Cobbs Creek Restoration Project
Running along Philadelphia’s western boundary, Cobbs Creek flows through a densely developed urban landscape of rowhomes and commercial and industrial facilities before emptying into Darby Creek and then the Delaware River. As a tributary in a river basin that supplies drinking water to over 15 million people, Cobbs Creek is part of a critical network of water and recreational areas. The importance of Cobbs Creek can also be seen within Philadelphia, where a park was established named after the creek itself. Cobbs Creek Park has protected forests and trails located within walking distance of more than 100,000 people. Surrounded on both sides by dense urban development, its forests and water provide important habitat for resident birds, fish, insects, and small mammals, and serves as a stopover for migratory species. At the creek’s southern extent, the wetlands at John Heinz Refuge are important for waterbirds and are a popular destination for bird-watching.
Despite its importance, Cobbs Creek has a long history of pollution over the past several hundred years from textile mills, factories, landfills, and failing infrastructure. Its trails and other recreational areas have sadly not benefited from the same level of investment as other parks in the region. American Rivers is working with a Philadelphia-based partner, Overbrook Environmental Education Center, to envision new strategies for ecological restoration for the area, and programming that will benefit the people living near the park and attract investment for long-term improvements.
During the summer of 2025, American Rivers and Overbrook Environmental Education Center worked alongside a local team of youth scientists, the Philly Green Ambassadors, to document conditions that affect recreational use, such as signage, trail traffic, trash accumulation, water appearance, public perceptions, and more.
Local science educator Vanessa Wimberly led the team over a course of five weeks, where they walked the trails and the creek, collecting visual data, distributing surveys, and talking with park visitors about their concerns and interests related to the creek and park.
The 2025 cohort of Philly Green Ambassadors is, clockwise from top left: Micah Davies, Qadan Johnson, Marc-Anthony Harley, and Zion Jones.
Through this assessment process, the team identified several key problems:
- Trash accumulation was a significant problem, both within the water and in the floodplain areas. Very few trash receptacles were observed.
- Trail traffic was inconsistent across different areas of the park, and areas with less visitation were seen by some as a safety concern.
- There was limited seating or other space for passive recreation, outdoor meals, etc.
- Some die-off of aquatic life was observed after heavy rains.
The team used the information they collected to develop recommendations to improve access to the park and creek and to lay the groundwork for future ecological enhancement.
Their recommendations included:
- More amenities, like park benches and trash cans, can improve the experience for visitors.
- Reducing trash and illegal dumping in the water and along trails, including through community cleanups.
- Creating opportunities for community science, such as plant and animal identification.
- More educational programming and public events.
- Improving in-stream conditions to support aquatic life.
Building on this initial work, additional partners, stakeholders, and residents will collaborate to conduct a more in-depth ecological assessment of key areas that will help the team to co-design and implement restoration projects and programming. Stay tuned for more updates!
