Natural Lands Restoration and Environmental Education Program (NLREEP) - Overview

Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park is a unique urban park system comprising over 8,900 acres of diverse neighborhood and regional parks that encompasses one-tenth of the land in Philadelphia.  Over half of the park system is comprised of natural areas - stream corridors, woodlands, meadows and wetlands - that serve as important ecosystems in the midst of one of America’s most populous cities.  These natural areas present unique opportunities for urban ecological restoration, environmental education and community stewardship.

Unfortunately, these natural areas have been deteriorating for decades due to urban pressures such as stormwater run-off, pollution, the dominance of invasive exotic vegetation, animal overbrowsing, the loss of plant and animal species and soil compaction.  At the beginning of the 21^st century, the balanced mix of native plant and animal species necessary for healthy urban ecosystems can only be accomplished with human intervention.  In order to work towards the goal of restoring these ecosystems, the Fairmount Park Commission’s Natural Lands Restoration and Environmental Education Program (NLREEP) was established in 1997 through a $26.6 million grant from the William Penn Foundation.

NLREEP is working to restore the natural areas in seven watershed and estuary parks throughout the city, and build a constituency for the park’s protection through environmental education and public stewardship.  The seven parks that are included in the program are: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Cobbs Creek, Fairmount (East/West), Tacony Creek, Pennypack, Poquessing Creek and Wissahickon Valley .

The restoration component of the grant includes the preparation of a Natural Lands Restoration Master Plans for each of the seven parks.  These plans, prepared by the Patrick Center for Environmental Research at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, park staff and interested community members contain restoration goals and guiding principles, assess existing conditions and provide recommendations for a total of 452 high priority restoration sites and actions.  Based on the master plans, NLREEP staff works with consultants to prepare and implement site-specific restoration plans.  The grant also provided for the preparation of trail master plans for five of the parks and partial implementation of the plan’s recommendations.

The environmental education component has provided for new construction, expansion and renovation of the park’s three environmental centers, as well as additional staff and resources needed to provide a range of programming.  Summer environmental camps, after-school programming and outreach lessons to schools are all products of the grant program.

The community stewardship component has strengthened the park’s ties to local communities and has expanded the constituency for natural lands restoration, while continuing to work hand-in-hand with existing volunteers.  Working with trained volunteer coordinators, individuals and groups are encouraged to take direct steps to protect and improve urban ecosystems through volunteerism.

Mark A. Focht, ASLA

NLREEP Program Administrator