PA Environment Digest

The Friends of the Wissahickon are working with the community this summer to keep Devil’s Pool and the area surrounding it clean.

“FOW and our volunteers are doing everything we can to keep this area clean,” says Volunteer Coordinator Kevin Groves. “We have increased our clean up efforts there with help from our Trail Ambassadors and the Student Conservation Association.”

(Photo: FOW volunteers removed graffiti from rocks near Devil's Pool on Philly Clean Up Day on April 10.)

Groves will lead community volunteers in clean-up and planting projects at Devil’s Pool on Saturdays and weekdays throughout the summer. In addition, stewardship signage will be posted in English and Spanish as they were in 2009.

FOW’s Trail Ambassadors will visit Devil’s Pool during their patrols of the park. Although they have no enforcement authority, they will educate Devil’s Pool users about good stewardship and proper trash disposal, remove litter and graffiti, and call Park Rangers or Police if they witness illegal activity.

A high-school volunteer crew from the Student Conservation Association will work at Devil’s Pool twice weekly from July thru early August. These students will remove graffiti and litter and educate Devil’s Pool visitors on park stewardship.

“We want Devil’s Pool to be enjoyable for the entire community,” says FOW Executive Director Maura McCarthy. “But littering in the Wissahickon is damaging to the park.”

Devil’s Pool is particularly difficult to maintain because it is secluded and difficult to access by truck, making trash collection challenging. FOW encourages all park users to stop littering and carry out what you bring in.

Volunteers are essential to the success of Devil’s Pool maintenance. If you are interested in volunteering at Devil’s Pool, contact Kevin Groves at 215-247-0417 or send email to: groves@fow.org.

For more information, visit the Friends of the Wissahickon online. Concerned citizens wishing to report problems at Devil’s Pool are urged to contact the Department of Parks and Recreation at 215-683-0200 or send email to FOW at: office@fow.org or call 215-247-0417.

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