Photo Credit: Cindy Kunnas
Along the Delaware River in southern New Jersey is the on-going development of the Delaware River Heritage Trail, an envisioned 70-mile-long loop linking to Pennsylvania’s Delaware River Trail highlighting the cultural and natural resources along the upper portion of the scenic Delaware River estuary. When completed, the trail will link 24 communities, from Trenton to Camden and Center City Philadelphia.
To celebrate the existing and future segments of the Delaware River Heritage Trail, the Bicycle Coalition hosted the Discover the Delaware River Heritage Trail in Camden County event at the Mastery High School of Camden to explore the future plans to advance the development of New Jersey’s network of trails along the Delaware River and held a panel discussion with students who participate in programming led by community organizations in their neighborhood that connect them to their green spaces and waterways.
There are several segments along the Delaware River Heritage Trail in Camden, Burlington and Mercer counties that are in progress or in the planning stages that will one day provide seamless multi-use trail connectivity as part of the region’s growing active transportation network. Interested in learning more about those specific details along the trail corridor? Access the interactive Discover the Delaware River Heritage Trail Storymap here.
Questions about the Delaware River Heritage Trail? Contact the Bicycle Coalition’s Regional Organizer at patrick@bicyclecoalition.org for more information. For upcoming events #OnTheCircuit, be sure to subscribe to the Circuit Trails newsletter here.
Photo Credit: Daniel Paschall — Panel discussion with students who participate in programs led by the Center for Aquatic Sciences, Neighborhood Collaborative Community Gardens and Urban Promise
Photo Credit: Daniel Paschall — Group ride approaching access to Petty’s Island
Photo Credit: Daniel Paschall — Linda Cairnes with NJ Natural Lands Trust providing the history of Petty’s Island
Like many who attended the event, it was their first time exploring Petty’s Island as it requires coordination through programming to access the island. For more information about Petty’s Island, there are a number of resources on the NJ Natural Lands Trust website, including images of the wayside graphics, biodiversity reports, and a couple of documentaries about the island. Linda recommends A Journey Back To Nature, a great overview of the island’s history. Additionally, we recommend checking out other outdoor programs in Camden such as fishing and kayaking, most of what they do can be found on the Center for Aquatic Sciences Event Calendar.
Thank you to the Mastery High School of Camden for providing the space to host the event in a location that’s right in the center of all the incredible work led by the organizations that engage with students in the area to educate and empower them in and around their local Circuit Trails, green spaces and access to their waterways. We’d like to extend a special thanks to New Jersey American Water for sponsoring the event making it possible to bring everyone together to learn more about the Delaware River Heritage Trail and its connections to Petty’s Island. Finally, we’d like to extend a huge thanks to our partners who supported the event including the Center for Aquatic Sciences, Delaware River Greenway Partnership, East Coast Greenway Alliance, Neighborhood Collaborative Community Gardens, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, New Jersey Natural Lands Trust, Rails to Trails Conservancy, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Trust for Public Land, Urban Promise, and the Circuit Trails Coalition.
Safe streets are a right, not a privilege. We’re creating a stronger community WITH YOU! Investing in our year-round advocacy and education work makes Greater Philadelphia a safer and more fun place to ride—right now, the Coalition is asking 750 folks to join or renew their support for another year to continue that work. More info here.