{"id":819,"date":"2020-05-15T19:12:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T23:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/morris-park-lyp\/"},"modified":"2022-12-07T11:22:29","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T16:22:29","slug":"morris-park-lyp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/morris-park-lyp\/","title":{"rendered":"Love Morris Park @ Home with a New Water-Centered Storymap"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many in Philly, a much-needed silver-lining<\/strong> during these stressful\u00a0times\u00a0has been a chance to explore nearby outdoor spaces.<\/p>\n

Stay-at-home measures<\/strong> in place since mid-March have made outdoor walks one of the few safe activities, and many Philadelphians today are learning the quietly powerful nature of our parks, trails, and open spaces<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

By maintaining the recommended six-foot barrier<\/strong> from other park-goers and carefully washing hands after going out, you can still enjoy the treasured outdoor spaces<\/strong> we have set aside for that very purpose.<\/p>\n

\"Do:<\/p>\n

This weekend<\/strong> is an especially great time to start exploring and learning: Parks and Recreation<\/strong> and the Fairmount Park Conservancy<\/strong> adapted Love Your Park Week<\/a>, a normally hands-on green space appreciation week first launched in 2012, into Love Your Park @ Home<\/a>.<\/p>\n

” As bad as things are, try to imagine what life would be right now without<\/em> our parks<\/strong>… Now it turns out we need our parks like we need food: for basic survival<\/strong>. When the virus passes\u2014and it will\u2014let\u2019s remember it was our parks that enabled us to endure this crisis<\/strong>.” \u2014 Inga Saffron<\/a><\/strong>, The Philadelphia Inquirer<\/a><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We\u2019re joining the fun, too<\/h2>\n

With many of the green spaces we enjoy today first envisioned as natural preserves set aside to protect drinking water quality, a love of parks is in our DNA<\/strong>. The fact that Parks and Recreation is one of our most robust<\/strong> City partners when it comes to pairing renovation needs with our need for green stormwater infrastructure sites<\/strong> doesn\u2019t hurt either.<\/p>\n

That relationship was, in part, the inspiration for the Morris Park History and Green Tools Walking Tour<\/em>, an in-person event originally planned for Love Your Park Week<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

We focused on Morris Park because it is rich in historic water connections<\/strong>: the site of two branches of a small stream called Indian Creek<\/a>, the park\u2019s story encapsulates what happened to some 300 miles of urban streams as industry and development led to degradation. But, it is also a place to see what can happen when we restore streams<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\"An<\/p>\n

Mills on Indian Creek, circa 1915, where Morris Park now stands. This photo showcases the transition from farmland to factories as row homes advance on the periphery. Credit: PWD Archives<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

And, in the latest chapter, Morris Park is also in the process of having Green City, Clean Waters<\/a><\/em> green infrastructure installed. When completed, rain gardens and other systems<\/a><\/strong> that harness nature to manage stormwater will help to keep more than 142,000 gallons of polluted runoff<\/strong> out of local waterways every time we get an inch and half of rain.<\/p>\n

That means, in addition to beautifying Morris Park, the new green tools could soak up roughly 6.5 million gallons of stormwater every year<\/strong>, helping water quality in the Cobbs Creek watershed and Delaware River.<\/p>\n

Originally, our Love Your Park<\/em> event was to be led by our very own Philadelphia Water Department historian (and underground sensation<\/a>), Adam Levine<\/strong>. A long-time figure<\/a> in the Philadelphia history community, Levine made a splash in West Philly<\/strong> last summer with a packed talk at USciences<\/strong> on the history of Mill Creek<\/strong> following a sewer \u201csinkhole\u201d that knocked out the Baltimore Ave. trolley for several weeks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Storytime!<\/h2>\n

While COVID-19<\/strong> means we won\u2019t be able to give Levine fans the in-person experience they\u2019ve been clamoring for, his knowledge and expertise shine through in a fun new online \u201cstorymap<\/strong>\u201d created to go along with the walking tour.<\/p>\n

Our storymap is created using ArcGIS<\/strong>, which is a type of mapping software<\/a> that helps \u201ccreate inspiring, immersive stories by combining text, interactive maps, and other multimedia content\u201d that can be shared locally or globally.<\/p>\n

The goal is to give viewers like you the chance to learn the deep history of this green space from the comfort (and safety) of home<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The new Morris Park storymap<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>showcases the park area\u2019s transition from native woods to farmland, then into an industrial complex, and finally into the space we know best\u2014parks and recreation land for the community (and an urban oasis for native plants and animals.)<\/p>\n

Both the in-person tour\u2014which we still hope to host in the future\u2014and storymap are designed to communicate the history and value of urban green space<\/strong> while showcasing infrastructure details<\/strong> that viewers\/visitors likely would overlook. Stormwater management is a prominent feature.<\/p>\n

Along with historic images and descriptions, viewers will learn about specific aspects of the park hidden in plain sight<\/strong>, such revealing the mystery of the raised manholes along the \u2018North-South\u2019 path (stretching from the guardhouse to Papa Playground) and what that could have meant for neighbors of the park in the early 1900s.<\/p>\n

Check out the new Morris\u00a0Park\u00a0storymap!<\/a><\/h5>\n

Current Work: Under Construction<\/h2>\n

Upon arriving at Papa Playground<\/strong>, you may notice an abandoned construction site. This is the space where new rain gardens are being constructed<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n