Explore Your Parks!
It's for a great cause.
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Fall is the perfect time to get outside and explore the Allegheny County Parks! Through the month of October, FedEx has teamed up with P3R for the Explore Your Parks Adventure Challenge of 3-mile runs, walks, hikes or jogs in all 9 parks. This corporate wellness challenge is self-guided, which means each participant has the freedom to complete their challenge on their own schedule, within the dawn-to-dusk hours of the Allegheny County Parks.
The Explore Your Parks Adventure Challenge runs from October 1-31 and 50% of net proceeds will go towards the Allegheny County Parks Foundation's Tree Fund, which plants new trees in all 9 parks in partnership with Allegheny County.
Registration is $25 and all participants will receive an exclusive Explore Your Parks 16-oz Camper Mug. All participants who complete the challenge in all 9 parks will receive a white MIIR water bottle with an Explore Your Parks sticker. Items will be shipped in early November. (Additional shipping fees will be calculated at the registration check-out.)
Looking to explore a trail you've never tried before? The Parks Foundation is compiling a list of fun ones! Check our Facebook page soon for a link to the list.
Download the Allegheny County Parks Trail app for detailed information on many of the trails in all 9 parks. Learn more.
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Rebecca and Seth Abrams at White Oak Park |
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Rebecca Abrams kicked her love of the Allegheny County Parks up a notch when she turned her August 23rd birthday into a fundraising event to benefit the Allegheny County Parks Foundation. This White Oak mom set up a Facebook Fundraiser and invited her friends and loved ones to donate in her honor. She raised more than $500 during the two-week period it was live.
"I've done fundraisers on my birthday for three years to benefit women's and girls' organizations. This is the first time I've done one for the Parks Foundation. With COVID-19 and everyone taking advantage of what's in our county parks and how beautiful they are, I wanted to support them this year," Abrams said.
An avid runner, she's in the parks often as a volunteer leader of Trail Sisters Pittsburgh, and with her husband, Seth. She also signs up on volunteer days to help maintain the trails she loves so much. In addition to White Oak she also runs in Settlers Cabin, Boyce and South Parks.
"Everybody is in the parks these days. Since the pandemic, I'm definitely seeing people in the parks who haven't used them before. It's so great to see that," she said.
We couldn't be more grateful for super fan Abrams' support of our mission to improve, conserve and restore the 9 Allegheny County Parks.
If she has inspired you to consider creating a similar benefit, explore the opportunity with Caitlin Harpster, Individual Giving Manager at charpster@acparksfoundation.org or 724.327.7627.
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Chimney Swifts love the Allegheny County Parks! |
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Chimney Swift Habitat Tower in Harrison Hills Park |
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A few years ago, the Allegheny County Parks Foundation and the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania teamed up to install 100 Chimney Swift towers distributed in all nine parks. Chimney Swifts migrate to our region in the spring, performing their acrobatic dance in the skies all summer long. They are voracious hunters, consuming thousands of insects every day.
But their population has declined dramatically as increased construction has taken more of their natural habitat away. Habitat towers provide a suitable alternative for the swifts to nest and perch.
To find out whether the experiment has worked, ASWP has enlisted a corps of volunteer monitors, aided by the Allegheny County Rangers, who have been recording swift activity at the towers since 2018.
It appears the third year is the charm!
The 2020 summer recorded the highest concentration of active visitations. The birds have used 21 towers for nesting in the Allegheny County Parks, with the most popular towers in Settlers Cabin at seven and Harrison Hills at six, followed by Deer Lakes and South Park, each with three towers being used for nesting. Hartwood Acres and White Oak also saw activity, with two and one respectively.
Thanks to the Peaceable Kingdom Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation and Allegheny County for funding this project.
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Project Update - Sculpture Garden at Hartwood Acres |
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Stretch (1980-81) by Charles Ginnever
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Pull back the tarp for a sneak peek of the conservation-in-progress of Stretch, a large-scale steel sculpture in the Sculpture Garden at Hartwood Acres. Conservator Teresa Duff of Lineage Historic Preservation Services, Sewickley, is blasting off years of oxidation and will leave the Corten Steel to weather in its natural state.
Sculptor Charles Ginnever constructed this piece in 1980-81. The angular shape gives it both a two- and three-dimensional appearance depending on perspective and it can resemble two suspended viewfinders looking out over the park. Works by Ginnever, 1931-2019, appear in collections across the country.
When completed, this sculpture garden, which is a joint project of the Parks Foundation and Allegheny County, will be one of the largest public sculpture gardens in the region and a significant addition to our rich artistic legacy.
The Sculpture Garden at Hartwood Acres is made possible in part by the RADical ImPAct Grant program, which was launched in celebration of the Allegheny Regional Asset District’s 25th anniversary with the intention of funding bold, forward-looking, creative projects that will have a radical impact on the region.
If you would like to learn more about this exciting project or make a donation, contact Caitlin Harpster at charpster@acparksfoundation.org or 724.327.7627. You can also make a contribution here.
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2020 Campaign for Allegheny County Parks |
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The cooler weather inevitably means spending more time indoors. The pandemic has taught us that sheltering inside has its limitations, which is what led thousands of visitors to seek the open air of the Allegheny County Parks in record numbers this summer.
Your 9 parks provide relief when options are few in troubling times.
We all need the parks every month of the year and the parks need you! The 2020 Campaign for the Allegheny County Parks offers you the chance to celebrate the parks you love today. The Allegheny County Parks Foundation, in partnership with Allegheny County, has continued working to improve, conserve and restore all nine parks while most amenities were shuttered and we will continue this mission all year long. Your support now will help sustain the parks you love.
Please support your 9 Allegheny County parks with a 100% tax-deductible donation.
We are always grateful for your support.
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Thank you to our 2020 Park Sponsors for
their continued support!
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Parks Advocate
Burns White LLC
J.P.Morgan Private Bank
Mascaro Construction
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Parks Fan
AECOM
Clearview Federal Credit Union
Dentons Cohen & Grigsby P.C.
Eat'n Park Hospitality Group
Ernst Conservation Seeds
Gateway Engineers
HDR
I.B.E.W. Local Union #5
KeyBank
9Rooftops
SSM Industries
The Heinz Endowments
The Pittsburgh Foundation
Wade Trim
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Considering a year-end distribution? Remember your parks. |
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As the end of year approaches, we know it might be tougher than usual to give to your favorite charities. This year, consider donating your required minimum distribution to the Allegheny County Parks Foundation tax-free!
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PennFuture honors Caren Glotfelty |
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ACPF Executive Director Caren Glotfelty at North Park
Jim Judkis photo
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Congratulations to Caren Glotfelty, Executive Director, Allegheny County Parks Foundation, who has been honored by PennFuture with a 2020 Women in Conservation Lifetime Achievement Award. Caren has been working in service of a healthier, cleaner environment in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for many years. She will be honored at a virtual awards ceremony on Thursday, October 8 from 5:30-7pm with other Southwestern PA women who have advanced environmental causes.
We applaud their hard work for our region!
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Prime Day October 13-14
Please select the Parks Foundation
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Before you complete your Prime Day order on October 13-14, please select the Allegheny County Parks Foundation on Amazon Smile. At no cost to you, the AmazonSmile Foundation will make a donation to the Parks Foundation! It's a simple click away.
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Boyce Park | Deer Lakes Park | Harrison Hills Park | Hartwood Acres Park
North Park | Round Hill Park | Settlers Cabin Park | South Park | White Oak Park
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Allegheny County Parks Foundation | 675 Old Frankstown Road | Pittsburgh, PA 15239
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