CHESTER, PA (August 22, 2025) – Clean Air Council, City of Chester, and partners are proud to announce that Sun Village Park in Chester, PA, has officially reopened! The newly revitalized park includes a storybook walking trail, new benches and picnic tables, native plantings and mural arts installations. The project is the culmination of a three-year climate resilience communities project funded by the William Penn Foundation, and led by Clean Air Council, along with many Chester residents who contributed their feedback to the process.
Clean Air Council worked with Olin Design to map and better understand the potential climate impacts to residents living in communities along the Delaware River. Residents provided extensive feedback on where they notice stormwater runoff, flooding, and heat islands, as well as where they would like to see a green infrastructure project installed to help mitigate potential flooding and heat impacts from climate change. Residents chose Sun Village Park and selected all of the new features that have now been installed.
Additionally, as part of this community-led project, residents gathered at the Sun Village Park pavilion every week this summer for “Arts in the Park” workshops with Bonita Taylor from Bonnie’s Community and Development Corporation and Katarina Sindoni from Legacy Arts Chester. Children from the community gathered weekly to create sculptural mural arts from recycled materials, painting and building flowers and other three-dimensional pieces that have now been installed throughout the park. A vibrant mural was also installed on the pavilion pillars by Carrie Kingsbury of Promised Land murals. The murals reflect the colors and musical theme of the first book in the storybook walk.
“Sun Village Park is a shining example of what happens when community voices lead the way. This beautiful space reflects the creativity, resilience, and pride of Chester’s residents — especially our young people, whose artwork now lives in the heart of this neighborhood,” stated Mayor Stefan Roots. “I’m grateful for the collaboration with Clean Air Council, Legacy Arts Chester, and all our partners who helped make this vision a reality. Together, we’re building a greener, safer, and more vibrant Chester for generations to come.”
The incredible partnership that made this possible was honored Friday with a grand opening celebration. Dozens of community members and representatives from Clean Air Council, City of Chester, Legacy Arts Chester, and the Friends of Sun Village Park were in attendance. Local residents enjoyed a free water ice truck and the opportunity to explore the new storybook walking trail and see the new murals, including sculptural mural arts made by children in the community from recycled and upcycled materials.
“I am very excited about the revitalization of Sun Village Park,” said Bonita Taylor, long-time Sun Village resident and Friends of Sun Village Park leader. “This is a project we have been waiting for for many years; it is bringing happiness and a safe space to our community.’
For more information, visit the Friends of Sun Village Park’s Facebook page.
Monday September, 9th 2024 | Will Fraser
Clean Air Council recently held a trail maintenance workshop as part of our work with the Circuit Trails Maintenance Committee. The workshop was funded by We Conserve PA and DCNR was held at Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center and offered community members, volunteers, and trail managers the opportunity to learn from local, regional, and national trail experts including Friends of the Wissahickon, Fairmount Park Conservancy, Morris County Parks Commission, National Park Service, and Appalachian Mountain Club.
The full day workshop was split into a morning classroom session and afternoon hands-on field session. Three specific maintenance topics were identified by a regional trail manager survey prior to the workshop: volunteer management, stormwater management, and vegetation management. Attendees learned basics on volunteer management including recruiting, training, and retaining volunteers and how to set up a volunteer day from start to finish including a breakdown in the types of tools used for trail maintenance. Workshop attendees learned about identifying common native and invasive plants and how to properly remove invasive plants with gloves and shears provided to them as part of the workshop. Participants also gained an understanding of ways in which stormwater can affect trails and learned how to identify stormwater runoff erosion and different solutions to prevent stormwater damage.
In addition to the workshop offering education on specific trail maintenance topics it also provided the opportunity for community members, trail managers and government and municipal partners to further connect on trail maintenance issues. Built-in breaks during the workshop allowed participants to discuss trail maintenance challenges and successes and share lessons learned from their experience while hearing from other attendees.
66tyThank you to We Conserve PA and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for funding this workshop and to the speakers who brought their passion, skills, and expertise to the workshop. A special acknowledgement to Friends of the Wissahickon and Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society for helping plan and organize the workshop and to Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center for hosting.
