across the city of Philadelphia by using various program areas to achieve these goals. Read more.
Get more information by checking their website or giving them a call. (215)988-9334