The Wissahickon Sustainability Council (WSC), informally known as Cook-Wissahickon’s Green Committee, is a 501(c)(3) organization created with the purpose of transforming the school and grounds into an environmentally friendly and more sustainable campus.  Formed in 2008, the WSC consists of parents, teachers, neighbors, and local partners, such as the Schuylkill River Project, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, TD Bank, Delaware Valley Green Building Council (DVGBC), Philadelphia Water Department, Watershed Church, and Councilman Curtis Jones’s office. Cook-Wissahickon’s campus green plan was honored by the Community Design Collaborative as one of the three Philadelphia schools featured in its 2015 collection, Transforming Philadelphia’s Schoolyards.

Looking around the school, you will notice many of the WSC’s accomplishments and projects underway:  a native magnolia grove adjacent to the parking lot, raised beds, a planting space in the kindergarten yard, trees planted around the school perimeter with the help of Philadelphia Tree Tenders, and two native meadows at the front of the school funded by grants from the Schuylkill River Restoration Project and Councilman Jones’s office. The purpose of these projects is to provide outdoor classroom space, manage stormwater (thereby reducing flooding and improving Philadelphia’s drinking water), attract wildlife, and extend the habitat of nearby Fairmount Park. The next project for the group is depaving and redesigning the main schoolyard to manage stormwater as well as create a beautiful, dynamic, sustainable park and play area for the entire community.

You can contribute to the greening of Cook-Wissahickon by joining the WSC, which meets regularly and cares for the native plants on the school grounds.

Visit the WSC website at cookwisswsc.com and follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay up to date on projects being worked on and to learn about upcoming meetings and volunteer opportunities.

Wissahickon Sustainability Council
P.O. Box 26021
Philadelphia, PA 19128