Happy 10^th 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.

Every year in March, we send out a survey form with our Annual Newsletter to get member feedback and ideas. We compile every comment we receive by subject matter, then offer a response so everyone knows that their ideas were considered, whether or not they can be implemented at the time. Here it is for 2020!

Mud Concerns

 Member comments:  **Continued work on water absorption and adding bird- and bee- attracting plants!  ** Plant some trees in the centermost area, near the little wetland (feeder stream) area between the wooden walkway ad the path next to Mill Creek. ** Mitigate standing water issue on rainy days.  ** Install drains to carry water into Mill Creek ** Maybe river stones down middle where it’s so muddy and holds water. **

Our response:  We heartily endorse your planting suggestions!  One of our top priorities is to continue our ongoing program to plant native trees, shrubs, and perennials.  Native plants not only reduce mud by drinking up excess water, but provide a host of other benefits including enhancing water quality in the stream, reducing flooding, and providing wildlife habitat.  Be aware that our park is in a floodplain and to a certain extent periodic flooding/wet spots are natural and ecologically beneficial.  We are seeking a balance between park user comfort and ecological benefits, so a completely dry park is not actually a goal. 

In re drains:  our park has three existing drains and, for the reasons explained above, we do not plan to advocate for more at this time.   

In re river stones:  we are advised that river stones piled on top of the muddy central area would quickly become buried in more dirt as leaves and other organic matter decompose on top of them, and they have limited ability to absorb water.  Native plants and trees with deep roots, on the other hand, will actively absorb water, and also filter and clean the water before it enters Mill Creek.

Trail Quality Concerns

Member Comments:   **Can gravel be covered with wood chips?  My dog avoids walking on large gravel chunks whenever she can – yes, I know she’s fussy.**

Our response:  With respect to covering the lumpy parts of the gravel trail with wood chips, we ran the idea past the Township.  In their experience the wood chips are too light and will quickly wash away in our flood-prone park, so they don’t recommend this solution.

Other Ecological Concerns

Member comments: ** General cleanup and invasive plants (vines) removal. **

Our response:  Definitely this is part of our mission, and normally we have volunteer days for this work.  Due to the pandemic, we have held no events in 2020 other than our annual October Planting day (labor courtesy of the Township Crew and socially distanced Boy Scouts from Troop 176—a big THANK YOU to both!).  We are hoping to resume member volunteer days when the pandemic permits.  If regular volunteer days are not an option by Spring, we may call for individual volunteers to work solo.  You will need to sign a waiver form and receive training.

Park Hygiene

Member comments:  ** Enforce (?) clean-up by all pet owners (add signs?) ** At least one trash bin in the back of the park.**

Our response:

In re clean-up, good suggestion.  We will work on signs to be placed on the pickup bag poles.

With respect to the additional trash bin, we sympathize but are not currently recommending this.  Given that we have three trash receptacles already, we feel that adding another detracts from our goal to preserve the natural atmosphere of the park as well as adding to the burden on the township maintenance crew.  For now, please just carry the bag around to the receptacles nearer the park entrance.  (It’s a long way for a busy park crew member to drag a heavy, stinky trash can on foot!)

Suggestion for Next Year’s Annual Meeting

Member comments:  What about an open meeting or talk on dog intelligence, training, owner’s expectation – from behavioral doctor at Penn Vet?

Our response:  Great idea—we alternate ecology-centered and dog-centered topics at our annual meetings, and we are due for a dog-centric talk at the next meeting, whenever that can occur.

Volunteering

A couple of people indicated their willingness to volunteer on the survey form.

Our response:  Thanks for volunteering!  We expect to be in touch with all who are willing to volunteer in Spring 2021.

General Comments

Member comments:   ** You’re doing a very nice job! **  You are all – terrific! ** Beautiful job on Park.  Thank you!  ** Love the Park! **  Even though I don’t have a dog, I’d like to support the park ** Love our Park! ** I’ve never been more grateful for our park in my life!” ** Thanks for all you do – park looks great! ** Great park, thanks for your work. ** The park looks great!  Stay well—**

Our response:  Thanks for all the encouraging words – the positive feedback is very energizing to our Steering Committee!!!

This year, member comments centered on trail improvement, mud issues, planting, hygiene and preservation of the grassy areas.   Here are all the comments we received and our response:

Q#1:  What projects do you think should be undertaken for the future?

Trail improvement:  “Removing large pieces of gravel and finding more paw friendly alternatives”

Our response:  We will continue to work with the Township on trail issues.   With respect to the large less comfortable stones on the path at the far side of the park, the Township has found that trying to finish off paths using the fine gravel works on level paths but does not work on slopes, where gullies develop.  We are exploring viable alternatives.  Meanwhile, we have found that for humans, shoes with thicker soles help—and the dogs are free to go where they please!

Mud Problem/Planting Plans: “Center area of mucky water—plant?” ** “Less mud!” ** “Putting down stones or mulch to get rid of the mud.” ** “Mud control in far end of park near boardwalk” ** “Continue the good work on flooding & planting.” **

Our response:  One of our top priorities is to continue ongoing planting efforts to reduce mud, replace tree cover, and enhance the wildlife habitat.  We plan to continue our planting program, expanding to the area around the blue Dog Park sign as well as in the wildlife garden, riparian areas, and the boggy areas.  We will seek out expert ecological advice on use of mulch and stones/gravel to reduce mud.

Hygiene/Grass Preservation: ** “Protection of the grassy areas.”  ** “Small signs advising people to stay on the path except for poop pick-up.  I’m thinking of a few signs along pathway such as “keep off the grass” signs you see around town.  I believe many people come to the park who do not belong to our association and may or may not adhere to our rules and may or may not have off-leash permits for their dogs.  I’ve heard people say they think they don’t need to clean up poop when it’s up on the hill or in the middle of the meadow.  They do!  But a little signage might reinforce rules to non-members and casual drop-in visitors.”

Our response:  Good suggestions, which will be considered.  FYI we consider the addition of signage something of a balancing act.  The up side of signage is that it may influence behavior in a good direction; the down side is that signage tends to undermine one of our main missions which is to preserve the natural atmosphere of the park.  Our experience with park signage to date suggests that its effectiveness is less that one would hope.

Amenities: “Dog water fountain and rinsing station” ** “trash can deeper in the park”

Our response: As always, when it comes to park amenities we try to balance member need, the cost and maintenance burden on the township, and our goal of maintaining the wild, “walk in the woods” feel of our park. At this time, our thinking is a more minimalist approach on such conveniences best fulfills our mission.

Q#2:  Any other comments or thoughts you would like us to consider?

“Although I don’t have a dog, I support the park’s promotion of and use of native plants.” ** “Love the park and love the improvements, including the respite garden and memorial trunk.” ** “It’s a wonderful park!” ** “Thank you!” ** “Keep up the great work!” ** “Keep up the good work—well done on improving the park!”  ** “Thanks for running the park.” ** ”Thanks for all you do!!” ** “Thank you for creating and maintaining a lovely respite for humans and hounds!” ** “We absolutely love the creek! Thank You.

Our response:  Thanks for the positive feedback—it keeps us energized!

Our holiday lunch will take place on Wednesday, December 5, at 12:30 pm at the A La Maison restaurant, 53 W. Lancaster Ave, Ardmore PA.

If you’d like to attend our holiday lunch, choose one Entrée per person. Send your choice, along with your check for $35 per person payable to Friends of WMC Park, to Ellen Reese, Treasurer, 727 Stradone Rd, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004:

Entrees (choose one per person):

1. Quiche du Jour (Chef’s Choice)
2. Grilled Shorty – Signature Burgundy Braised Black Angus Short Rib Pieces & Gruyere Cheese Grilled on Toasted Brioche
3. Traditional Croque Madame Or Croque Monsieur Open Faced Sandwich
4. Cheese Omelet
5. Poulet Maison – Pan Seared Boneless, Skinless Pounded Chicken Breast Served With Béchamel
6. Crepe du Jour – Selection of Two (2) Traditional French Crepes (Chef’s Choice)

The lunch will also include soft drink, choice of Salade Maison or special house French fries, and a dessert.

2017 Friends of West Mill Creek Park Survey Results

1. What projects do you think should be undertaken in the future?

MUD

Member survey comments:  “Try to keep the park from having “mud pits” near boardwalk and between bench and entrance to creek.” ** “Get rid of the mud!”  ** “More planting in center area to prevent “mudholes”—and would love more shrubbery to attract birds.”

Our response:  Our number one priority is trying to address the mud in a way that benefits both ecological and practical concerns. 

We have begun our campaign to reduce mud in an ecologically friendly way begun by planting bog-tolerant shrubs around the mud hole near the long boardwalk.  If the shrubs grow and flourish, they should keep the dogs out of the water. We intend to keep on planting with the goal of providing food and cover to wildlife while keeping our dogs cleaner.   Please note that we are moving ahead with this project in small increments rather than a mass planting effort all at once because these are difficult planting conditions and we expect to learn a lot by trial and error. 

We hope you will understand that our park is in a floodplain, and part of its important ecological function is to absorb and filter storm water before it reaches the creek.  Also, the seasonal pools of standing water are necessary to the reproduction of park amphibians, which in turn help control insect populations.  Therefore, diverting all storm water directly into Mill Creek so that the park is always dry underfoot is not one of our goals; rather, we will try to strike a happy medium between ecological and practical concerns.

TRAILS

Member survey comments:  “The stone pathways are not holding up.  The wooden walkway is much better.  Either extend the wooden walkway all the way round or add stone/metal/plastic frames for the gravel portion and add more gravel.”  ** “Finish covering larger stones on path with small stones to protect dogs’ paws.”

Our Response:  Parks & Rec tells us that extending the wooden walkway around the park is not practicable because of the high groundwater levels.  Containing the gravel by adding frames is not a viable solution either.  Because of the high volume of water runoff that flows over the park, the gravel moves, either burying the frame and making it useless, or leaving the frame projecting out of the ground which creates a tripping hazard.  Similarly, finishing off the rocky part of the path is not an option.  Parks & Rec has tried to do this kind of project in the past.  They have found that the fine finishing gravel (which works pretty well on the flat parts of the path) isn’t effective on the sloping paths.  It gets carved into gullies and then ultimately washes away.

SEATING

Member survey comments:  “A bench down near beach spot past the weed penitentiary area.  A lot of people come down there to let dogs swim – maybe 2 rustic log-type benches.  There is plenty of room.”

Our response:  Great idea!  We are currently discussing this with Parks & Rec.

PARKING

Member survey comment:   “Marking of parking spaces in the lot to maximize the number of cars.”

Our response:  Great idea!  We are currently discussing this with Parks & Rec.

SAFETY FENCING

Member survey comments:  “I would like more money spent on enclosing the area.  My dogs are ok but friends won’t come because they do not feel the property is secure.” **  “We have heard there’s a hole in stone wall that dogs can get through.  Can this get checked out and repaired?”

Our response:   We are very supportive of all reasonable measures to improve safety.  We are currently looking at the possibility of some additional fencing and/or the planting of shrub hedges in areas of particular concern.  However, it is important for everyone to understand that it not possible to enclose the park completely.  Fencing cannot be installed either across the stream or in the area where the stream may flood while carrying debris.   West Mill Creek Park is suitable only for those dogs whose owners can trust them off leash.  A completely fenced area is available at Rolling Hill Park for dogs with less reliable recall skills. 

As far as a hole in the stone wall, we aren’t aware of one, though there was an opening between the fence and stone wall that has been dealt with by the independent efforts of one of our members.

WATER QUALITY

Member survey comment:   “Periodic checks of creek’s toxicity.”

Our response:  We spoke to the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Lower Merion Conservancy about this concern.  The Lower Merion Conservancy monitors water quality in our stream monthly for indications of ecological stream health such as levels of dissolved oxygen and number of macro invertebrates living in the stream.  The state department of natural resources also monitors for stream health from time to time.  Tom Clark, Conservation Coordinator at the Lower Merion Conservancy, offered the opinion that the stream, while polluted from the point of view of ecological stream health, is not necessarily detrimental to dog health.  He also noted that if we observe a “fish kill” (numerous fish floating on the surface) that is an indication of toxicity that definitely would be of concern for canine health. Finally, he noted that pollution levels are highest during and just after storms with lots of runoff entering the creek.

Mill Creek water is not safe for human consumption.  No one we talked to is aware of any particular test for toxicity to dogs, but many of our canine dog park regulars have been drinking the water for their entire lifetimes with no apparent ill effects.   If you are concerned, we suggest discussing this issue with your veterinarian. 

To keep our stream (and all waterways in Lower Merion) as clean as possible, remember that chemical lawn fertilizers, pesticides, pollutants from cars, de-icing salt and yes, dog poop, are the most significant sources of stream pollution in our area.  Dispose of all dog poop in the trash, and use chemical fertilizers, pesticides,  and de-icing salt as little as possible (none at all would be great!)

Member survey comment:  “Some people do not clean up after their dogs.  I’ve heard people say – “It’s not on the path” – but they need to clean up anywhere in the park including sides and middle.”

Our response:  You are so right!  Dog poop is a major source of stream pollution and threatens the health of people and animals that use the stream.  We hope all West Mill Creekers will take a look at our “Poop FAQs” sheet that is available on our website under the “Gettin’ Along” tab and in brochure form in the park kiosk.  It answers a lot of the questions people have asked us in the past on this issue so please take a look!

AESTHETICS

Member survey comment: “Irises along the edge of the stream.” 

Our response:  Irises would be lovely!  We are discussing feasibility with the member who suggested this. 

2. Any other comments or thoughts you would like us to consider?

Member comments:  “Love the way the Respite Garden has filled out!  Love the improved walking area—reduced mud and mud puddles.” **“You are doing a wonderful job!” ** “The Park looks beautiful!” ** “Thanks for all you do!”  **“Thank you and our leadership for helping make the dog park a memorable part of our lives.” ** “You are doing a great job!!” ** “Thank you for everything you do for the park and for building community in our area!”  ** “ No dog but I love the dog park.  You have done an awesome job!”

Our response:  Positive feedback is extremely encouraging and energizing to all on the Steering Committee.  We thank all those volunteers and contributors who have helped make this happen and we also thank our survey respondents for the supportive comments on our efforts—we really appreciate it!

THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED FOR RESPONDING TO OUR 2017 SURVEY!

Santa Paws with Brownie and Baxter

Santa Paws once again took time from his busy schedule to visit all the good dogs at West Mill Creek on Sunday, December 18!   It may have been a little overcast and a lot muddy, but the dogs enjoyed the dog biscuit and the chance to give Santa their wish lists, and the people enjoyed some hot cocoa and doughnuts to keep out the damp.  Moreover, we raised $435 for the Pennsylvania S.P.C.A!  Thanks to all who participated–including Giant supermarket which generously donated the doughnuts.