Our tree canopy keeps growing! |
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Sunny Slopes Road trees in South Park last month |
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Same trees on planting day in 2018 |
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Trees are good for us and for the environment. They make us healthier by cleaning the air, they reduce stormwater runoff and provide birds and small animals with food and shelter, among many other benefits.
And they're beautiful!
But the story of our region's declining tree canopy is not a pretty one. With measures taken by the Parks Foundation in partnership with Allegheny County, and with support from you, this story can have a happy ending.
Tree loss is caused by several factors, including pests like the emerald ash borer and diseases like oak wilt. But far greater impact has been caused by expansion in the housing, road, utility, energy and rail industries. For more information on this and the benefit and care of trees, visit Tree Pittsburgh.
To reverse this decline, the Parks Foundation, using funds from numerous sources, purchases and plants native trees in the nine Allegheny County Parks. Since 2020, funding from the Parks Foundation has helped to plant 3,106 trees in the parks. Varieties we plant typically include Redbud, Serviceberry, American Beech, River Birch, American Linden, Blackgum, Sugar Maple, White Oak and Tulip Poplar, among others.
The trees featured in the photos above show their growth since their planting in 2018 and how they've flourished in a wide, open field in South Park. Funding for this planting was provided by the Peaceable Kingdom Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation.
If you appreciate the beauty and value of trees in your parks, partner with us with a donation to the Tree Fund.
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Giving Tuesday - November 30 - impacts your parks all year. |
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In this season of gratitude, where do you place your Allegheny County Parks?
The parks offer access to over 12,000 acres of beautiful fields, trees and meadows bursting with wildflowers, with a wealth of biodiversity that is home to many species of birds and animals. There are 280 shelters and facilities available to plan a picnic, family reunion or celebrate a birthday in a safe space. The parks invite you to enjoy them.
They have ponds and lakes for fishing and boating, hills for sledding and bigger hills to hike, ski and snowboard. There's an abundance of space to meditate, exercise and connect with an old friend on a park bench or make a new one. The nine Allegheny County Parks truly have it all, and are free and open to everyone 365 days a year.
In this season of gratitude, the Allegheny County Parks Foundation is grateful for you!
Your support of the parks, especially through this very difficult time, preserves their vitality throughout the year and makes all of these amenities possible. Your generosity helps protect and conserve our precious natural resources so that future generations can continue to enjoy them, in the good times and the bad.
We are actively working on several projects that improve, conserve and restore your nine Allegheny County Parks. Among them are:
· The restoration of the Sculpture Garden at Hartwood Acres;
· The renovation of the historic Cascades at South Park; and
· The cleaning of abandoned mine pollution in Pinkertons Run in Settlers Cabin.
Partner with us with a Giving Tuesday donation on Tuesday, November 30, and together we'll enter an exciting year ahead for your parks and you!
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Visit the parks this holiday season! |
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Doesn't this look like a great way to work up an appetite for family get-togethers over the holiday season? Or to burn off those extra helpings?
Any way you slice them, the nine Allegheny County Parks have trails, recreational opportunities and wide open spaces for everyone. Visit the family-friendly Round Hill Park or stretch your legs on a trail you've never hiked before in one of the other eight parks using our Trail Discovery Guide.
The Allegheny County Parks Foundation hopes you find time to enjoy your parks in this season of family, friends, festivities and fitness!
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A sculpture gets its proper footing |
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Fletcher Benton, Ring Series #5,1983 |
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This towering sculpture, which first made its way to Hartwood Acres Park 40 years ago, is finding new life in a reimagined space - the Sculpture Garden at Hartwood Acres. It was transported to McKay Lodge Art Conservation Laboratory in Ohio where it was returned it to its original glory. But unlike the other sculptures that were placed on their new foundations with general ease, Rings Series #5 has presented some logistical issues.
The method used to keep "Rings" in place all these years had to be redesigned for its new foundation. Part of the conservation process has been to design and construct a whole new anchoring system on the bottom of the piece. This design was successfully tested when the sculpture made it safely back to its new resting place in October. The sculpture has been horizontal on its side awaiting the pouring of the new foundation. Once it's permanently installed and vertical again, a final coat of paint will be applied, but possibly not until next spring when the weather will be more favorable.
The transformation of the great lawn to the Sculpture Garden at Hartwood Acres is humming along. Walking paths have been poured, sculptures are settling into their final resting places and plans are in the works for the addition of the newly commissioned piece by local sculptor Dee Briggs.
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.
Fundraising for this significant project is ongoing. Consider sponsoring one of the beautiful, architectural benches dotting the Sculpture Garden. Explore numerous opportunities to make a lasting contribution by emailing Caitlin Harpster or by calling her at 724.327.7627.
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Recognition for Allegheny Green Web |
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L to R: Ann Ogoreuc, Assistant Director, Mobility and Transportation Initiatives, Allegheny County Economic Development, and Advisory Member to the Allegheny Green Web; Caren Glotfelty, Executive Director, Allegheny County Parks Foundation, and founding leader of the Allegheny Green Web coalition; Loralyn Fabian, Allegheny Green Web Coordinator; Katie Kovalchik, Director of Landscape Architecture, Environmental Planning & Design, planning and GIS consultant for the Allegheny Green Web
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The goal of the Allegheny Green Web when it was founded in 2016 was formidable: connect 12,000-plus acres of parks and open spaces within Allegheny County.
In that short time it has built a coalition of more than 30 non-profits, government agencies, and partners – and the list is still growing.
Founded under the leadership of Caren Glotfelty, who is also executive director of the Allegheny County Parks Foundation, the Allegheny Green Web was recently honored for taking on this task. The Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association selected the Allegheny Green Web as the winner of its 2021 Award for Projects, Programs & Practices. Their Awards Committee "believes this work exemplifies the best and brightest in Pennsylvania planning." Loralyn Fabian coordinates these efforts on a day-to-day basis.
The Green Web is to be considered in the upcoming process to update the Allegheny County’s Comprehensive Plan and will help guide greenway and trail development. Implementation is underway, as the Allegheny County Parks Foundation along with Hollow Oak and Allegheny Land Trusts and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council identify local trail connections and regional connections to the Great Allegheny Passage Trail Network.
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New trees in White Oak Park! |
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The Allegheny County Parks are special because of volunteers like Sam and Angela from Duquesne Light Company who helped plant nearly 150 trees at White Oak Park with other helpers from Allegheny County and the Parks Foundation.
Sam, in the orange shirt and her mom, Angela, with the shovel and knitted cap in the front, worked through the wind and rain on a recent day to enhance the park's ecology for generations to come. And a shout out to the Peaceable Kingdom Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation for providing the funds to accomplish this important project.
In related news, White Oak Park fans stay tuned! Next year the Parks Foundation, in partnership with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, will release a report detailing ecological features and vulnerabilities of the entire park. This assessment, funded by the Benedum Foundation, will identify areas for future conservation and improvement projects.
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Help your parks stay as vital as you are.
Consider ACPF for your year-end IRA distribution.
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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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In a twist on Black Friday in 2021, Amazon is already advertising deals to purchase now!
Please select the Allegheny County Parks Foundation on Amazon Smile for all your purchases. It's easy. Just select us for every purchase. Every donation helps your parks!
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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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