In 2021 the Friends of Pastorius Park embarked upon an ambitious plan to restore the plantings and vistas of Pastorius Park. We did so with the goal of not only preserving Frederick Peck’s original Olmsted-inspired Pastorius design, but also to expand the diversity and resilience of the park’s trees and shrubs for the future.

To date, FoPP has accomplished all it set out to do this year. In the spring the park’s amphitheater was thoroughly renovated, with the installation of new native hedges and Wissahickon style perimeter planting beds. Islands of invasive plants were cleared, and new planting beds established in the  Roanoke/Abington and Lincoln Dr. entrances to the park. And this fall community funding, matching grants (from CHCA’s Green Space tree fund) and fantastic volunteer turn out enabled FoPP to install 39 new trees and 29 new shrubs in these restored planting areas.

Further landscape restoration, including clearing of invasive plants in the park adjacent to the warming hut and above the upper boundary hedge off Millman St. expanded this year’s planned projects for FoPP. Reliable and enthusiastic volunteers, including the participation of 2 local garden clubs (the Wissahickon Garden Club & Garden Club of Philadelphia) helped us restore yet another original vista into the park, this one from the corner woods off Millman and the Sunrise Ln perimeter.

But there is so much more work that requires attention in our 16-acre park. While the overdue restoration projects are ongoing, FoPP continues to do the annual maintenance work at Pastorius, like treatments of the 73 Canadian hemlocks for the Woolly Adelgid pest, pruning of old legacy trees, as well as repair and upkeep of the pond’s aeration fountains and pumps, and the big cleaning of the pond every year. Yes, the new restoration work is exciting (including the installation this spring of an orchard of wild American chestnut seedling trees), but FoPP’s maintenance work is essential to keeping Pastorius’ assets beautiful and healthy.

We hope the community does not take FoPP’s hard-won advances and improvements at Pastorius for granted. Please consider making a yearly, fully tax-deductible donation to our all-volunteer, non-profit organization.

You can easily make a donation on our website: friendsofpastorius.org

Or if preferred, checks can be mailed to the FoPP address above.

Your generosity is what keeps our stewardship of the park going.

Tracy Gardner, President
Friends of Pastorius Park