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Welcome to your Cobbs Creek Park Newsletter, where we share seasonal updates on park news and events in your neighborhood.
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Johnny Sample Recreation Center: Project updates
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Construction of the renovated Johnny Sample Recreation Center at Cobbs Creek is in its final stages! With building renovations nearly complete, project partners have begun installing custom-made furniture and storage including a welcome desk, lockers, benches, and more.
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Lockers in place
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The custom wood furnishings are an extra-special feature of the renovation because they are made from beautiful Douglas Fir wood salvaged from the rec center’s previous building addition.
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Wood beams salvaged for custom millwork
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The salvaged wood used to support the roof pictured above
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Participants in TinyWPA’s Building Heroes skills development program participated in this millwork project, which is documented on their Instagram. Here are a few of our favorite posts from the project: (1) (2) (3)
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Tiarra, Tiny WPA in the process of making a bench for Johnny Sample Rec Center with the salvaged wood (Photo credit: Rebuild)
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Barry, Tiny WPA assembling what will become lockers for the Johnny Sample Rec Center (Photo credit: Rebuild)
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Salvaged wood in the process of being carved by Tiny WPA’s new CNC - a computer-controlled wood cutting and carving machine. This project allowed for some great learning opportunities for building heroes who hadn’t had a chance to use this machine before! (Photo credit: Rebuild)
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Using salvaged wood reflects this project’s commitment to sustainable building practices and environmental responsibility. Giving new life to the wood beams reduces the project’s consumption of new resources, reduces construction waste, and places a tangible piece of this building's history at the entrance to the renovated space.
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Help us beautify the new Rec Center!
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Volunteers needed! Join Rebuild and Fairmount Park Conservancy on Friday, September 12 from 5 - 7 p.m. as we plant almost 2,000 native perennial grasses and flowers at the Johnny Sample Recreation Center (280 Cobbs Creek Parkway). We’ll provide all necessary tools, supplies, and materials for the volunteer workday, including gloves. Register here. |
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Plants ready for their new home in Cobbs Creek Park!
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This planting project was inspired by feedback from the community during the design process, during which community members recommended more beautification around the rec center. The native plants will add natural beauty to the area and will also add to the site’s biodiversity while providing habitat for pollinators in Cobbs Creek Park.
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Get Involved in Cobbs Creek
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🎨GET CREATIVE AT COBBS CREEK ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER
Join Amber Art and Design at the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center for a brand new season of "Cobbs Creek Art Club" creative workshops led by artists Kenni Field and Linda Fernandez. This isn’t just an art class — it’s an adventure! Explore the nature of Cobbs Creek, meet new friends, and let your creativity flow with drawing, painting, and clay sculpture. All ages welcome — bring the whole family! Each workshop dives into hands-on art making while sparking conversations about nature, community, and environmental justice. Come get inspired, get messy, and make something meaningful with us!\
🎃 TRICK-OR-TREAT AT COBBS CREEK ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER
Save the date - Saturday October 25, 2025 - for the Cobbs Creek Environmental Center's annual Trick-or-Treat Harvest Fest!
👟 EXPLORE THE PARK WITH WE WALK PHL
Starting September 1, Fairmount Park Conservancy and the Departments of Public Health and Parks & Recreation are thrilled to kick off a new season of the We Walk PHL program, which hosts weekly walking group meet-ups in parks around the city - including two in Cobbs Creek Park!
🌱 MAKE AN IMPACT WITH COBBS CREEK AMBASSADORS
Volunteer (14+ yrs) with Cobbs Creek Ambassadors for outdoor experiences, ranging from cleanups and planting to event support. Projects rotate along Cobbs Creek Parkway, from Woodland Ave to Market St. and every green space in between. Visit Cobbs Creek Ambassadors' Facebook page to learn more. The next upcoming opportunity is in September:
Please use this form to sign up!
🐦 MAKE A BIRDHOUSE AT COBBS CREEK NATURE PLAYGROUND
Prescribe Outside is an activities partnership between Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Awbury Arboretum, Let’s Go Outdoors, the USDA Forest Service, and Temple University Center for Sustainable Communities. Join them on Saturday, August 30 at 11 a.m. at the new Cobbs Creek Nature Playground for Tweet, Tweet: Create/Decorate a Birdhouse & Birding.
⛸️ LEARN TO SKATE AT LAURA SIMS SKATE HOUSE
Laura Sims is wrapping up a busy summer camp season, with Saturday Learn-to-Skate and Ed Snider Youth Hockey programs returning this Fall for the regular season. Stay tuned for more updates!
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Do you have an upcoming community event in Cobbs Creek Park that you want shared in a future newsletter? Please reply to this email and let us know!
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Did you find this newsletter useful?
Share it with a neighbor!
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Note: you have received this newsletter because you have a Cobbs Creek zip code in our database. You can opt-out here if you would prefer not to receive this newsletter — this will not impact your subscription to other Fairmount Park Conservancy emails.
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Fairmount Park Conservancy is the Project User for this city-wide initiative at Cobbs Creek Park and leads the transformation of the Johnny Sample (Cobbs Creek) Recreation Center and Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center. Fairmount Park Conservancy brings parks to life. We work with the City of Philadelphia and its communities to steward our parks and nurture our shared environment, cultural resources, and public health.
Rebuild is a historic investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in neighborhood parks, recreation centers and libraries across Philadelphia. Proposed in Mayor Jim Kenney’s first budget as a part of his vision for a more equitable Philadelphia, Rebuild’s promise to acknowledge history, engage the community and invest intentionally seeks to uplift pivotal community spaces, empower neighborhoods, and promote economic opportunity through diversity and inclusion.
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