parks
The Natural Lands team of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation has restored landscapes across the city. Will the next administration keep up the effort? story by bernard brown 20 GRID P H I L LY.CO M JU LY 2 0 23
CHRISTIAN HUNOLD
ENGINEERING A THE URBAN WILDS
t houston meadow it’s easy to forget the city. Grasses and wildflowers cover the hillside that slopes into the wooded ravine of the Wissahickon Creek below. Bees and butterflies dance across the flowers. Over at Three Springs Hollow in Pennypack Park hikers can walk beneath towering oak and tulip trees while wood thrushes serenade them. It all might look natural and wild, but in the forests, meadows and waterways of the Fairmount Park system, nature needs a hand. Philadelphia Parks & Recreation’s Natural Lands team works to restore and maintain habitats like these for human visitors and wild residents.