Our Future Goals
About ten years after its creation, the board of FHSP realized that park restoration had progressed to a point where a more detailed plan than the original schematic provided by Andropogen Associates was needed. In 2007, at FHSP's request, Cheltenham Township received a matching grant of $12,500 from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that enabled them to commission the Forbes Environmental and Land Use Planning firm to develop a detailed restoration plan for High School Park, with the input from FHSP volunteers, township personnel, business owners and other neighbors and residents. The new master plan provides detailed management protocols and timelines to guide our restoration of the park's native ecosystems, so our volunteer efforts will be more focused. The plan also provides hardscaping and signage recommendations. This plan calls for:
• Spraying, replanting, and widening the upper meadow, which has become overgrown with invasive plants and requires additional plants more suited to the growing conditions of this area
• Removing invasive plants in the hillside meadow and woodlands and replacing them with native plants.
• Restoring the stream bank by reshaping the slope to redirect the water towards the center of the stream, and by replanting the shoreline with native shrubs, perennials and seed mixtures suited to this moist environment. We will also create a "living fence" using stakes made from cuttings of the branches of native woody plants. These stakes, and the roots that sprout from them, will help buffer the flow of water and stabilize the banks.
• Redesigning the entryway to the park to make it more inviting and informative
• Providing educational signage throughout the park
• Installing night sky-sensitive lighting that enhances safety and security
