The 2013 Friends of Linwood Park Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday February 28th @ 7:00p at Firinji at 54 E Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore.

Come learn about:

• The history of the park site (there was a house there you know before the parking lot! With some really interesting people living in it!) from local Villanova professor, Craig Bailey.
• What’s up next for the park in Phase 2 including an update on the progress  of our unique  play platform structure that is currently in the concept and design phase.

Attendees will also get a chance to chat with park supporters, volunteers, neighbors and the Friends of Linwood Park. Great Firinji food and drinks will be provided.

Hope to see you there!

On September 15^th, 2012, the Lower Merion Conservancy and the Friends of Linwood Park joined forces for an all-day BioBlitz in Ardmore’s Linwood Park. A BioBlitz is a survey of all living plant and animal species within a designated area in a designated time. LMC and the Friends of Linwood Park could not have asked for better weather or a better turn out from the neighborhood.

The BioBlitz commenced at 8 AM with a casual bird walk, followed by an exciting insect prowl at 10 AM and an inventory of all the beautiful grasses, flowers, trees, and other plants mid-afternoon. The day concluded with a nice sunset stroll in the park where volunteers spotted a few mammal species. In addition to the BioBlitz, Linwood Park had several neighborhood volunteers working in the garden throughout the day. Visitors to the park were able to learn more about the Friends of Linwood Park, the Lower Merion Conservancy, and the importance of protecting open space and the natural environment in our community.

The event drew in first-time visitors to the park and also engaged attendees to look at open space and the natural world with a new set of eyes. By the end of the day, attendees of the BioBlitz counted an amazing 30 bird species, including hawks, falcons, woodpeckers, and more! During the insect prowl, over 25 insect and invertebrate species were identified, including three different types of bees, praying mantises, caterpillars, and slugs. Although nearly all the plants within Linwood Park have been previously identified, it was a great opportunity for residents to learn the different species of flowers, grasses, and other plants that exist in the park. Despite the relatively small size of Linwood Park, visitors were able to spot a variety of mammals, including chipmunks, squirrels, and even a cotton-tailed rabbit!

The BioBlitz was a great time for all those who attended and the Friends of Linwood Park and the Lower Merion Conservancy were delighted to share our time and knowledge with the eager participants that came throughout the day.

Here are the results:

BIOBLITZ INVENTORY

Come join the Friends of Linwood Park and 6:8 to celebrate  the upcoming Winter Solstice on Saturday, December 15th from 4- 6 pm!  We will be be creating a beautiful display of light as we light up the sitting wall with luminaries. Come and enjoy hot chocolate, smores, and festive music with friends and neighbors. Feel free to bring a lawn chair or blanket!

Come Help Create A Chalk Art Masterpiece

What: A collaborative community project to create a temporary art installation on the hardscape surfaces in Linwood Park.

Kids and adults welcome to come help create free form drawings with liquid chalk on the hard surfaces in the park.  We want to artify as much of the plaza of the park as we can and we need your hands!  Come out anytime from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm and chalk it up.  Then, from 2:00 on watch local artists Deirdre Murphy, Bevan McShea, Emily Selvin and James Traynor build upon and add onto the designs created by the community to make a giant chalk masterpiece!  The final result will be an outdoor temporary, community created art installation. The mural will be displayed for up to 3 weeks.

Who: EVERYONE! All ages and abilities welcome to participate or watch.

Need Info/Wanna Help?:  Do you need more information? Do you know an artist who would like to help? Do you want to volunteer the day of to help facilitate?

Please contact: Kate Galer, President,  Friends of Linwood Park at kategaler@verizon.net or 215-990-1323.

On Saturday September 15th the Friends of Linwood Park and the Lower Merion Conservancy will be hosting BioBlitz 2102.

Please join us as we take inventory of the birds, bees, bugs, and beautiful plants at the lovely Linwood Park. We will be looking under rocks, lifting leaves, chatting with friends and neighbors and enjoying the outdoors as we gather baseline data on the wildlife of the Park. The Park has many native plantings and is designed for maximum storm water management, so we want to see what is working and what is not. Do we need more of a certain plant so we get more butterflies? Do we have adequate bird habitat? Are there any rabbits out there? Come be a nature detective with us!

This FREE event is for children ages 5 and up and their parents. Join  us for all or part of the day. (Schedule of events below) Snacks will be provided!

• 8:00a – Bird walk
• 10:00a –  Insect hunt
• 1:00p  - Flora count
• 6:30p – Mammal prowl

Questions? Want to volunteer? Email us @ linwood.park@gmail.com

On Friday July 27th @ 8:00p the Friends of Linwood Park with the help of our sponsor and friends from the 6:8 Community of Faith will be holding our next  Outdoor Movie Event featuring the movie “The Muppets” (2011). Admission is FREE!

Please bring something to sit on and perhaps some cool drinks and snacks to enjoying during the movie.

If you have not seen the movie here is a little summary … When 3 Muppet fans learn that Tex Richman wants to drill under the Muppet Theater for oil, Gary, Mary and Walter set out to find the Muppets who have been split up for years so that they can put on one last show and save the Muppet Theater. Kermit the Frog now lives in his own mansion depressed in Hollywood, The Great Gonzo is a high class plumber at Gonzo’s Royal Flush, Fozzie Bear performs with a tribute band called The Moopets, Miss Piggy is the plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, and Animal is at a celebrity anger management rehab center in Santa Barbara. (thanks iMDB)

Here’s a little clip:

Hope to see you there!!

We will be holding our “Final Friday – Popsicles in the Park” event on Friday June 29th @ 6.00p . Summer will definitely be upon us so come out and enjoy some cool treats and and hang out with some cool people. Hope to see your there!

Come out to help raise money for the Park! Be sure to join the FRIENDS OF LINWOOD PARK for a fun Saturday evening with neighbors and friends for a good cause at Brownie’s 23 East in Ardmore 

Enjoy an open bar of beer and wine and a full array of delicious food including pizza and wings and pulled pork sandwiches (good with beer!) Yummy dessert made by local business owner and the winner of the PILLSBURY bake-off, music, and great conversation. Local business raffle baskets too!

We will have the place to ourselves as we raise money for the design and construction of a tree platform for the kids!

Cost is $30.00 per person – a bargain for all of this food and fun!

Update: (6/9/12 3:45p)  We have now discontinued accepting payment for tickets through our web site.  You can still purchase your tickets at the door this evening. If you are planning to purchase tickets at the door  please bring a check made out “The Friends of Linwood Park” or please bring cash. We will not be able accept credit card payments at the door.

Thanks!!

The Friends of Linwood Park will be holding its first “Stargazing in the Park” event on March 27th @ sunset (7:45p – 8:00p). Come check out the planets and constellations.  Telescope and refreshments will be provided !

Please join the Friends of Linwood Park and the Penn Valley Girl Scout Troop this SATURDAY, MARCH 24TH starting at 11:00 am for a Vernal Equinox Celebration!

Yes, we know, it has felt like Spring for weeks now, but the true turning of the seasons is this week!

We will make pinecone bird feeders, plant some sunflower seeds to take home to start, take a nature walk around the park, read some spring stories, and generally be happy to be outside together!

Bring some fun stuff to play with and share – frisbees, hula hoops, you name it!

The event is free, supported by small and large donations to the Friends of Linwood Park. All ages and abilites welcome.