Many thanks to the volunteers at our annual Fall 2023 Planting Day: Ellen Briggs, Michelle Detwiler, Karen O’Neil and Ellen Reese. With the help of the hardworking Lower Merion Parks Department crew (which helped us out with the heaviest part of the digging), we added 123 native perennials and shrubs to those beds this Fall. These included the beautiful yellow-flowered shrub St. John’s Wort, asters, grasses, and golden groundsel. As always, we also benefited from the efforts of a few members (especially Ellen Reese) who frequently do a bit of unofficial weeding when they visit the park with their dogs.
Author Archives: Ellen Briggs
2022 Volunteers
Many thanks to our 2022 annual Fall Planting Day volunteers Ellen Briggs, Michelle Detwiler, Karen Hinckley, Ellen Reese, Mark Wassmansdorf and Alan Wood. These volunteers devoted 28 hours to planting around 350 beautiful native perennials in our new driveway entrance gardens. The gardens were designed by one of our volunteers, Master Naturalist Michelle Detwiler of Wild About Native Plants. As always, a few Friends of WMC Park members routinely do additional work weeding and maintaining our plantings throughout the park on an ad hoc basis during the gardening season. They have not counted their hours but the benefits are there!
2021 Volunteers
In 2021, another pandemic year, we held two work days. Our thanks to Friends of West Mill Creek volunteers Judy Argon, Janet Bauman, Ellen Briggs, Michelle Detwiler, Karen Hinckley, Craig Oliner, Ellen Reese, and Mary Ann Sheldon for their stellar work weeding the Wildlife and Respite Garden and removing invasive plants in the main park area.
2020 Volunteers
2020 was our first pandemic year–so due to Covid concerns, no volunteer events were advertised to our general membership. But the Park did not go wholly without new plants! On October 2, the Lower Merion Department of Parks & Recreation, together with Friends of West Mill Creek Park volunteers Ellen Briggs and our Master Naturalist Michelle Detwiler, worked on our annual Fall Planting day to plant 35 native trees, 19 shrubs, and 18 perennials. Later that Fall, the Boys Scouts of Troop planted nearly 200 additional perennials.
2019 Volunteers
In 2019 we held a total of 4 official work days – three dedicated to planting and maintenance, and 1 to cutting down our ever-persistent crop of invasive Japanese Knotweed. Many, many thanks to our ten wonderful volunteers, Judy Argon, Yair Argon, Ellen Briggs, Chris Bushnell, Michelle Detwiler, Karen Hinckley, Craig Oliner, Leah Oliner, Linda Pitt, and Ellen Reese. who donated a total of 47 hours to our ongoing efforts to keep our park green and growing! As always, we should also note that, in addition to our official work days, ad hoc volunteers donated many additional but uncounted hours to general upkeep and maintenance (mostly weeding and invasive removal). An additional thank you to you unsung heroes!
Organizational Supporters
We would especially like to thank Jamie Markizon and his company Strategic Marketing LLC for providing our website domain, hosting and tech support pro bono continuously since Friends of West Mill Creek Park was founded in 2013.
We also thank the Lower Merion Township Department of Parks & Recreation, especially Director Donna Heller, Parks Supervisor Dave DeAngelis, and Dave’s crew for their responsiveness to our requests and for their wise and expert advice on many park issues ever since our group was founded..
Most recently, we thank the Pennsylvania Master Naturalist Program and Master Naturalist Michelle Detwiler for the hours of pro bono expertise and hands-on planting help that have added so much beauty and ecological function to our Park in recent years.
Fall News from Friends of West Mill Creek Park
Happy 10th Birthday Friends of WMC Park!
The Friends of West Mill Creek Park was founded in October 2013 with the twin mission of safeguarding and improving West Mill Creek’s use as a dog park, and working to improve the park as habitat for the wildlife that shares the park with us. Over the past ten years we have worked to enhance the beauty and biodiversity of the park by planting many hundreds of trees, shrubs, and perennials, and worked to combat invasive plants. We have also acted as liaison with the Township for problems identified by our members, and have researched and posted dog-related educational materials on our website with the goal of promoting a safe, happy experience for park users. We thank all our members for their encouragement, support, constructive criticism and great suggestions over the years. We also extend heartfelt thanks to Lower Merion Township – especially Donna Heller, Director of the Parks and Recreation Department, and Dave DeAngelis, Supervisor of the Parks division. For many years, they supported us with unfailing responsiveness, help, a can-do attitude, and good cheer. They and the Parks crew members have always been a delight to work with.
Shout-Out to the Pennsylvania Master Naturalist Program
Many of you have noted the progress of the beautiful garden beds that were planted this year as part of our newly redesigned parking lot. The design for these beds, plus many hours of maintenance work, were provided to our Park gratis as part of Pennsylvania’s successful Master Naturalist program. This program provides advanced ecological training to Pennsylvania residents with the requirement that those trained will provide 20 hours of pro bono ecological services to not-for-profit entities like us. We are lucky to have Michelle Detwiler, a locally well-known native plant expert and landscape designer, as our Master Naturalist. She has worked with us for the past several years to continue our mission to improve our Park’s beauty and ecological effectiveness. We are so grateful. Thank you, Michelle!
Fall Planting Day–2023
We held our annual Fall planting day on Wednesday, October 25. This year our focus was additional planting for the new garden beds around the recently reconfigured parking lot.
With the help of the hardworking Lower Merion Parks Department crew (which did all the heavy planting work), we added 123 native perennials and shrubs to those beds this Fall. These included the beautiful yellow-flowered shrub St. John’s Wort, asters, grasses, and golden groundsel. The crew also dug out a large stand of invasive mugwort in the main park area, and mulched with wood chips to help slow up any regrowth. In addition, they planted four trees (two black gum and two river birch) in the main park area.
While the Township crew worked, Friends of West Mill Creek Park volunteers Michelle Detwiler, Karen O’Neil, Ellen Reese, and Ellen Briggs weeded the parking lot beds that were planted last Spring.
Thanks to all those members who have made financial donations – your dollars paid for all these plants! Special kudos to our members who made contributions in 2022 and 2023, years in which we omitted our usual annual appeal for donations: James & Jen Sperry, Nora Engel & Gustavo Klurfan, David Mark, Heather Farrel & Daniel DiCriscio, Harriet Ruffin, Elizabeth Keech, and Peter & Ellen Briggs.
Engineering and Planting Work to Be Done at the Park
In our last newsletter (Spring of 2023) we alerted you to upcoming work regrading and replanting the stream bank at the Park to comply with Pennsylvania environmental regulations intended to reduce water pollution from stormwater runoff. The work, originally scheduled for this Fall, has been rescheduled to take place sometime this Winter. Sections of the park will be blocked off as the work progresses, but the Park will remain open.
Off-Leash Permits for 2024
As the year’s end approaches, don’t forget to obtain an off-leash permit for 2024. It’s easy to apply on the Lower Merion Township website. Getting the permit contributes to park safety and also is a great way to show our Township Commissioners your support for the off-leash program. The permit will give you off-leash privileges at both Rolling Hill and West Mill Creek parks.
2022 and 2023 Donations
Special note: in 2022 and 2023, we omitted our traditional annual request for donations. Those who contributed to Friends of WMC Park in these two years took the initiative to contribute totally unprompted by us. Thanks so much! Your donations, along with donations accumulated from previous years, subsidized the hundreds of new native trees, shrubs and perennials installed in the main park and parking lot planting beds during our Fall 2022, Spring 2023, and Fall 2023 Planting Days
Four Paws ($150 or more)
Peter & Ellen Briggs
James & Jen Sperry
Three Paws ($100 to $149)
Nora Engel & Gustavo Klurfan
David Mark
Two Paws ($50 to $99)
Heather Farrel & Daniel Dicriscio
Harriet Ruffin
One Paw (up to $49)
Elizabeth Keech
Spring 2023 Park News
Watch for two upcoming projects at West Mill Creek Park: first, thanks to the Pennsylvania Master Naturalist Program, we will receive valuable (and free!) assistance with our Friends of WMC Park planting program for several years. Second, starting this Fall, the Township will begin implementation of a major construction project involving regrading and replanting the stream banks. Read on for details!
An Important Boost for Plants and Wildlife at the Park
We are thrilled to announce that local native plant guru and Master Naturalist, Michelle Detwiler, has committed to donating at least 20 hours of work annually over the next 3 years to help maintain native trees and plants and control invasive species throughout the park. This major volunteer commitment is made under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Master Naturalist Program, which provides rigorous training for program participants in ecological gardening to benefit local ecosystems. The program includes environmental pro bono work as part of its ongoing certification requirements. We are indeed fortunate that Michelle has selected West Mill Creek Park as the beneficiary of her services! If you would like to help Michelle, volunteer opportunities will be available.
Over the past several years, as a consultant for Friends of WMC, Michelle has selected and sited all of the new trees and shrubs planted during our annual Fall Planting Days. In addition, she designed and assisted with the installation of the new planting beds in and around the parking lot entrance and exit areas. We have received many compliments on this work and expect park users will welcome the future plantings as well.
Construction Work at the Park this Fall
To comply with mandated Pennsylvania requirements intended to reduce water pollution statewide, Lower Merion Township will be implementing an extensive project at West Mill Creek Park. The project will involve major regrading of the stream banks, installation of in-stream structures to direct water flow, and replanting of the regraded banks. Friends of WMC is working closely with the Township Engineer to minimize loss of mature trees and maximize access for Park visitors during this process.
Construction is expected to begin in the Fall of 2023. The Park will remain open to park users (both dogs and people) throughout the project, although sections of the Park will be closed off to allow work on those parts as the project proceeds. Heavy equipment and trucks needed for the project are expected to park in the grassy area off Old Gulph Road so as not to take up precious parking lot space.
Best wishes for a happy summer and fingers crossed for a good rain!