Fall Foliage in Your County Parks
The arrival of fall in Allegheny County brings with it a mesmerizing array of leaves that blanket the ground, creating a visual symphony of colors and textures. Not only do the color changes of fall get us excited for their beauty, they also tell an important ecological story that directly ties into our conservation work in the parks. In this blog post, we first dig into the importance of our work that plants more trees, and thus adds more leaves in your parks. Then we look at a few different native types of leaves that you could find on a walk in any of the nine county parks. Read our most recent blog post!
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New Impact Pages on our Website
We have been making some updates to our website, including adding an Impact section where you can learn more about our ecological impact in the 9 county parks and view our most recent impact infographic!
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Volunteer Plantings at the new South Park Children's Playground
In late October we planted 88 trees at our Playground Parking Area Tree Planting project in South Park. The plantings began with a warm greeting and words of gratitude from County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. We extend a huge thank you to the Park Rangers for leading three different tree plantings, to our volunteers from Alcoa, EQT Corporation and Columbia Gas who worked hard to get all the trees planted; to Allegheny County, our partners on the project; and to the Alcoa Foundation for funding this important work.
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Suffragist Grove Groundcover Planting
Following the update from last month regarding Suffragist Grove in Hartwood Acres Park, we have now completed the landscape by adding additional groundcover plants, increasing the total number of plants in the ground to 6,600. Visitors to Suffragist Grove may currently see a mulched and tidy area, however, the vision is for the grove to take on a more natural woodland floor look as the plants continue to grow. Everchanging blooms of purple and white, the colors of the Suffragist Movement, will grace the site throughout the seasons to come.
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Park 'til Dark & Pour at the Park | North Park
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Thank you to everyone who came out and attended our recent Park 'til Dark and Pour at the Park events in North Park, along with our partners and sponsors!
Park 'til Dark
Despite the pouring rain, we were still able to enjoy a lot of fun activities during Park 'til Dark. Together we:
- Enjoyed a Fall Foliage Hike with Latodami
- Discovered the joys of reeling in Bluegill with the PA Fish & Boat Commission
- Toured the Latodami Barn and exhibits with hot cocoa
- Learned about fungi with the Western PA Mushroom Club
- Found peace during a walking meditation with Dr. Barry Kerzin
- Purchased hand-crafted goodies at our Vendor Marketplace with 14 creative local sellers.
- Ate lots of free toppings for our ice cream at Millie's
- Toured the Arboretum and saw their giant Katsura tree
- Despite the rain cancellation for our tree planting, the Park Rangers were still able to plant 100 trees in North Park in honor of Park 'til Dark! Trees planted include Red Chokeberry, Yellow Birch, Black Gum, Tulip Popular, American Plum, Washington Hawthorn and Scarlet Oak.
Pour at the Park
This year's Pour at the Park was extra cozy inside the warmth of the North Park Lodge at our 7th annual event. Together we:
- Snacked on food tastings from 4 local restaurants and desserts from 2 local establishments.
- Tasted 17 unique beverage vendor samples including beers, ciders, wines, spirits and nonalcoholic drinks and mocktails.
- Waited in suspense for 9 amazing raffle baskets full of goodies from friends and local businesses to be handed out to the winners.
- Danced and grooved to live music by NASH.V.ILL featuring Byron Nash and Jacquea Mae.
- Let our kids run around with Coach Dave's games and activities under the tents and lights outdoors.
- Helped to save the environment with our ZeroWaste services by PA Resources Council.
View Event Photos
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November Park Ranger Calendar
Learn more and register for the events listed below HERE!
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Guided Hike: Hit the Trail
November 1, 5:00-6:30 pm
November 18, 1:00-2:30 pm
Hartwood Acres Park
November 11, 1:00-2:30 pm
Boyce Park
Guided Hike: National Hiking Day
November 4, 1:00 - 2:30 pm
White Oak Park
November 17, 1:00 - 2:30 pm
North Park
Historic Structures of North Park
November 30, 6:00 - 7:00 pm
North Park
Nocturnal Animal Encounter
November 5, 1:00-2:00 pm
South Park
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Park After Dark: Owl Prowl
November 4, 7:00-9:00 pm
North Park
November 4, 7:00-9:00 pm
White Oak Park
November 11, 5:30-7:30 pm
Deer Lakes Park
November 11, 5:30-7:30 pm
Settlers Cabin Park
November 12, 5:30-7:30 pm
Harrison Hills Park
November 12, 5:30-7:30 pm
Round Hill Park
November 19, 5:30-7:30 pm
Boyce Park
November 19, 5:30-7:30 pm
Hartwood Acres Park
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Giving Tuesday
is this month!
Giving Tuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is a day to celebrate generosity and kindness. But this year, you don't have to wait for November 28th to have your gift matched dollar-for-dollar. Thanks to generous Parks Foundation supporters and devoted Hartwood Acres Park users, the first $10,000 of donations will be matched 100% all throughout the month of November. We hope you will consider making your Giving Tuesday gift to the Allegheny County Parks Foundation, which will ripple through your parks and communities, creating a brighter and greener region for us all!
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Boyce Park | Deer Lakes Park | Harrison Hills Park | Hartwood Acres Park
North Park | Round Hill Park | Settlers Cabin Park | South Park | White Oak Park
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Allegheny County Parks Foundation | 675 Old Frankstown Road | Pittsburgh, PA 15239
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