Category: Uncategorized

Holland Ave. Area Green Street

During rain storms in developed neighborhoods, roofs, roads, and driveways direct water downhill, creating the torrents of water we see on the sides of streets. The rushing water picks up pollutants – metals from cars, roads, and rooftops; pesticides and fertilizers; road salt; and general sediment – and is channeled into the closest stream, untreated. The stream downhill from Holland Ave. is a Cobbs Creek tributary which means it ends up in the Delaware River, a prominent drinking water source. Cobbs Creek also contributes to major floods in downstream neighborhoods like Darby, Yeadon, and Eastwick. The first step towards restoring streams and reducing flooding is to improve conditions in small upstream tributaries.

As an organization devoted to protecting our waterways, the Conservancy is always looking for ways to reduce stormwater runoff. Many gutter downspouts and sump pumps on residential properties are piped directly to the street or the storm sewer. We find that many of these setups can be altered so that rain water is instead directed onto a garden or onto a lawn, benefiting the neighborhood without creating new problems.

The Holland Ave. Area Green Street outlined.

In 2017, the Conservancy and a few of our partner organizations received funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to conduct “Stream Smart House Calls” where we visited individual properties to give recommendations for handling stormwater issues. Through Stream Smart we connected with a few interested residents on Delmont Ave. in Ardmore and we applied for a grant (also from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation) to let us install the stormwater recommendations and create our first Green Street. After the initial success on Delmont we applied for and received a larger grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to expand the Green Street work. Being a tight-knit neighborhood with close proximity to a headwater tributary, we feel that Holland Ave. and the surrounding streets are a perfect Green Street area.

The approach on each property will fit into one or more of the general categories listed below. To get started, we can schedule a time to walk around your property. After the visit we will provide a list of recommendations and we can move forward with as many or as few as you would like. We always use native plants – plants indigenous to the Greater Philadelphia Area – because they attract birds, butterflies, and other beneficial wildlife.

If you are interested in participating or have any questions about the Green Street program, email [email protected] or call 610-660-2810.

Rain Gardens

Rain gardens are bowl shaped gardens designed to take on water from nearby rooftops, sidewalks, or driveways. During storms, water pools in the garden and slowly absorbs into roots or percolates into the ground. The process of trickling through soil cleans the water and prevents it from picking up more pollutants on the way to the stream. Rain gardens are our most effective tool for reducing residential runoff.

A rain garden designed to handle a larger roof area.
A rain garden designed to take on water from a neighboring lawn.
A mature rain garden surrounded by additional native plants.

Garden Expansions

Lawns, bare soil, and unplanted mulch beds contribute to runoff and flooding because they do not absorb water as well as spaces populated with deeper-rooted plants. These have been our most common Green Street projects so far. Whether creating new garden beds, planting more densely within existing garden beds, or planting shrubs and trees within lawns, adding more plants improves water absorption and increases the ecological value of any space.

A former lawn completely replaced with native plants.
A downspout disconnected from a pipe leading to the street and re-directed into a garden.
Butterflies enjoying Joe-Pye blooms.

Depaving

Since paved surfaces are one of the main sources of our water issues, removing portions of sidewalks, driveways, or patios is a straightforward way to reduce runoff. To depave we break up and pull out the paved surface, fill the space in with soil, and create new gardens. Depaving projects do not have to be large, removing unused perimeter portions of sidewalks or driveways does make a difference.

Depaving in-progress.
The depaved area to the left after a year of plant growth.
Before depaving.
After the concrete was removed and topsoil was brought in.

Downspout Planters

Downspout planters are small metal troughs designed to filter and slowly release roof water. The upper half of the troughs are filled with soil and planted while the lower half is set up as a false bottom to hold more water. They are useful for downspouts piped onto driveways that cannot be re-routed onto a garden or a lawn.

Lower Merion School District Athletic Fields

In 2018, the Lower Merion School District (District) announced plans to construct middle school athletic fields on an environmentally sensitive and historically significant 13-acre site in Villanova. Since that time, the Conservancy has devoted countless hours to exploring and encouraging alternatives to the District’s plan. The “field site” contains over 400 mature trees and multiple historic buildings originally associated with Stoneleigh (a public garden on which the Conservancy holds a 42-acre conservation agreement), including an elegant ca. 1920 Elizabethan Revival house designated on the Township’s Historic Resources Inventory as a Class II resource. This designation prevents by-right demolition of the house. The trees on the site are important for absorbing water, filtering air, and sequestering carbon, which all address the broader issues of flooding, poor air quality, and climate change. The site also contains completely unprotected buildings that have possibly even greater architectural value than the Class II house. These buildings belong to a historic brick and limestone greenhouse complex designed in 1901 by Frank Miles Day, a celebrated Philadelphia architect. High brick walls with arched openings enclose three sides of the complex, making the entire composition, which cleverly blends Pennsylvania colonial with Flemish design features, feel like a secret garden.

The 13-acre site is located on a topographically-high point near headwater streams of the Darby Creek, Mill Creek, and Gulph Creek watersheds. Local stream conservation plans prioritize the protection of these headwaters to help remediate polluted waters before they reach downstream neighborhoods. Although development already exists around the field site, the clustered woodlands and ephemeral wetlands within them provide many ecological benefits. The proposed tree removal at the field site would decimate the existing habitat and exacerbate stormwater issues nearby and downstream.

An outline of the property. Notice the dense tree cover on the west side near Villanova University.

For nearly 120 years, the complex truly was a secret garden; isolated on the site, it was nearly invisible until the neighboring grounds at Stoneleigh opened to the public in May 2018. Prior to this, neither the Township, which maintains the local Historic Resource Inventory, nor the Conservancy, an organization that tracks and advocates for the protection of historic properties in the township, knew of the property. In fact, it was only when Conservancy staff made a trip to Stoneleigh in 2018 to access the impact of the field development on the Class II Elizabethan Revival house, that we “discovered” this secret garden. Research into the history of the complex confirmed what our findings on the ground told us: that this grouping of buildings is exceptional. At the time of its construction, the design and singularity of the complex merited immediate recognition. Indeed, an exquisite rendering and detailed description of the complex appears in the first issue of House and Garden (1901), an iconic American design magazine. A Japanese tea house and gardener’s cottage accompany this ensemble.

The high brick walls of the greenhouse complex, surrounded by mature trees.

That this intact treasure is integrated into a landscape executed by Olmsted Brothers, the premier American landscape design firm of the early twentieth century, is only more remarkable. Although the Olmsted landscape does not survive intact, it does retain landmark plantings that help define spaces within the property. These plantings include multiple mature sycamore trees. Historic plans from the Olmsted firm archives indicate that the trees were once part of a welcoming allĂ©e that commenced near the property’s Montgomery Avenue entrance.

Regrettably, the District’s athletic field plan proposes the removal of the garden complex as well as the Olmsted plantings. Ironically, because most of the site so fully embraced its role as a secret garden, it eluded detection by surveyors who compiled the township’s initial list of historic resources in the early 2000s. Consequently, much of this historic site has no preservation protections. The District argues that demolition of the property’s historic buildings and landscape features is necessary to accommodate its athletic fields. The Conservancy believes preserving the site’s cultural and environmental assets and constructing fields are not mutually exclusive objectives. With a thoughtful plan that prioritizes student and community needs and reconsiders ways that the space at the site can be used, the District can achieve most of its programmatic goals without demolishing the complex or cutting down resplendent 125-year old trees. This has always been our position. It is a position we have encouraged the District to adopt and it is a position we have consistently urged the Board of Commissioners to support. As we have said from the beginning, “we can do better.”

We are grateful for the hundreds of hours Township staff and the Board of Commissioners have committed to achieving a more thoughtful and more sustainable plan for this property. We are especially appreciative of the efforts Commissioner Andy Gavrin has directed toward advancing a plan that is compatible with the site and the surrounding residential neighborhood.

Japanese tea house and gardener’s cottage with a range of trees in the background.
A 1901 rendering of the property from the first issue of House and Garden.

Emergency Numbers

If you see a group of dead fish or other wildlife in or around a stream, it may be the result of pollution. Potential sources include broken pipes, household chemicals dumped into storm sewers, chlorinated pools drained into storm sewers, or common substances like road salt and pesticides being washed into a streams, and the harm can be significant. The best way to help is to call the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s emergency line 484-250-5900 as well as 911 to share the location of the dead wildlife along with any additional observations. The sooner the authorities are notified, the better the chance they have of identifying and eliminating the source of the problem.

If you see something that looks off but you are not sure whether or not report it, email photos or videos to [email protected] and we will help you figure out the best course of action. For more information about reporting environmental problems, visit the Lower Merion Environmental Advisory Council’s page.

Shortridge Park Fish Kill in January 2022

2021 Annual Report

Place your cursor on the image below to scroll through our 2021 Annual Report. If nothing appears, you can read a PDF version of the Annual Report here.

Thank you for making a gift to the Lower Merion Conservancy. Your year-end contribution is 100% tax deductible and supports our work to preserve the natural and historic resources of Lower Merion and Narberth. We appreciate your generosity!

Donate

Call for Nominations! Annual WatchList

The Lower Merion Conservancy is soliciting nominations for its annual WatchList. The WatchList is a publication that brings attention to properties in Lower Merion and Narberth that are threatened with demolition, neglect, or insensitive development. The intent of the WatchList is to cultivate preservation opportunities for threatened properties by enhancing the public’s awareness of their historic importance, their value to the community, and their reuse potential.

The WatchList has helped secure some big preservation wins, including:

Historic Narberth Borough

The Barnes Foundation building

Lower Merion’s iconic cast iron street signs

Merion Train Station

Your voice is important! The Conservancy relies on its members and the general public to help it identify and prioritize important vulnerable historic properties.

[slickr-flickr]

Give a Tree

For every gift of $25, we will plant a tree in honor of you, your loved one, or anyone who appreciates clean water and air. We will also send a certificate of planting to your loved one to let them know of your gift.

Trees are very effective at capturing and filtering stormwater runoff. They also absorb carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere.

Holiday trees will be available through December 31st.

 

 

LMC Designer Doghouse Fundraiser

We are thrilled to have been selected by Jay McClellan and his foundation, The Benevolent Hound, to take part in a wonderful artistic collaboration to raise funds for local non-profits, bring attention to artistic talent, and raise awareness for important causes.

McClellan, along with 8 local decorators and designers, has created 9 unique doghouses that will be auctioned off online to benefit an array of local not-for-profit organizations, including the Conservancy. The doghouses are 47” long, 28” wide, and 46” tall, and each one has its unique design and dĂ©cor based on the talents and vision of its designer.

The doghouses will be shown at various locations throughout the region including the King of Prussia Town Center at 155 Village Drive King of Prussia on November 12 and 14; Main Street Manayunk on November 20th and 21st; and in the heart of Suburban Square at 49 St. George’s Road, Ardmore November 26-28.

The auction will launch online on November 10, 2021, and end December 3, 2021, the minimum bid for each house will start at $500.

Jack Lundquist created the Conservancy’s designer doghouse. Watch the video below to see Jack put the house together!

Bid for the Doghouse

Leave Your Leaves

Fall is a fascinating season, a transition from the buzzing of summer to the stillness of winter. Temperatures drop, flowers fade and stems turn brown as plants go dormant. Even in dormancy, plants keep supporting life. Many insects take cover within plant stems during the winter. Seeds on spent flowers provide food for birds. Dormant plant stems and fallen leaves help dissipate rainfall before it hits the ground, protecting the soil from erosion. 

Traditional fall clean-ups leave many pollinators without places to spend the winter. To make sure your garden is a safe haven for pollinators year-round, leave your leave your dormant plants as they are. Wait to make any cuts until late spring after pollinators have emerged or simply let the plants grow on their own. In areas where stalks must be cut down early, leave 8”-24” of the plant rather than cutting it all the way to the ground.  

To build out habitat even more, leave your leaves on garden beds and anywhere they will not disrupt walkways. Leaves also provide important winter cover for pollinators and the soil. Leaves that need to be moved can be placed in compost piles, swept onto garden beds, stuffed around potted plants to serve as insulation, or used as smothering material to kill off lawn grass and create space for future gardens. 

Although winter can feel lifeless at times, many pollinators are hidden in gardens and woodlands just out of sight. Taking passive steps like leaving dormant plants and fallen leaves can help ensure a bustling spring and summer season.Â