©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Hill teacher labors to preserve beauty of park
by PAULA M. RILEY

David Dannenberg, volunteer board member of Friends of the Wissahickon, is seen here cutting back overgrown trees in the Wissihickon. Dannenburg is currently leading the FOW Sustainable Trails Initiative, a three-phased, multi-year approach to making the 57 miles of national Recreation Trails more physically and socially sustainable. (Photo by Denise Larrabee)

This is the 14th in an ongoing series of articles by Paula M. Riley on Chestnut Hill volunteers.

Throughout his whole life, David Dannenberg has spent countless days hiking, biking, running, or cross-country skiing the trails of Wissahickon Valley Park. A Mt. Airy resident and history teacher at The Crefeld School in Chestnut Hill, Dannenberg now works to enhance and improve the park as a volunteer board member for Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW).

The Friends of the Wissahickon is a non-profit organization dedicated to working in and advocating for the 1,800 acres of Wissahickon Valley Park, part of Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. They cooperate closely with Fairmount Park Commission to fulfill their mission of preserving the natural beauty and wilderness of the Wissahickon Valley and stimulating public interest therein.

Dannenberg currently co-chairs the FOW Board Conservation Committee and chairs the subcommittee on trails. Though he has enjoyed the park since he was a child, it was not until Dannenberg started teaching at the Crefeld School in 1999 that he became involved with FOW.

Ed Stainton, a long time FOW volunteer and shop teacher at the time, led a park clean-up project as one of the many community service programs performed by Crefeld students each week throughout the school year. Students accompany Dannenberg and Stainton to repair trails and remove trash.

Dannenberg is proud of Crefeld’s contribution to the Wissahickon:“This reflects the school’s commitment to install a strong sense of community and responsibility in their students.”

Dannenberg enjoyed getting his hands dirty and soon found himself volunteering on other park clean-ups and working on the FOW board. One of his projects on the Conservation Committee has turned into what Dannenberg considers a “second job”.

Stemming from an increased agitation over the amount of mountain biking throughout the park, a committee was established to investigate trail usage. After many interviews and months of extensive research, Dannenberg and his fellow committee members recognized that though the horrendous condition of the trails was an issue, the heart of the problem was user conflict.

Dannenberg explains, “User conflicts arise when pedestrians are startled by what they consider a sudden appearance of a fast-moving vehicle from behind them or when they face unexpected equestrian traffic on a trail. Balancing everyone’s interest on the trails is important because the trails are everyone’s contact point with the park.”

Knowing that further investigation was needed, the board approved the hiring of a consultant. The result was a recommendation for a complete redesign of the trail system to create effective, multi-use trails. Dannenberg now leads the Sustainable Trails Initiative, a three-phased, multi-year approach to making the 57 miles of National Recreation Trails in the Wissahickon more physically and socially sustainable. A sustainable trail system will reduce maintenance costs, reduce user conflict and prevent further erosion and resource damage. Ultimately, Dannenberg believes, it will enhance the public’s enjoyment of the park.

Phase I of the plan, which included a comprehensive analysis utilizing trail counters and user surveys, is now completed. Phase II is now underway and will deliver a detailed plan for implementation of the system. As soon as the plan is finalized in cooperation with the Fairmount Park Commission, FOW will hold a series of meetings to invite public commentary on the plan. FOW received a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for Phase II and raised the money for the required match.

Dannenberg realizes that significant costs (financial and resources) will be required to complete this project. He also understands that the physical impact of this endeavor will not be fully realized for five to 10 years. He is not daunted by this; instead, his fervor for the Sustainable Trail Initiative seems fueled by just talking about it.

“The woods don’t just maintain themselves,” he emphatically declares.“The Wissahickon needs a thoroughly designed trail system that will keep water off the trails and be ecologically sound. We need good trail design that will help users make educated choices on trail usage.” He describes how simple trail design features such as placing obstacles and turns in the trail mitigate against cyclist speed and how proper sight lines allow different trail users to become aware of each other from a reasonable distance.

Dannenberg has wonderful dreams for the future of the Wissahickon and he knows the park will not realize its potential without the support of the community and FOW volunteers. He speaks highly of his fellow FOW members and volunteers. “They are amazing people. Ed Stainton, for example, is in the park every single day. All you’ll find are committed, hardworking people at FOW.”

FOW boasts hundreds of volunteers who devote thousands of hours helping maintain the park and support the FOW mission. FOW crews are often in the park to plant trees, remove graffiti, clean up trash, rebuild trails, clear downed trees, manage wildlife or repair and restore structures. Other volunteers serve on various FOW committees such as advocacy, communications and education, and conservation committees.

“The opportunities to volunteer with Friends are limitless – you can find meaningful, useful work in whatever area interests you,” Dannenberg explains. All FOW requires is you to bring your interest and enthusiasm.

Dannenberg never stops expressing how much this park means to him. He considers the Wissahickon a tremendous asset and four decades later, he still uses the trails daily as his route to and from work at The Crefeld School. He sums up his feelings simply, “If the Wissahickon wasn’t there, I wouldn’t live in Philadelphia.” Because of David Dannenberg and so many other FOW volunteers, we can be hopeful it remains one of Philadelphia’s finest treasures.

For more information on volunteering with the Friends of the Wissahickon, go to www.fow.org where you’ll find a list of regularly scheduled volunteer events.