This year, we’re building resilience into our wild landscape. As 365 acres of wilderness in Philadelphia, the Schuylkill Center provides an important habitat for plants and wildlife. In addition, the landscape is a living laboratory for scientists and an educational resource for students in Philadelphia. It’s a place where people come to learn, to be inspired, and to experience the peace that comes from immersion in the wilderness.

However, on the Port Royal Avenue side of the Schuylkill Center, the paved surface of the roadway and an increase in the severity of storms has led to flooding. The stormwater has carved a gully into the hillside, carrying eroded soils and debris into the landscape. This runoff has landed in Smith Run, a first-order, spring-fed stream that originates at the Schuylkill Center and feeds into the Schuylkill River. First-order streams are particularly vulnerable to pollution, and the water quality of these streams impacts the water downstream. These conditions lead to flooding on the roadway and damage to the habitat surrounding Smith Run. Unless this is fixed, it will continue to undermine vulnerable sections of Smith Run downstream, erode soil into our beloved Wind Dance Pond, compromise walking trails, and lead to further runoff and pollution into the Schuylkill River.

To correct this problem, the Schuylkill Center is leading a project that will prevent soil erosion and flooding using techniques that will create a resilient landscape that is naturally designed to handle the increased pressures from stormwater. This will also have the added benefit of assisting with drainage from the road, making the area safer for our community.

“This project is a cross-sector collaboration between private companies and funders, nonprofits, governmental agencies, and volunteers,” said Erin Mooney, executive director of the Schuylkill Center. “We are thrilled to have the funding to make improvements to the roadway as well as nature.”

Construction on this project will begin in February and will be completed by May 2026. Construction will be managed by Hinge Collective, a design firm that oversaw the design of the newly renovated ADA Accessible Tall Trees Nature Playground at the Schuylkill Center.

Community members will be invited to participate in this project with cleanup days, volunteer restoration workdays, and tree plantings to enhance the natural landscape with native plants that will filter stormwater and create a thriving habitat for wildlife. A community cleanup day is scheduled for March 28, 2026, and more opportunities to volunteer will be announced in the spring.

Funding for this project is provided by the Philadelphia Water Department, Schuylkill River Greenways, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Schuylkill River Heritage Area Schuylkill River Restoration grant program, PECO’s Green Region program, private donations, and the support of Schuylkill Center members.