Saturday, April 22nd, will be a busy day! In addition to being Earth Day, we are Celebrating Trails throughout the greater Philadelphia area. This is a great opportunity to get outside, make a difference, and learn more about hiking and biking trails in your area!
So what are the Circuit Trails? The Circuit Trails is an 800-mile web of trails that spans Philadelphia and Camden. These free, safe, trails are open for biking, hiking, dog walking, and more. These trails connect suburban and urban communities, providing a free source of travel and ability to find alternative methods of transportation and commuting. Each year, more and more segments of the Circuit Trails are added in Philadelphia and South Jersey, with the ultimate goal of reaching 800 miles by the middle of the decade.
Each April, the NJ Tree Foundation participates in Celebrate Trails Day, an annual event acknowledging and celebrating the large network of Circuit Trails in our area. This year, the NJ Tree Foundation is teaming up with several partners, including Camden County parks, the NJ Conservation Foundation, the We Live Here Collective, and many community volunteers. We’ll be planting 30 beautiful trees along the Cooper River/Gateway Park trail. This 0.55 mile segment connects Camden City to Pennsauken Township, and allows commuters to travel through the beautiful Gateway Park. This park opened in 2018 and was the result of decades of community activism to transform urban blight into a safe and stunning park. This trail runs parallel to the Cooper River, and will soon host a boating dock to allow for kayaking along the waterway.
On Saturday, April 22nd, join us for a community tree planting establishing new trees at Gateway Park, as well as acknowledging Celebrate Trails Day with an additional wildlife walk, hosted by NJ Conservation Foundation. The We Live Here Collective will have fun art based activities, and will have information about their program. This is one activity out of several planned for the day throughout Camden, with a shuttle bus taking participants around the city to various activities planned for Earth Day. There’s so much to do!
For more information about Earth Day activities in Camden, please see the flyer at the bottom of this article. For more information about Celebrate Trails Day, please visit: https://www.railstotrails.org/experience-trails/celebrate-trails/. We hope to see you out on the trail on April 22nd!
