"Walks in the Woods" Program Returns

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy has once again launched its Wednesday-night “Walks in the Woods” program. Each Wednesday at 6:30pm from June through September, docents spend about an hour taking visitors on a walk through one of the major city parks. Conservancy spokesperson Laura Cook says the first four walks focus on the master plan for each park. This Wednesday’s walk is at Frick Park. Cook says the master plans were created in 2002 and the city and the conservancy have been working to make them a reality. The conservancy was formed in 1996 at a time when many of the parks had fallen into disrepair. Several of the walks look at the “ecology, history and transformation” of the host park. Cook says the docents are well versed in the parks and do a good job tailoring the message to those on the walks, “Sometimes there are children on the walks, and sometimes the demographics are older. It really spans all over.” Other walks will focus individually on mushrooms, butterflies, lichens and trees. Cook says the tree walks are always well attended. This year those walks will be held June 30th and September 29th. A full list of the Walks in the Woods can be found on line.