|
|
Reasons To Save Burholme Park
-
"In short, the communities of Fox Chase, Burholme, Cheltenham Village, and adjoining
segments of Abington are, for all practicality, built out. There is simply no
more room. They are matured communities, whose focus should be sustainability
and redevelopment, rather than development. New development can only detract from
their benefits, character, and well-being."
---William Kitsch
- "Taking the best and most heavily used part of Burholme Park, and that includes
our golf driving range and our access to our tiny forest and stream, is not the
only solution for the cancer center's expansion needs."
---D. Andrew Byler
- Burholme is a watershed. A watershed is the area of land that catches rain and snow and
drains or seeps into a marsh, stream, river, lake or groundwater. The health of a watershed is vital because of several factors:
- The leaves of trees, bushes and plants protect the soil from the harsh impact
of rain or hail, thus decreasing erosion potential.
- Their roots provide a means of stability to the soil also decreasing erosion
potential.
- Roots of trees, bushes, plants and grasses increase the porosity of the soil,
allowing water to filter down into the soil. This enables the soil to be a storage
tank, which allows for slower release into the ground water system and to the
surrounding plants. In conjunction with biological processes, it is also a means
of filtering out pollutants, thus providing drinking water for that particular
area.
- It provides a natural way to get rid of alot of the water that falls instead
of flooding streets and homes.
- Everyone relies on water and other natural resources to exist. What you and
others do on the land impacts the quality and quantity of water and our other
natural resources. Healthy watersheds are vital for a healthy environment and
economy.
- Destroying a watershed by deforestation, over grazing or other means will also
destroy the biological function of the watershed. The resulting action will be
erosion of soil, which eventually becomes unnatural sediment in creeks, streams
or rivers. This in turn damages the existing ecosystem of plants and microorganisms
of the freeflowing areas, which in turn adversely effects the birds, insects,
animals and all living things natural to that ecosystem. A secondary effect is
a decrease in the amount of drinking water available for that particular area.
- We need more places for recreation, not less," said Walter Arch
- To make up for the lost parkland, Fox Chase Cancer Center would fund the purchase
of an equal amount of new land elsewhere. This land is to be bought somewhere
else, how is that going to help our neighborhood and community. Why should we
go 20/30/40 minutes away to a park when we could just walk down the street?
-
The Next Generation
Fairmount Park Commissioner, Robert N.C. Nix III, "grew up on the park, lives
on the park, and hopes the next generation will enjoy the park" as he has. The
park he is referring to is Carpenter's Woods, the pocket of Fairmount Park beloved
to Mt. Airy's walkers, birders, and dog-walkers. Bob Nix has long been concerned
with and worked to preserve the parks in
Philadelphia, having served as a Fairmount Park Commissioner for many years.
When the William Penn Foundation provided grants for improvement and protection
of area watersheds, Bob understood that there were more projects than funds to
pay for them, and that without an active voice, Carpenter's Woods might not get
its fair share.
So Bob set out to form a group, Friends of Carpenter's Woods, to advocate for
the park. A mailing was sent to all the households within two blocks of Carpenter's
Woods, and a series of meetings were held, resulting in a committed group of Friends
of Carpenter's Woods. Now that the group is getting off the ground, Bob Nix, and
the rest of us, can feel assured that he has helped preserve the park for generations
to come.
http://www.wman.net/40/Nix.htm
(quotes taken from newspaper interviews)
|
