Wissahickon Restoration Volunteers

09/23/2026

Our volunteers worked hard this weekend and had fun at Sasha’s site near Hermitage Mansion and braved the rain at Sam’s Forest. We cut back invasive mile a minute, English ivy, and porcelain berry to protect our established and new native plants like Red oak, Silver Maple, Paw Paw Red and Black Chokeberry. We have two events this Sunday at Sam’s Forest and Rittenhouse Run, which is a new riparian project ours! Click here to sign up! https://wissahickonrestorationvolunteers.org/events/

09/10/2026

and......We're BACK!

We've missed you and so has the Wissahickon forest!

The air felt a little cool this weekend, which is a sign that it's time to get back out there and do some restoration work! We have a lot of shrubs and trees we ordered from our friends at Octoraro Nursery that are excited to get into the ground.

If you don’t have plans this Saturday morning (12th), we’d love to see your faces at our first session of the season at Courtesy Stable! The headwaters of Carpenter’s Run, an important tributary of Wissahickon Creek, are located here, so we’ll be spending the morning strengthening and restoring the riparian area.

We also have another session planned for the 19th at Bells Mill/Forbidden. Hope you can join us for one (or both!)!

Saturday, September 12, 2026, 10:00AM – 12:00PM, Courtesy Stable/Carpenter's Run

Saturday, September 19, 2026, 10:00AM – 12:00PM, Bell’s Mill

Events Volunteer Opportunities with WRV Saturday, September 12, 2026, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM, Courtesy Stable/Cathedral RunWRV is re-vegetating the stormwater basins near the headwaters of Cathedral Run, a tributary of the Wissahickon. Sign Up > Saturday, September 19, 2026, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM, Bells Mill...

06/10/2026

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers who showed up this week to help restore the forest in the Wissahickon Valley Park!

While invasive species removal and native tree and shrub planting remain important parts of our work, much of our effort is dedicated to maintaining and monitoring the health of existing plantings. This was the focus of the teams at the Bowl on Saturday and Monday. We’ll be holding additional Bowl sessions throughout the month as we continue these ongoing restoration efforts.

In addition, we started a new project near Courtesy Stable where we are working to protect the source of Cathedral Run, an important tributary of the Wissahickon Creek!

These are next week's events, but click below to sign up and see more events including additional Monday Sessions with Iyana!

https://wissahickonrestorationvolunteers.org/events/

Saturday, June 13, 2026, 10:00AM – 12:00PM, Daniel Street

Sunday, June 14, 2026, 10:00AM – 12:00PM, Bell’s Mill

Monday, June 15, 2026, 1:00PM – 3:00PM, The Bowl

04/09/2026

The Spring Ephemerals are in bloom! Come out this Saturday and help protect them with our riparian restoration project at the “bowl” adjacent to Carpenter’s Run this Saturday, April 11th at 10am. We’ll meet at the bottom of Kitchen’s Lane. Register by clicking on the link below. Hope to see you there!

https://wissahickonrestorationvolunteers.org/volunteer-sign-up-monastery-bowl-april-11-2026/

04/07/2026

Come on a hike with us! This Saturday, April 11th at 1pm, Steve Jones will be leading a hike hosted by the Sierra Club and you’re invited! If you haven’t been on a hike with Steve, seize the opportunity to learn about and experience the different ecological communities in the Wissahickon Valley Park including upland forests and riparian forests. Also you’ll get to see the some of our restoration projects! Sign up here:

This 2.6 mile hike follows forest trails and Forbidden Drive, adjoining the Wissahickon Creek. Along the way, guide Steve Jones points out successful projects of the Wissahickon Restoration Volunteers. (WRV). Since its founding in 1997, WRV has focused exc

04/07/2026

Our Spring schedule is live! 🌿

https://wissahickonrestorationvolunteers.org/events/

Spring in the Wissahickon Valley Park is truly something special, especially with the arrival of spring ephemerals like Trillium cuneatum. These fleeting blooms emerge, flower, and fade before the canopy fills in.

Thanks to our volunteers, we’re seeing more of them thrive! Keep an eye out for Trillium and other spring ephemerals like Mayapple, Yellow Trout Lily, Bloodroot, and Skunk Cabbage on your next visit or sign up for one of our restoration events to help protect them!

03/02/2026

What a beautiful day to spend with our partners .pa and at Harriet Wetherill Park. Volunteers removed English ivy, Japanese honeysuckle and other invasive plants (check out the pile in Pic #5) to make way for native plants like bloodroot, trout lily and prickly ash! Also pictured, some cool fungi at the site 🤩.

12/24/2025

In 2025, WRV hosted 44 restoration sessions, and you showed up! Together, volunteers contributed over 1,100 hours studying, protecting, and restoring the Wissahickon’s ecosystems. We are incredibly grateful for the time, care, and energy you bring to this work.

Many of our volunteers return year after year. It’s just as exciting to welcome new friends into the WRV community. This past year, more than 30 first-time volunteers joined us after finding WRV through signs in the park, word of mouth, or online.

This year we were also able to bring on five new seasonal contractors to our team, from a range of ages and backgrounds, and two young stewards who completed the first part of our restoration training program. Our volunteers, contractors, and stewards are all motivated by a shared love for the Wissahickon and a desire to give back.

The personal connections we build with one another are just as meaningful as the restoration work itself. WRV is more than the hours we put in or the land we restore; it’s a community brought together by the Wissahickon Valley Park.

Please consider donating to help us continue our efforts in 2025. Thank you for your support!

https://wissahickonrestorationvolunteers.org/donate/

12/15/2025

2025 was an outstanding year for advancing our mission to restore the natural areas of Wissahickon Valley Park. Together, we planted nearly 200 woody plants representing 35 different native species, a significant investment in the park’s long-term health. Please consider donating to help us continue our work in 2026. We appreciate your support! 🌳

Your support helps keep the Wissahickon wild and wonderful.