Philly has over 10200 acres of park land. How can you make a difference?

LOVE Your Park Fall Service Day 2015

This Saturday, wake up and volunteer in your favorite Philly park to make a difference during the LOVE Your Park Fall Service Day! Spend a few hours helping with everything from raking and bagging leaves for compost to planting trees and painting benches.

We all get by with a little help from our friends, and the city park community is no different. Fairmount Park Conservancy & Philadelphia Parks and Recreation run the event with over 60 local park friends groups. (Not sure where to help? A few of our fav hidden parks need volunteers, too.)

Register to volunteer HERE. Online registration ends Friday, but you’re welcome to show up and help the day of!

Where to Volunteer on Saturday

Plenty of neighborhood parks still need your help! Just check this map for a park near you and then register to volunteer here:

View LOVE Your Park Fall Service Day 2015 in a full screen map

How one cleanup can make a difference: Fairmount Neighborhood case study

Fairmount resident Sam Holloschutz organizes cleanups in his Neighborhood so often he gives advice on how to plan the perfect cleanup.

Over the summer, he teamed up with friend Stephen Weeks to clean up the train tracks and the woods that run along Pennsylvania Ave from Ogden St. With over 30 volunteers, they picked up 30 bags of trash (and recycling), for an estimated 600 pounds in 1.5 hours. Plus, their spring cleanup resulted in the collection of 235 bags of trash and recycling, estimated to equal at least 12,000 pounds.  What a difference!

Sam’s neighborhood cleanup is this Saturday from 9:30-12:30 with sign-in at the playground behind Eastern State at 22nd and Brown. They’ll have coffee from OCF Coffee House, and everyone will receive tickets to Eastern State and the 76ers. Sign up for the Fairmount Cleanup here.

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher