It’s time to love your local park back.
Starting Nov. 10, the city’s Love Your Park initiative will take place all over Philadelphia, including several South Philly parks and recreation centers. This fall, nearly 100 neighborhood volunteer groups will host clean-up events ensuring the vital resources will provide recreation and relaxing space, while helping residents connect with nature and promote physical and mental well-being.
And there’s still plenty of time to get involved.
“Volunteering during Love Your Park Weekend is the easiest way to give back to your local park,” said Orlando Rendon, commissioner of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation. “We encourage all Philadelphians to get connected to your community’s Park Friends group, advocating for and supporting these important public spaces.”
Love Your Park is a program of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Fairmount Park Conservancy, in partnership with the Park Friends Network, made up of more than 140 volunteer groups.
Thousands of residents annually volunteer to clean up parks, plant trees and flower bulbs, collect leaves for compost, clean up litter and more to help prepare parks for the winter season. The Park Friends Network celebrates its 30th year in 2023.
“The Park Friends Network has shown over and over again throughout its 30 years that Philadelphians can create safer, cleaner, more equitable and welcoming green spaces for everyone,” said Maura McCarthy, CEO of Fairmount Park Conservancy. “Everyone at Fairmount Park Conservancy is committed to continuing building capacity as well as nourishing and fostering more volunteers throughout the neighborhood parks in our city.”
Volunteering gets underway on Nov. 10 and concludes on Nov. 12. Advance registration is strongly encouraged. To register to volunteer, visit https://loveyourpark.org/events/lyp-fall-2023.
The bulk of parks in South Philly are holding events on Nov. 11. That list includes
Bardascino Park (1000 Carpenter St.) 9:30 a.m.; Beck Park (2nd and Beck streets) 10 a.m.; Carpenter Green Park (1701 Carpenter St.) 10 a.m.; Chew Recreation Center (1831 Ellsworth St.) 9 a.m.; Cianfrani Park (721 S. 8th St.) 10 a.m.; Columbus Square (1200 Wharton St.) 10 a.m.; Dickinson Square Park (1600 E. Moyamensing Ave.) 9 a.m.; FDR Park (1954 Pattison Ave.) 10 a.m.; Gold Star Park (613 Wharton St.) 10 a.m.; Hawthorne Park (12th and Catharine streets) 10 a.m.; Jefferson Square Park (3rd and Federal streets) 9 a.m.; Julian Abele Park (22nd and Carpenter streets) 10 a.m.; Lanier Park (2900 Tasker St.) 10 a.m.; Manton Street Park (401 Manton St.) 10 a.m.; Mario Lanza Park (214 Catharine St.) 9 a.m.; Moyamensing Point (901 E. Moyamensing Ave.) 10 a.m.; Palumbo Park (723 Catharine St.) 9:30 a.m.; Paolone Park (732 Sears St.) 10 a.m.; Seger Park (1020 Lombard St.) 9 a.m.; South Philadelphia High School (2101 S. Broad St. 10 a.m.); Starr Garden (600 Lombard St.) 10 a.m.; Stephen Girard Park (2500 S. 21st St.) 8:30 a.m.; and Wharton Square Park (2300 Wharton St.) 9 a.m.
Two additional parks will hold events on Sunday, Nov. 12: Mifflin Square Park (500 Wolf St.) 9 a.m. and Ralph Brooks Park (1601 S. 20th St.) 9 a.m.
