Swarthmore Environmental Advisory Council

03/27/2026

You are invited to join neighbors and friends this spring for several environmentally friendly events in Swarthmore:

Saturday, March 28: Free the Trees

Help finish liberating the Swarthmore Town Woods of invasive English ivy! On Saturday, March 28, gather by the CADES parking lot on Rutgers Avenue to work from 10:00 to noon. The organizers will have tools, but feel free to bring your own loppers, hand saws, mattocks, and hand pruners. Organizers include members of the Swarthmore Environmental Advisory Council, the Swarthmore Bird Town Working Group, the Swarthmore Horticultural Society, and the Swarthmore Tree Committee.
For more information, contact John McKinstry at [email protected].

Saturday, April 18: Tree and Bird Walk

Celebrate Earth Day at Little Crum Creek Park with a Tree and Bird Walk from 10:00 to 11:30 am. Andrew Bunting will guide identification of trees, while David Eberly will highlight birds. All ages are welcome and refreshments will be provided. Binoculars will be helpful but are not essential. This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of Little Crum Creek Park and the Swarthmore Bird Town Working Group. To ensure there are enough refreshments, please RSVP to Sue Kelly at [email protected].

Thursday, April 23: Umoja Park Planting

Another way to celebrate Earth Day: Enhance the beauty of Umoja Park by planting more native shrubs on Thursday, April 23, starting at 4:00. All ages are welcome. Plants will include Spicebush, New Jersey Tea, Ninebark, Arrowwood Vibernum, Possumhaw Vibernum, Highbush Blueberry, Red Chokeberry, Winterberry Holly, and Elderberry. This fourth Umoja Park planting is made possible by a grant from the Hardy Plant Society/Mid-Atlantic Group and organized by members of the Swarthmore Bird Town Working Group, Swarthmore Environmental Advisory Council, Swarthmore Tree Committee, and Swarthmore Horticultural Society. For more information, contact John McKinstry at [email protected] or Andrew Bunting at [email protected].

Saturday, May 9: Crum Woods Bird Walk

Join a walk in Swarthmore’s Crum Woods to welcome back the birds who wintered in warmer climates and celebrate Migratory Bird Day. Look for birds both common and unusual, including the Baltimore Oriole, Wood Thrush, Northern Parula, Chimney Swift, Eastern Kingbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Red-shouldered Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, and Common Yellowthroat. All levels of birding experience are welcome, and children are welcome if with an adult. The walk will cover a mile to 1 ¼ miles of moderate terrain with some hills. Meet organizers Dave Eberly, Bob Scott, Sean O’Donnell, and Shirley Dodson at 7:45 am at the Swarthmore train station. The walk will begin at 8:00 am and last about two hours. This outing is co-sponsored by the Swarthmore Bird Town Working Group and Valley Forge Audubon Society.
For more information, visit valleyforgeaudubon.org/events/celebrate-migratory-bird-day-in-swarthmores-crum-woods/
or email [email protected].

May 9th is World Migratory Bird Day! Join a walk in Swarthmore’s Crum Woods to welcome back the birds who wintered in warmer climates. The 202-acre Crum Woods is one of the last largely forested areas in Delaware County and offers crucial habitat for migrating birds as well as those who reside her...

03/09/2026

10/01/2025

A local e-waste and paper shredding event coming up on Saturday, October 18th from 9-2pm

Rep. O’Mara and I will host a free Shredding & E-Waste Collection event on Saturday, October 18 from 9:00 a.m. to noon, behind the Springfield Mall.  Constituents who want to […]

08/25/2025

The Rose Tree Hawk Watch in Media PA is asking if people would be interested in helping out (no experience necessary) with Hawk migration counts.

Please consider helping out. It's an exciting and fun way to connect with other leaders and see all the beautiful hawks passing over your area!

Please contact John Mercer at [email protected] if you can help or are interested in learning about hawk counting.
You can join our outing to the hawk watch on September 21 to see what it's all about.

What is a hawk watch? It’s an outdoor event where people gather to spot and count migrating raptors like hawks, eagles, and falcons. Held during the fall, it’s a perfect opportunity to discover what those hawks are that keep flying overhead – and you don’t have to be an experienced birder or...

05/02/2025

04/25/2025

🌳🌳🌳
Interested in Making Your Backyard a Haven for Wildlife?
Want to Help Improve Local Biodiversity?

Do You Enjoy Looking at Beautiful Plants?

If you answered yes to any of those questions and live in Swarthmore Borough, then consider a free Home Eco-Audit! With habitat loss being a primary contributor to the loss of biodiversity, we have the opportunity to restore some of that habitat for local
wildlife in our own yards. We have volunteers from the Swarthmore Horticultural Society and Swarthmore Environmental Advisory Council ready to give you the tools
you need to make your yard more ecologically beneficial. Our volunteers will walk around your property with you and help identify invasive species, offer native plant
recommendations to support birds and pollinators, make suggestions for providing shelter and food and water sources for wildlife, and provide resources for further information.

The Eco-Audit is in-line with best practices recommended by the “Pennsylvania Pollinator Friendly Garden” certification. After the audit, you may choose to submit an application for certification, or continue to work towards that goal.

Please email [email protected] before May 31st to get matched with volunteers who will schedule the audit for a mutually available time this summer. Spots are limited and available on a first come, first serve basis to Swarthmore residents only.

If you live outside of Swarthmore and are interested in having your EAC or local garden group start an eco-audit program for your community, please encourage them to get in touch with us!

01/29/2025

Local opinion survey about Borough waste – we would love to hear from you!

My name is Juna Saito and I am a Swarthmore College student working alongside the Swarthmore Public Works, Parks and Recreation Committee to administer a short survey regarding waste collection in the Borough of Swarthmore. Your opinions gathered via this survey will inform the consideration of future waste management strategies in the Borough.

Please respond to the survey at https://bit.ly/wastesurvey1 or using the QR code below. The survey will be open until the end of February.

Thank you in advance for your thoughtful input!

Juna Saito ‘25

Swarthmore College Environmental Studies Major and President’s Sustainability Research Fellow

Calling all Swarthmore Borough community members: we want to hear from you! Please fill out this short (five minute) opinion survey about waste collection in the Borough. The outcomes of this survey will be used to consider strategies for improving waste collection in the Borough. This survey is bei...

01/24/2025

Last Saturday, dozens of trees in the Swarthmore Town Woods by the CADES building were freed from invasive English ivy by 17 volunteers from the Swarthmore Borough Council, Environmental Advisory Council, Bird Town Working Group, Horticultural Society, and community at large. More Free the Trees events are expected later this year.

01/08/2025

Advice from Valley Forge Audubon

12/26/2024

Fellow Swarthmoreans –



Help save the planet one bottle or jar at a time. Swarthmore has installed a glass recycling bin at our Public Works Recycling Center on Dartmouth Avenue. You can now recycle almost any bottle or jar in a way that has your waste glass recycled into new glass products. This single-streamed recycling option is superior to curbside mixed-product recycling where glass generally is used to line landfills. It also should reduce the fees paid by the Borough for hauling and disposal, saving homeowners money, as glass is often the heaviest item we toss.

You can drop off your glass in the big blue bin as you drop off your aluminum cans and carboard and paper. The new glass recycling program is the Borough’s next step to a zero-waste protocol; part of our effort to be better stewards of the planet. Initially, the bin is a pilot for 6 months, after which time it may become permanent.

Wherever possible, consider buying products in glass rather than plastic containers and always recycle responsibly.

More information on the program can be found at

Many communities have lost access to glass collection services in their curbside recycling programs, but glass is still a highly valuable and recyclable commodity. PA communities and businesses can ensure …

10/27/2024

Once the election is over, it is time to take down all those lawn signs. To reduce some of the waste produced during the election season, the EAC is organizing a collection for campaign signs at the Swarthmore Recycling Center until November 8th. Follow these additional tips on handling waste from campaign signs:

1) Save it for the next campaign:
Representatives are up for re-election every two years and Senators every six years. Reusing your sign during the next election cycle will save resources for the campaigns and the planet.

2) Reuse parts:
The metal wickets are great for supporting plants in your garden!

3) Recycle:
Bring your signs to the collection location at the Swarthmore Recycling Center at 121 Dartmouth Ave. We will be collecting signs only until November 8th. Please stack all signs neatly by the fence next to the aluminum cans trailer. Please do not leave any materials after November 8th. Signs will be delivered to Delaware County's recycling event at Rose Tree Park, visithttps://delcopa.gov/sustainability/pdf/CampaignSignRecycling_Nov2024.pdf for more information.