Mifflin Arboretum gets a makeover through city’s 5th Annual Spring Cleanup

As you drive through Midvale Ave. on your way to or from work this week, make sure to take a look at the freshened up Mifflin Arboretum in East Falls.

On Saturday, volunteers from the neighborhood were busy raking leaves, cutting trees and picking up trash along the incline behind Mifflin Elementary School. The cleanup was one of dozens taking place throughout the city for Philadelphia’s fifth annual spring cleanup.

Among the East Falls crowd was Mifflin Principal Leslie Mason, event organizer Roger Marsh of the East Falls Community Council, previous organizer George Grigonis and Mary Jane Fullam of the East Falls Town Watch, to name a few.

Fullam was tasked with working near the rock garden, which was created at some point in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration, explained Morris. He added that now, more than 80 years later, some of the trees need replacement and the grounds have given way to erosion. But to Fullam, the area still has its charm.

“It’s a real private place, it is kind of romantic,” said Fullam.

Mimi Armstrong of the East Falls Development Corporation worked on the meadow near the East Falls train station. She said that section of land is now three years old and was initially laid out as part of a storm water prevention system.

“When it is in full bloom, it’s really beautiful,” Armstrong said. “Butterflies will come. It’s kind of nice to see.”

Marsh says he hopes the annual East Falls arboretum cleanup will soon become a bi-annual event.