Variety Lodge Donates To Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust For Ida Restoration

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, PA — A local charitable group has made a donation to an area nonprofit organization to help with restoration work necessitated by damage from Hurricane Ida back in September.

The Variety Lodge 37 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows recently presented a $300 check to the Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust in order to help with restoration of the Creek Road Trail, which was severely damaged by remnants of Hurricane Ida, which caused widespread destruction throughout the Greater Philadelphia area.

Several sections of the trail, which runs parallel to the Pennypack Creek in Huntington Valley, were reportedly destroyed by water and debris connected to rising waters due to the hurricane.

Members of the Variety Lodge 37 recently stopped by the Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust to present their donation, designed to help with the ongoing restoration work.

"The trail is being restored in a significant effort by first clearing the rocks and earth that overran the trail and then utilizing the Geogrid underground grid system for securing the deposition of coarse and then fine gravel to create a new trail bed and trail," the Variety Lodge stated in a news release.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows dates back to the 1700s when it was deemed "odd to find people organized for the purpose of giving aid to those in need without recognition and pursing projects for the benefits of mankind," according to the organization. The order currently has members in more than 26 countries across the globe.

The Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust, founded in 1970, is a private land trust who works to protect, restore and preserve the land of the Pennypack Creek Valley. It spans 852 acres of preserved open space with more than 11 miles of hiking and biking trails.