An Oak Tree for Squirrels

"I really love animals and the environment and I want to plants seeds of compassion, especially with younger generations. Maybe they'll grow up to be like me and help to take care of the park and the animals that call it home," says Roxanne Delgado, a longtime Bronx resident who started Friends of Pelham Parkway last year with other neighborhood park stewards. It all started when Roxanne Delgado saw a squirrel rummaging through a pile of trash and said enough is enough!  

Friends of Pelham Parkway has been active in the parkway since July of 2017 and over the last year we've been busy:

• We've done monthly cleanups on the North side of the Parkway since July, 2017.
• In our first cleanup, we collected over 9 bags of trash including inner tube tires, window frames and bathroom sinks! 
• At our monthly cleanups, we also do tabling on educating the users of the parkway, to be more environmentally conscious and not dump on our Parkway.  
• We also give out free doggie poop bags so Pet Parents pick up after their pooches.

WE'VE STILL GOT A LOT TO DO AND YOU CAN HELP!

1. Donate to this project. Every dollar counts and will help us purchase a white oak tree*, providing shelter and food for park squirrels. In celebration of National Squirrel Day on January 21st, we would like to raise fund to buy and plant this tree in our Parkway.  So far this winter, we have already had a deep freeze in NYC and our furry friends need some extra help!  Squirrels live in nests built with just sticks and leaves and do a great job building their nest with no tools.  However, with the extreme cold and wind lately, I think we can help out with the planting of this additional tree.

2. Volunteer! We can use your help at tabling events and at ongoing cleanup efforts. Our park is over 2.25 miles long - it's our Bronx mini Central Park - and we need help to prune the weeds and clean up trash that's left in our park.

3. Your donation will be matched.  Our project has been approved by Partnerships for Parks to receive up to $1,000 in matching funds! Watch your donation double! 

* Please note that we've had to adjust our original goal of purchasing rubber squirrel homes to a goal of purchasing and planting 1 white oak tree.

Jan. 21st: We will be at the parkway to celebrate National Squirrel Day with trivia and other information at our table. Come out to say hi and to learn about squirrels and our park!

Feb 15th: Promote the event via social media, fliers placed on the corners of the Parkway and meeting with nearby schools to join the March event.

March 1st:

• We will hold a community event to invite persons of all ages to hang up the Squirrel homes
• We will have our usual tabling information to share about our mission and how we can:
  1. Add value to our Parkway 
  2. Co-exist with wildlife
  3. Keep our Parkway litter free
   

These squirrel homes, 2 new white oak trees, will not just be great for our furry friends but also for the Parkway. We think it will deter littering and dumping unto the parkway if people were more conscious that the parkway is a home for living creatures like our squirrels. 

When we did our first cleanup in July 2017, we collected over 9 full bags of heavy trash dumped unto our Parkway.  Since then we have been doing cleanup and tabling to deter the dumping of trash unto our Parkway.  We even give out free poop bags so people pick up after their dogs.  We have seen positive results from our tabling and we still have work to do.  

Our mission is for the residents and users of the Parkway to appreciate the beauty of our Parkway and respect Nature's beauty.  Our monthly cleanups and tabling have been a positive step forward.  However, we have lots of work to be done.   If people were consciously aware that the parkway is not only our sanctuary from the urban concrete but a home for other wildlife then we can make progress together to care for our park and everyone and every creature who uses it.