Restoring a Haven for Birds and Community

The Garden Workers Garden Club Celebrates 47 Years of Caring for Catherine Dixon Sharpe Park

August 19, 2026

By: Jennifer Muse

A once-overgrown corner of Haverford, Pennsylvania, is thriving again thanks to a 2025 Partners for Plants (P4P) grant from the GCA and the dedicated stewardship of The Garden Workers (GW), a member club of the GCA. They have restored Sharpe Park and Bird Sanctuary, creating a healthier habitat for birds while enhancing a cherished community green space.
Sharpe Park was established in 1963 when Catherine Dixon Sharpe, a reputedly dour woman who preferred animals to people, willed her 2.3-acre property to the township She left sufficient funds for her home to be razed and stipulated that the land remain solely a park and bird sanctuary. 

Since 1979, GW club members have maintained the park in partnership with the Haverford Civic Association and local volunteers.  With support from the P4P grant, GW club members have worked to remove invasive plants and rejuvenate the landscape with native plants, shrubs, and trees. Throughout the year, GW club members care for the park through spring and fall clean-up sessions, summer watering, and winter bird feeding.  

Sharpe Park and Bird Sanctuary’s location in a residential area adjacent to a busy intersection makes it an oasis for dog walkers and those traversing the site en route to the local train station. Today, the park is alive with birds.   Using the Merlin Bird ID phone app, one volunteer identified the songs of 24 different types of birds in the park, including a Carolina Wren, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and a Fish Crow.  Mrs. Sharpe would be pleased!