July 22, 2025
Albert Yee/Fairmount Park Conservancy
A few swan-shaped paddle boats float in FDR Park's Edgewood Lake. The Fairmount Park Conservancy is soliciting name suggestions for a new fleet of blue heron-shaped boats this summer.
FDR Park has welcomed a flock of eight new bird-shaped boats and the Fairmount Park Conservancy is asking for help to name them.
This is the second summer that the Conservancy and the Independence Seaport Museum have teamed up to host free community paddle-boarding events on Edgewood Lake, now featuring a newly purchased fleet of boats dedicated for the South Philly park.
FDR Park's new boats are painted blue, which Cari Feiler Bender of the Fairmount Park Conservancy said is an intentional design choice.
"They are designed to look like blue herons, a nod to the park's estuarial setting and increasingly diverse wildlife," she said. "We are naming the eight boats to add a personal touch to each voyage and to give participants a chance to shape this program."
People can nominate names by subscribing to the Fairmount Park Conservancy's weekly newsletter or attending the next free community boating event, which will be Saturday, Aug. 16, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the FDR Park Boathouse. A list of nominees will be announced in a newsletter next month and the winning eight will be revealed after Aug. 16.
Free events are part of a larger vision to transform FDR Park into a sustainable public gathering space. A revitalization of the 348-acre park began in 2018 and the over $250 million, the multi-year plan involves renovating public athletic fields and trails and restoring some of the natural elements that have weathered away over the last century.
In May, the Fairmount Park Conservancy and its partners completed the park's $12 million welcome center after a nearly three-year construction process.
Future community events at FDR Park can be found at the organization's website.
