Crews will rip out invasive vegetation and plant 100 native trees and 130 native shrubs along two creek corridors in Radnor Township after the Board of Commissioners approved a riparian buffer restoration project at its Tuesday, Aug. 18 meeting.
The work targets Abrahams Run and Little Darby Creek at Willows Park in Villanova and Warren Filipone Memorial Park on South Devon Avenue in Wayne. First mowing begins in September 2026, with trees and shrubs going into the ground in November.
James Gibbons, chairman of the Radnor Shade Tree Commission, presented the plan to commissioners, according to Main Line Media News. The Shade Tree Commission had approved the project in July before sending it to the full board.
"Debris is going to remain on site for habitat, and we're planning for maintenance to promote growth of native plants over a five-year period," Gibbons said at the meeting.
At Willows Park, the project covers Abrahams Run between Darby Paoli Road and Little Darby Creek, plus a stretch of Little Darby Creek between the park's exit and entrance roads. At Warren Filipone Memorial Park, the effort will clear overgrowth around trees planted several years ago that have become choked by invasive species.
Who's doing the work
The project brings together Radnor Township's Public Works Department, the Shade Tree Commission, Radnor Conservancy and volunteers. Gibbons said organizers hope to recruit help from Villanova Conservancy and neighborhood residents, though that participation is not yet confirmed.
Resident Roberta Winters voiced support at the meeting but raised concerns about follow-through. She said her experience has been that riparian buffers "look good immediately" but can be forgotten five years later without consistent upkeep.
Ricky Foster, director of public works for Radnor Township, said the department is pursuing grants to fund long-term maintenance. He described the effort as "a whole collective effort of not only township staff, the residents in the neighborhood, and also even getting grants to help to be able to afford to make sure the area doesn't get overgrown again."
The five-year maintenance plan calls for promoting native plant growth over invasives.
No grant source or dollar amount has been named.
Background
The Shade Tree Commission has been active at Willows Park before. In late November 2025, volunteers and a donated tree contractor planted 34 trees there as part of a Miyawaki Forestation Project, funded partly by a $10,000 PECO Green Region Open Space Program grant awarded in May 2025. Radnor Township holds Tree City USA designation.
What's next
- September 2026: First mowing and plant orders placed
- November 2026: Second mowing followed by planting of 100 trees and 130 shrubs
- Residents interested in volunteering can check the Shade Tree Commission page at radnor.com or attend its next meeting; the commission meets the fourth Wednesday of each month, January through October, at 6:30 p.m. in the Radnorshire Room of the Township Building, 301 Iven Ave., Wayne.
