Mantua plans a grassroots greenway p. 8 Philly Green Man sees no trash p. 32 A Maker Faire inspires the next generation p. 12 AUGUST 2018 / ISSUE 111 / GRIDPHILLY.COM
T O W A R D A S U S TA I N A B L E P H I L A D E L P H I A
Our guide to higher ed’s rapidly diversifying sustainability programs
Playing with Time Philly-based dentist re-creates rare 20th-century clock NextFab member Rick Wilson is a man of many passions, and perhaps an obsession or two. A practicing dentist by day, Rick was writing a historical novel in his free time. While conducting research for his book, he stumbled upon a project that became a labor of love. “I’m a huge stickler for historical detail and needed a clock for our female protagonist’s desk,” Rick explained. His research led him to a brand of clock he remembers his grandmother having when he was little — the Telechron. He placed a 1927 Telechron Queen Anne 505 model in his novel. With only 16 in existence, these models are incredibly hard to find, but the 6 movement and face used in the 505 are common, so Rick decided to have a go at building a real-life replica. He bought a Telechron face and found the proper movement on eBay, extrapolated the dimensions from the only known photo of the Queen Anne 505, and drew the clock as closely as he could. Then, using the skills he’d learned in NextFab’s SolidWorks class, Rick built a three-dimensional digital model of the clock. He converted the SolidWorks file to a ShopBot Tools file. The ShopBot carved the mahogany for the body of the clock in layers. Once this was complete, Rick glued the parts together, fit the movement, and adhered the clock’s feet. After re-creating the Queen Anne 505, Rick began restoring other antique Telechrons. He has given restored clocks to friends and patients and has a large collection of Telechrons at his home and dental office. Rick credits the NextFab woodshop staff with helping him realize this project. There, he found mentors and friends who helped him make this clock by hand. “I absolutely would not have made the 17th Queen Anne had I not been a member of NextFab,” Rick said. “The machines, both analog and digital, are necessary to the process. I could not afford any two or three of them on my own, much less all of them. But more important even than that is the community. I enjoy working alone, but it is so much better to be a part of a deeply interwoven community.”
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EDI TO R ’S NOTES
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alex mulcahy
A Troubled Optimist publisher Alex Mulcahy editor-in-chief Alex Mulcahy alex@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 102 associate editor Vince Bellino copy editors Cara Stefchak David Jack Daniels art director Michael Wohlberg michael@redflagmedia.com 215.625.9850 ext. 113 writers Bernard Brown Constance Garcia-Barrio Ogbonna Hagins Justin Klugh Emily Kovach Randy LoBasso Paige Wolf photographers Kriston Jae Bethel Mike Ermilio Stephanie Ricci illustrators Nick Massarelli Jameela Wahlgren advertising Santino Blanco santino@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 112 distribution Alex Yarde alex.yarde@redflagmedia.com 215.625.9850 ext. 106 published by Red Flag Media 1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 215.625.9850 G R I D P H I L LY. C O M
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T
here are two letters from readers sitting on my desk, each one tugging at me, competing for my mood and mindset. I may be an optimist, but I’ll start with the more negative of the two. It comes from a reader in Oreland, a response to editor’s notes I had written about the ill-conceived idea put forth by the Lower Merion School Board to level the beautiful Stoneleigh Garden and replace it, or part of it, with ballfields for middle school students. (Shockingly, this plan is not dead.)
In those notes, written in a moment of despair, I lamented the extinctions that are rapidly occurring because of habitat destruction by human beings. Palm oil, a significant culprit in this grave problem, is the ingredient corporations are after, and they buy it from sources that level the rainforest so oil palm trees can be planted. Depressingly, palm oil is an unnecessary ingredient, largely used for frivolous products, like (lousy) chocolate bars and ice cream. The writer of the first letter had this to say: “Unfortunately and tragically, humanity has gone too far down the path, and we’re beyond the point of no return. It is simply too late to reverse this sorry state of affairs. All creation is doomed.” The second comes from a young woman, Shikha Islam, a senior at Central High School and a resident of Northeast Philadelphia. It’s an impassioned letter about the importance of solar energy. She thoughtfully lists the pros and cons of hydropower, wind power and solar. Her conclusion: “In the 21st century clean green energy should be a concern of everyone. Everyone who is able to do so, should try to install solar panels at their homes and/or businesses.” It’s a heartening letter. Coincidentally, Shikha sent it prior to the publishing of our cover story last month about solar power, which I wrote. While reporting on that story, I met three employees from Philly-based Solar States, who had graduated from city-funded work programs to full-time jobs. One of them, Thomas
Glenn, admitted that prior to working in environmental fields, he was a litterbug. Now he drives a Prius, speaks authoritatively about defending the environment and wouldn’t dream of throwing a wrapper on the ground. Shaleia Quarles, who handles permitting for customers at Solar States, also credits her work in the environmental sector with changing her life. She says, “The Earth is a living thing just like us. We have to take care of [the planet] like we take care of ourselves and a lot of people don’t realize that.” So there are a lot of reasons to hope. Yet, it seems every day there is something in the news about the environment that brings you right back down again. “Climate Change Is Killing the Cedars of Lebanon.” “Global warming is making some geese speed up their northward spring migration.” “Interior Department Proposes a Vast Reworking of the Endangered Species Act.” These are all published in a 48-hour window by the New York Times. But then you see the changes that are happening in our society and this generation, which is demanding that institutions of higher education provide them with the degrees they need to devote their lives to making the world a better place. It’s a race—a sprint and a marathon rolled into one—between the rapid destruction of our environment and the transformation of our values. It’s understandable if we falter occasionally and succumb to despair. But we’re not allowed to give up. There is only one outcome possible if we do. So we hold out and do the best that we can, knowing reinforcements are on the way.
ALEX MULCAHY Editor-in-Chief alex@gridphilly.com
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BI K E TA LK
by
randy lobasso
Mantua on the right path
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here was little public fanfare when Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s bill establishing new parking regulations in the Mantua section of West Philadelphia passed, easily, in City Hall. As any Philadelphian will tell you, parking is perhaps the most contentious issue in the entire city—and Blackwell has often acted as the commander-in-chief of parking wars, most recently fighting for a parking-minimums bill. Her new legislation establishes no parking anytime along parts of Mantua Avenue, Ogden Street, and N. 37th Street, and new space for bicycling and walking. The bill was the latest step toward establishing the Mantua Greenway: a green space for running, walking and cycling that will soon cut through the Mantua neighborhood of West Philadelphia. Blackwell’s legislation, which awaits the mayor’s approval at press time, will go into effect once the greenway is complete. The story of the Mantua Greenway is one of a community coming together with the support of local, state and national organizations to realize a goal in everyone’s collective interests. And it begins with Bessie Carter. A resident of Mantua Avenue for more than 60 years, Carter has seen the neighborhood’s ups and downs, and during a noted downturn, she decided to take some blighted community space into her own hands. That was in 2009. Next to the railroad tracks that lie across the street from Carter’s house, there used to be a fenced-in empty lot filled with patches of tall grass and dying weeds. So Carter, who could not be reached to comment on this story, planted a garden there, in honor of her parents, and began slowly beautifying the property. Soon, it
became a beacon of the community. A plan was eventually concocted to build on Carter’s garden, and turn a several-block area into greenway space for everyone to share. Its entrance will begin at 34th Street and Mantua Avenue, near the zoo, and bring folks into Fairmount Park via Belmont Avenue. De’Wayne Drummond, president of the Mantua Civic Association, sees the greenway as community-owned infrastructure that will bring Mantua residents together. After all, the community has been part of the process the entire way, applying for grants and choosing concepts and designs. “With the Mantua Greenway, we are going to bring back health and wellness to our community,” Drummond says. “Yes, cycling might be a vehicle, walking might be a vehicle, running might even be a vehicle, but [so is] Grandma and Grandson sitting down on a bench, having a[n]... intergenerational conversation. That’s what I think this greenway is going to bring to our community.” Drummond notes the effort is part of a larger one to keep long-time Mantua residents in the community. Residents additionally worked with Blackwell to rezone the area to include more single-family housing, in order to slow gentrification and give the community more of a voice, Drummond notes. The community organizations also negotiated with Drexel University and Brandywine Realty to keep the Schuylkill Yards project from negatively impacting Mantua. “My grandma always said if you want something, you write it down, you believe it, you speak it to life,” adds Drummond, “and after you speak it, you execute and implement it. We wrote it down, we believed it, we spoke it to life, and now it’s execution time. That’s the phase where we’re at right now.”
randy lobasso is the communications manager at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. 8
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EN V IRO N M E N T
urban naturalist
Mutual Rehabilitation A job program has former inmates caring for young trees by bernard brown on the Delaware River Greenway
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omeday the row of young elm trees will transform this sunbaked stretch of Delaware Avenue, but first they have to survive the next couple years. To the west is the Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant. To the east is a Sanitation Convenience Center (where you can drop off hard-todispose-of items like tires and mattresses) and acres of old industrial lots before you get to the Delaware River. The elm trees line the Delaware River Greenway’s multiuse trail and, once mature, should shade it with beautiful arching boughs that provide a buffer from the trucks that roar by. The problem is that young elms are delicate. Lawn mowers and weed whackers can wound their trunks, leading to an untimely demise. Riverfront North, the organization leading the Greenway effort in Northeast Philadelphia, has found a solution through a
partnership with the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), a nonprofit that helps citizens returning from incarceration find success in the workforce. After a tutorial in tree care from Riverfront North’s Stewardship Manager John Jensen, seven CEO participants got to work weeding a 5-foot perimeter around each tree and layering wood chips so that mowers will know where to avoid. “It’s nice. I like coming out here, getting dirty,” says CEO participant Erica Williams, who grew up gardening with her grandmother. “I do want to get certified in landscaping.” Williams is also considering a career in waste management as a next step. Kevin Murray, who has been working with CEO for three weeks, says, “It’s good work because you can see the outcome of your work, how beautiful stuff will look once you get finished.”
According to Jacqueline Weinberger, Philadelphia site director for employment opportunities at CEO, landscaping is a welcome break from the litter abatement that comprises the bulk of what CEO participants do. “One of the best parts of our partnership [with] Riverfront North is it allows our participants to engage in something different,” Weinberger says. Knowing how to care for trees might be useful, but CEO’s model focuses on developing the soft skills necessary for stable employment. “A lot of the things we are doing are transferable skills: being able to follow directions, being able to work with multiple supervisors,” she says. CEO participants serve on transitional work crews for three to four months and then receive supportive services for a year after being placed in full-time employment. A 2004 evaluation of CEO’s model found that recently incarcerated people who were randomly assigned to participate were less likely to be arrested, convicted or incarcerated than those in a control group. CEO, founded in New York in 1996, now operates in 21 sites in eight states; Philadelphia’s site launched in 2015. The CEO work crew inspired a passing cyclist, Syron Flippen, to stop and help with
Left: Kevin Murray pushes a wheelbarrow of mulch for newly-planted trees along North Delaware Avenue in Port Richmond. Above: John Jensen, stewardship manager for the Riverfront North Partnership, teaches workers from the Center for Employment Opportunities how to mulch young trees. 10
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P HOTO G RAP HY BY KRISTO N JAE BETHEL
the tree work. “I think it’s great. It makes the community look better. It gets people going; you get to see something beautiful.” Jensen explains that the CEO participants working week after week proved critical to recent trail construction at Pennypack on the Delaware, where Riverfront North converted an informal and unstable fisherman’s path, blocked by fallen trees, into a wider, safer trail. “It allowed us not only to clear the trail, but it allowed us to expand what we wanted to do with the trail. Not only can we clear this underutilized area and make it safe, we can lay a semi-permanent bed on it, we can flatten it so we can make it accessible to everyone,” he says. “So now everyone can enjoy the beautiful views of the tidal mudflat wetlands, the oriole nests up in the trees, the migrating birds that are out there. Without CEO and their returning crews, we couldn’t have done that.” Riverfront North, formed as the Delaware River City Corporation in 2004, focuses on the Delaware riverfront from Allegheny Avenue up to Glen Foerd on the Delaware at the mouth of Poquessing Creek, the northeast corner of Philadelphia. Based on a waterfront master plan, their rehabilitation work includes a series of riverfront parks such as Pulaski Park, Lardner’s Point and Pennypack on the Delaware. The Greenway multiuse trail is projected to connect them all by 2022. The ultimate goal is to convert “once neglected post-industrial landscapes into usable community space,” according to their website. Abd’Allah Lateef needed little coaching on how to maintain the trees, having done similar work on previous Riverfront North projects. He says he appreciates the importance of environmental restoration work but is cultivating other plans after his 31-year incarceration. Lateef, who had been sentenced at age 17, was recently released thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling that found juvenile life sentences to be cruel and unusual. Now, with the help of CEO, he is adapting to life on the outside and planning to help others do the same. Lateef is in the process of developing a nonprofit for returning citizens in Philadelphia to be called Life after Life. The organization will serve people like him, he says, who had been sentenced as juveniles to life in prison. AUGUST 20 18
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M A K ERS & D O E RS
nextfab maker faire
The Robots Are Here NextFab’s first Maker Faire showcases a thriving community
by
justin klugh
D
id you know that students from Temple University built their own Formula One racing car? Or that an Abington third-grade teacher is penning a series of maker-themed childrens’ mystery novels? At the first NextFab Maker Faire, held at the Pennovation Center on June 24, it was immediately evident how much Philadelphia has embraced the maker revolution. There, creators revealed, showcased and updated progress on what they have been up to for a curious public. There were knives designed to provide a “uniquely pleasurable” cutting experience from BucknBear. A bra that doubles as a breast pump from a company called Lilu. A police drone that can travel 60 mph. “I just love looking at it because it looks like a shark,” said a presenter from Drone Tech USA. The event was organized by Next-Fab, a membership-based network of makers with locations in North Philadelphia, South Philadelphia and Wilmington, Del., that provides the “tools, technology, education, events and services for makers of any skill level,” but also a space to incubate, innovate, and create the ideas that will change the world. The place was crawling with robots; one of them was guarding a Hershey’s chocolate display. A few squarish ones were locked in combat in one of the center’s side rooms. Profile-Bot, the automated profile-drawing robot, was hard at work scribbling the likenesses of passersby. And outside lurked Tobor, the Wireless Robotic Dinosaur, gazing hungrily at the city skyline, but remaining willingly under the control of his caretakers… for now. Young children marveled at the set-up of the Delaware Valley Adult Fans of LEGO (DVAFL). They were repeatedly thrilled by the course of a ball on a track as it traveled through a carefully constructed mini countryside. Only once did a concerned DVAFL overseer have to raise a finger and tell his 12
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Left: A young Faire goer interacts with Pip, a robot by Hershey. Above: Profile Bot takes a photo, then draws the image in a single continuous line.
adolescent audience to be careful with one of the more fragile portions. Their hands quivering with restraint, they undoubtedly departed the display under the influence of the same inspiration LEGO has been gifting young (and old) fans for years. While there were plenty of inventions and innovations aimed at an adult audience, children are the demographic that seemed most receptive to NextFab’s presentations. They watched with glee as robot warriors clashed, scrambled to create at art stations, and were featured in a book on display,
“Dewey Mac Maker Mysteries,” the first installment of a children’s detective book series penned by a teacher from Overbrook Elementary, in which the middle school protagonist constructs gadgets out of household items to solve the case. Included in the pages are blueprints and instructions for readers to craft the inventions themselves, making them a part of the story. Seeing the squealing youngsters dart from booth to booth, inevitably, one looks ahead to what the NextFab Maker Faire will look like in the future. Perhaps there is a deeper message to take from the finger-wagging of the LEGO room’s steward as kids fiddled with the bricks of his labor, and in the end, it’s the concept at the heart of NextFab’s philosophy: Be careful with what we’ve built. But in the end, don’t let us stop you from changing it.
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M EET YOU R M A KE R
twee
Chalk It Up A preschool teacher’s small-batch, handmade chalk business ramps up paige wolf
s a preschool teacher at Moonstone in South Philadelphia, Kate Leibrand was always thinking of new, creative lessons to do with her students. After mastering the art of papier-mâché, Play-Doh making, and the always-popular slime, she attempted to make chalk with her class. It was a disaster. “Between inaccurate measuring and drying times, we were left with mush,” she says. “Not to be deterred by a failed attempt, I went home and worked on perfecting the chalk mixture in my tiny apartment.” What started as a project in Leibrand’s kitchen has expanded into TWEE, a smallbatch sidewalk chalk company with products carried throughout the country. In addition to alphabet and number sets designed to reinforce basic “ABC” and “123” recognition, TWEE is known for fun and whimsical designs like sushi, unicorn horns and frosted donuts. Leibrand says TWEE products are designed to stimulate a child’s creativity while focusing on their mental and physical growth. “All TWEE products are specifically designed with special attention to their size and shape, made to perfectly fit little ones’ hands, giving children the opportunity to hold and practice writing and drawing,” she says. “Each of the designs are meant to increase a child’s grip strength and help develop their fine motor skills while encouraging children to engage in creative play and imaginative making.” 14
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TWEE is hands-on with its eco-friendly practices, right up to its non-toxic paint and eco-friendly glitter used to “frost” the sidewalk chalk donuts. In an effort to reduce waste, Leibrand partnered with Nebinger Elementary
School in Philadelphia to donate all of her “misfit toys,” which are prototype testing or slightly irregular. Nebinger Elementary uses TWEE in their art and gym classes, as well as for recess play. Leibrand received her b achelor’s degree
P O R T R A I T BY S T E P H A N I E R I C C I
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Grid_Perks_Restaurant_7.12.18 (updated card).pdf 1 7/12/2018 11:54:55 AM
Leibrand mixes and experiments with new chalk designs at her studio in South Philly.
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in Fine Arts/Art Education from Elizabethtown and a master of Fine Arts in Studio Artfrom Moore College of Art and Design. Outside of TWEE, she focuses on fibers and textiles, creating large-scale mixed-media installation pieces exploring the process of growth in coral reefs, fungi and moss. Her installation pieces, primarily constructed of felt made from post-consumer recycled plastic bottles, have been featured in venues including the Philadelphia Airport for its PHL Art at the Airport Program. TWEE’s first year has seen impressive sales, with a new maker’s studio on Carpenter Street, enabling her to increase production for sales to more than 150 retailers, including uncommongoods.com. Learn more and shop at tweemade.com.
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GR EEN S PAC E
laurel hill cemetery
Theater of the Dead The trees and tombstones of Laurel Hill provide a backdrop for by constance garcia-barrio festivals and solitude
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aised in a small town in New Jersey, John Jay Smith (1798–1881), the Quaker visionary behind Laurel Hill Cemetery, may never have heard of El Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), celebrated in Mexico’s graveyards from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. Smith’s possible awareness aside, the holiday, which honors ancestors through a festive celebration, seems akin to happenings at Laurel Hill, a National Historic Monument, which sometimes teeters between a site of zesty fiestas and a place of profound peace. Consider the upcoming performance of Ghostly Circus: Fire and Aerial Theatre, followed by a Dance-of-the-Dead After18
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party with wine in an ambience conjured by nightfall and 75,000 headstones and monuments. As the Imp of Irony would have it, pain pushed Smith in 1836 to found the then-revolutionary, scenic, non-denominational cemetery that today has become a lively 78acre burial ground at 3822 Ridge Ave. “The City of Philadelphia has been increasing so rapidly that the living population has multiplied beyond the means of accommodation for the dead,” Smith wrote in the 1835 Memorandum Respecting the Foundation of Laurel Hill Cemetery. “On recently visiting Friends Grave yard in Cherry Street, I found it impossible to designate the resting
place of a darling daughter.” Smith’s partners, former Philadelphia mayor Benjamin Richards, druggist Frederic Brown and businessman Nathan Dunn helped to develop Laurel Hill. A radical change from commonplace cramped churchyards, Laurel Hill, which overlooks the Schuylkill River, drew not only funeral-goers but pleasure-seekers. In the 1840s, Philadelphians arrived by steamboats on an hourly circuit between Fairmount and the Falls of the Schuylkill. Nearly 30,000 persons entered the gates between April and December 1848, according to the cemetery’s archives. Over the years, the gravesites of distinguished folk have continued to draw visitors. Laurel Hill’s permanent residents in-
TO P P H OTO BY M I K E E R M I L I O
A couple performs in “The Ghostly Circus: Fire and Aerial Theater,” produced annually by 7textures.
clude six passengers from the Titanic, and 43 Civil War leaders, among them General George Gordon Meade (1815–1872), who defeated Confederate commander Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, the turning point of the war. Bacteriological chemist and refrigeration engineer Mary Engle Pennington (1872–1952) rests there with other notables. She helped develop refrigerated boxcars. The dearly departed include headliners like Charles Vansant, whose fate, some say, inspired the movie Jaws. In July 1916, Vansant, while taking a pre-dinner swim at the shore, began screaming. When rescuers took him from the ocean, they found that a shark had ripped most of the flesh off his left leg from the thigh down. Vansant bled to death. “The most popular gravesite is that of the late Hall of Fame announcer Harry Kalas,” said volunteer tour guide Pattye Stringer, 65. “Kalas died of a heart attack just before a Phillies’ game with the Washington Nationals. His grave has a 5-foot granite microphone and chairs from Veterans Stadium.” Whether monuments offer stateliness or whimsy, they make a unique setting for picnics, yoga, bicycling, movies, an annual 5K and history classes centered on permanent residents. In addition, science students compare the durability of granite versus marble in monuments. The burial ground also has plenty of theatre. “Imagine Dracula [a popular production at Laurel Hill] gliding out between mausoleums,” said Loretta Vasile, 32, a playwright
and founder of the Mechanical Theater Company, which puts on plays at the cemetery. “The cemetery allows for comedy, too, with people climbing all over the monuments. We also do Shakespeare, adaptations of Poe, and murder mysteries based on the lives of permanent residents.” Some of those residents still manage to have a presence, according to Frank Cassidy, a medium and member of Free Spirit Paranormal Investigators (FSPI), which visits Laurel Hill. “I came upon claims that this cemetery has ghosts,” said Cassidy, who works for a law firm. “FSPI uses electromagnetic field detectors, temperature guns and other equipment to find ghosts. As a medium, I can see spirits, and I’ve seen [ghost] children running around in the cemetery.” While Laurel Hill may touch other dimensions, it requires lots of work in this realm. “Upwards of 1,000 gravestones a year need repair,” said Emma Stern, program director for the Friends of Laurel Hill, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to restore the cemetery and further its educational and recreational goals, as well as to ensure a scenic resting place for the dead. “We want to do more plantings,” Stern said. “Participants in the Pennsylvania
Horticultural Society’s Roots to Re-entry program, which gives intensive training in horticulture to citizens returning from Philadelphia prisons, have helped us in that respect. We also seek volunteers for event support, archival preservation and many other areas.” Trees have long had a starring role at Laurel Hill—by 1844, Smith had planted 340 of them—and remain a key to its future. “We’ll increase the number of trees planted each year as part of our sustainability plan,” said superintendent Peter (Bill) Doran. The cemetery, a certified Level II arboretum, has a clipping from a descendant of the Penn Treaty Elm, the tree under which William Penn (1644—1718) met with Lenni Lenape Chief Tamanend (c.1625—c.1701) and pledged a treaty of friendship. Laurel Hill, which offers natural burials, has gone greener in other ways. “We’ve installed permeable pavements to prevent runoff and erosion,” Doran said, “and we’ve replaced all lighting fixtures with LEDs, among other measures.” The cemetery has just opened a scattering garden where ashes may be released. It features a small, balcony-like platform that overlooks a hill clad in emerald-green trees and bushes above the dark ribbon of the Schuylkill. Here, again, the Imp of Irony seems to have had her way. This place where one may feel crushing sadness spills gorgeous flowers and greenery. “It’s one of the most beautiful spots on the East Coast,” Doran said.
More trees, more green space West Laurel Hill Cemetery and Funeral Home (left), located in Bala Cywyd and founded in 1869, is Laurel Hill’s sister cemetery. Together, they have a 265-acre certified arboretum.
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Universities try to keep curricula current as corporations—and the climate—keep changing
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t wasn’t long ago that a budding environmentalist had only a handful of choices in higher education. But about a decade ago, this all began to change. As sustainability became a major cultural watchword, many students—some new to academia, some returning after losing jobs—were searching for a modern kind of major, and the stage was set for a big boom of green-leaning college programs. Companies and corporations were running their own parallel campaigns at the time, aggressively hiring newly minted sustainability experts to help improve operations. “It’s important to note that the drive to sustainability comes from student interest as well as industry drivers. Students enter the university with as strong an interest in design for the environment as design for communities,” says Kate Wingert-Playdon, associate dean and director for Architecture and Environmental Design at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art. Yvette Bordeaux, Ph.D., the director of Professional Programs in Earth & Environ22
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story by emily kovach
mental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, remembers the heady times during 2010 and 2011 when the field was taking off. “Sustainability was the new up-and-coming field. It was our biggest concentration in a while in terms of students in the group, and jobs were all over the place,” she says. “For a while, big companies like Johnson & Johnson were hiring these folks to come in and tell them what they need to do to improve sustainability.” Dr. Bordeaux notes that just as those corporate jobs began to dry up, as companies began to hire internally, jobs at college campuses, as Sustainability Coordinators and the like, were rapidly growing. Corporations did eventually start hiring sustainability grads again, she notes, as they started to realize how green practices can positively affect their bottom lines. “I think at first there was a lot of greenwashing, but now companies realize there’s
a lot of benefit from these sustainable practices,” she says. “It took a change in attitude on our side, too, to talk to them on their level, which is business, not just environmentalism.” As UPenn has evolved with the trends of the field, it has added more business-focused and data analytics classes to its sustainability programs. Robert Fleming, architect, professor and director, M.S. in Sustainable Design Program at Jefferson University, has also watched things shift since his program was founded (at then Philadelphia University) 11 years ago, and he believes the field still has a ways to go. “The programs are not focusing enough on adaptation and resilience. Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gasses today, the effects of climate change would still be with us for years to come,” he says. The Greater Philadelphia region is home to dozens of institutions of higher learning, nearly all of which offer a plethora of sustainabilty programs. The following pages include six of the strongest programs (plus some honorable mentions) to consider. IL LUSTRATIO N BY N ICK M ASSA RELLI
Environmental Health students conduct fieldwork at Cobbs Creek near Philadelphia.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Temple University M.S. in Environmental Health Protecting our health in a toxic world
T
his is a slightly newer discipline, so let’s start with a definition. The National Environmental Health Association outlines environmental health as, “the science and practice of preventing human injury and illness and promoting well-being by identifying and evaluating environmental sources and hazardous agents and limiting exposures to hazardous physical, chemical, and biological agents in air, water, soil, food, and other environmental media or settings that may adversely affect human health.” Temple’s M.P.H. Program in Environmental Health, held mostly on its main campus in Philadelphia, prepares graduates for practice-oriented careers in environmental health and management. The school puts extra emphasis on environmental factors and environmental policy that affect the health and sustainable environments of communities. Both full- and part-time students are welcome to the program, which usually takes between two and four years to complete.
Interdisciplinary coursework, research, and face-to-face interactions widen students’ perspectives to the complicated and evolving state of public health. It can also be taken as part of nine dual M.P.H. degree programs at Temple, including a J.D./M.P.H., with Temple’s Beasley School of Law, and a M.S.W./M.P.H. with the School of Social Work. The emerging field of environmental health requires technical and professional skills to face and solve public health issues. Course work includes environmental toxicology, environmental health, epidemiology and biostatistics. Resa Jones, chair of the department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, says, “Temple students are able to gain hands-on experience in environmental labs with faculty who have practical experience working with various groups such as non-governmental organizations, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Philadelphia Water Department.”
OT H E R P R O G RA M S O F N OT E Jefferson University: The Master in Disaster Medicine & Management is environmental health-adjacent and equally as critical for the future of the citizens of this planet. Students learn to plan for, respond to, and mitigate the effects of natural and man-made disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, major power-grid disruptions and more. jefferson.edu West Chester University: WCU’s B.S. in Environmental Health includes courses in the basic sciences, humanities, social and behavioral studies, mathematics, literature, and the arts, as well as applied coursework in such topics as toxicology, risk assessment, water quality, emergency preparedness and more. wcupa.edu AUGUST 20 18
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HORTICULTURE/LANDSCAPE DESIGN
University of Pennsylvania Master of Landscape Architecture Preserving our ecology while population grows
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his internationally renowned program is recognized as a bastion of innovation and leadership in the field of ecological design and planning. UPenn’s Master of Landscape Design—part of PennDesign—was founded in 1924. Thirty years later, Professor Ian McHarg, author of the critically acclaimed book Design With Nature, revitalized the program, and it is his vision that the school seeks to carry on to this day. (In fact, PennDesign is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Design With Nature with an international exhibition, Design With Nature NOW, slated for June 2019.) McHarg was succeeded by Program Chair Anne Whiston Spirn, who worked in Philadelphia neighborhoods to develop what she called “landscape literacy,” understanding where people are in relation to the space and time of the landscape. The program was then headed by the preeminent garden historian John Dixon Hunt, then James Corner, now best known for designing the High Line in New York City. The school is now chaired by Professor Richard Weller, an accomplished designer with projects under his belt like the National Museum of Australia, whose current research focuses on global urban growth and its conflicts with biodiversity. “The [program’s] emphasis is on design and how design can help solve complex problems regarding land use, infrastructure, and communities . . . . Right now, we are looking at a map of North America and asking where the next 100 million people who are predicted to be added to the population will live,” Weller says. “The faculty are all extraordinary and working 24
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• Students traveled to the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Watershed to study water rights and resource extraction for the Spring 2014 Design Studio.
on big, complicated issues such as how we retreat from and learn to live with sea-level rise, new landscapes of energy production, informal urban growth in South and Central America and rapid urbanization in India and China.” A diverse body of students pursue diverse solutions to complex problems, with a combination of curriculum sequences: the Design Studio, Workshop, Theory and Media. The McHarg Center for Urbanism and Ecology is the department’s flagship research center, and the school publishes two biannual journals devoted to advancing ideas and critical inquiry in Landscape architecture: “Scenario” and “LA+.”
ENERGY/CLIMATE CHANGE
University of Delaware B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. in Energy and Environmental Policy Approaching energy production without the biases of industry
T OT H E R P R O G RA M S O F N OT E Jefferson University: The M.S. in Sustainable Design was created in 2007 in a collaborative partnership with the nation’s top sustainability practitioners and professors. Students learn across disciplines such as architecture, construction management, design and engineering. jefferson.edu Temple University’s Tyler School of Art: Tyler offers plenty of majors in the Built Environment, but its master’s program in Landscape Architecture, with its unique focus on landscape restoration, has sustainability woven into the core of its curriculum. tyler.temple.edu
he U of D is home to a staggering number of environmentally focused programs, from the Ph.D. in Water Science and Policy to the Graduate Certificate in Socially Responsible Sustainable Apparel Business. But the ENEP program, located in the School of Public Policy and Administration, and which grew out of the Center of Energy and Environmental Policy (ENEP), was one of the earliest academic research and teaching centers in the nation with this focus and the first Ph.D. and master’s degrees in the combined field of energy and environmental policy in the United States. “At the heart of ENEP is an internationally diverse faculty and student body working critically and analytically on issues of climate change, energy transformation, renewable and nonrenewable energy options, environmental justice, smart cities and sustainable development,” says Syed Ismat Shah, director of the Energy and Environmental PoliOT H E R cy Program and professor of physics, astronomy, materials P R O G RA M S science and engineering. O F N OT E ENEP offers multidisciplinary academic degrees, with Community College coursework in economics, geography, political science, of Philadelphia: CCP’s engineering, urban planning and environmental studies. Associate in Applied SciShah notes that the University’s geographic location on ence (A.A.S.) with Energy the Delmarva Peninsula offers unique research opportuConservation academic nities in energy and environmental disciplines. certificate is a partnership “With essentially no native energy generation and comwith Philadelphia’s Energy plete dependence on power bought from adjacent states, Coordinating Agency. Students learn to measure Delaware has the opportunity to choose its energy sources energy consumption and and its level of commitment to using green power,” he says. safety and how to upgrade “Policy issues related to energy selection, and dealing with existing buildings to save the consequences of these selections, are complex and offer energy and costs, conduct incredible academic research opportunities and on-hand energy use audits on experiential learning possibilities.” existing buildings and more. Each program requires a wide range of courses, from ccp.edu geography, economics, biological sciences, civil and environmental engineering and more. The doctoral degree Temple University: B.S. in Engineering with Conmight include Micro and Macroeconomic Theory, Special centration in Energy and Analysis of Natural Resources, Regional Watershed ManPower is an interdisciplinagement and Solar Energy Technology and Applications. ary academic program, a Daniele Poponi, a 2018 Ph.D. graduate from the ENEP combination of mechanical program says, “The interdisciplinary nature of the proenergy innovation and elecgram and the rich offering of courses allowed me to acquire trical systems. Students strong quantitative skills, while at the same time to sit in learn the design of power courses on ‘high-level’ policy and political economy issues. generation and distribution This combination was highly valued by my past and cursystems, including motors, rent employers (the International Energy Agency and the power grids, solar and wind. European Commission).” temple.edu AUGUST 20 18
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URBAN PLANNING/PUBLIC POLICY
West Chester University Urban and Environmental Planning B.S. and Master of Urban and Regional Planning Mapping out a sustainable neighborhood, region and world
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oth the bachelor’s and master’s degrees at West Chester University are relatively new: the Bachelor of Science in Urban and Environmental Planning was launched in 2016 in the Geography & Planning Department in the College of Business and Public Management. In 2017, the Geography & Planning Department launched the new Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) graduate degree. May of 2018 marked the first MURP degree awarded to Katelyn Thompson. Both programs are meant to prepare students for the role of professional planners, who often have immense influence on neighborhoods, regions and metropolitan areas. The MURP program, which is aligned with the standards of the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), requires nine required core courses and six or seven elective courses. The required courses include geography classes, such as Quantitative Methods and Geographic Information Systems, and planning classes, like Planning Law and Land Use Planning. WCU also offers post-bachelor certificate programs in Urban and Regional Planning (18 credits) and Geographic Information Systems (12 credits), which is also available to take online. The B.S. program offers a broad range of core classes, like Planning History, Theory & 26
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Ethics and Computer Cartography to electives that allow students to follow their individual interests, such as Planning for Resilient Communities and Natural Disasters and Sustainable Living. “While many professional planning programs within the region are situated within schools of design, we believe that ours is unique due in part to our institutional placement in the Geography & Planning Department, which is located in the College of Business and Public Management,” says Chair of the Geography & Planning Department and Professor of Planning Dorothy Ives Dewey, Ph.D., AICP, PP. “Our program is designed to build on the core strengths of the department, which include a focus on geospatial technologies and environmental analysis.” Although these are both new programs at WCU, they’ve already become popular choices for environmentally minded students who are looking to apply their education to urban, population-dense communities. The university reports that 15 students have already graduated from the undergraduate program and have continued on a graduate programs.
• Dorothy Ives Dewey points to the interactive 3-D campus map that was created by students in the Urban & Environmental Planning program.
OT H E R P R O G RA M S O F N OT E Drexel University: The Master of Science in Environmental Policy delves into the complexities of environmental issues and gives students the tools they need to promote future sustainability-conscious policies that will improve the environment. drexel.edu Temple University: The Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Community Planning is open to both non-matriculated students and students in other Temple grad programs. Students are introduced to issues and topics relevant to sustainable development and planning. temple.edu University of Delaware: The B.S. in Energy and Environmental Policy is designed to prepare students for both academic and professional careers in the fields of energy, environment, sustainable development and climate change. udel.edu Widener University: Widener’s Environmental Law Clinic, located on the school’s law campus in Wilmington, Del., has trained over 240 students since its inception in 1989. The Clinic’s motto is “Preparing to Practice While Protecting the Planet.” widener.edu
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
University of the Sciences Environmental Science Major Connections in the community, and a state-of-the-art lab
T
ucked into a southwestern corner of West Philadelphia, University of the Sciences has earned a reputation as a pharmacy college since its founding in the 1820s. Though its College of Pharmacy is still its primary draw, the university has expanded to offer more than 30 programs. After a rebranding effort in 2010 and capping tuition at $25,000 per year for undergrad programs in 2017, USciences has taken a firmer place among the other prestigious educational institutions in Philadelphia. One major that USciences is now known for is its undergraduate program in Environmental Science. Students are given access to real-world knowledge through a science-focused curriculum, replete with specialty courses led by faculty who also work in the field. The McNeil Science and Technology Center, a state-of-the-art lab, provides wide-ranging resources for students, as well OT H E R as many fieldwork and internship opportunities. P R O G RA M S Kevin C. Wolbach, the assistant dean of UScience’s O F N OT E Misher College of Arts and Sciences, and also the coordiTemple University: nator of the Environmental Science program, notes that Temple’s B.S. program the broad background that the B.S. in Environmental Sciintroduces students to ence provides students with ultimately helps them pursue environmental problems graduate studies or their first job after graduation. like groundwater contam“The program provides small class sizes, weekly field ination, suburban sprawl, experiences, and courses taught by experts in their disriver basin management, cipline,” he says. “The ability to combine an interest in environmental justice, and environmental science and human health is unique to the the greening of abandoned Environmental Science program at USciences.” urban spaces. temple.edu Kelly Wright, a USciences alumnus (Class of 2002), now Villanova University: works as senior manager of Environmental Relations at This M.S. program moves Johnson Controls, Inc, a multinational conglomerate headtoward advanced scientific quartered in Cork, Ireland, that produces automotive parts principles related to the such as batteries, and electronics and HVAC equipment environment, with an for buildings. She echoes Wolbach’s claim that the uniemphasis on integrated versity’s rigorous academic programming led to her quick thinking and learning post-graduation employment. around the intersections of “My degree in Environmental Science from USciences science, policy, and human opened professional opportunities for me within months behavior. villanova.edu of graduation,” she says. “And the dedicated faculty and University of Delaware: challenging curriculum laid the foundation for my career Undergrads pursuing the as an environmental engineer.” B.S. in Environmental For those who want to stay in academia a bit longer, Science with a Concentraanother appealing component of the program is the intetion in Atmospheric Science grated graduate-credit program at USciences. Qualified follow a multidisciplinary undergrads who wish to pursue a USciences M.S. or Ph.D. approach to studying the can take up to 15 additional credits of graduate coursework atmosphere, ocean, earth at no extra cost. and ecosystems. udel.edu AUGUST 20 18
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• Drexel students kayak on the Schuylkill River as part of an Urban Ecology course. In the course, students develop an understanding of urban ecology, civil planning, public outreach about science, graphic design and social media.
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
OT H E R P R O G RA M S O F N OT E
Drexel University Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Sustainability A humanities degree with a practical approach to saving the environment
A
ppealing to students who might have loved AP Bio but aren’t quite ready to delve headfirst into a classical science path in college, Drexel’s Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Program offers a humanities-driven approach to the layered problems surrounding the environment. Its goal is to address the “complex social, cultural, economic and political factors that influence society’s understanding and adoption of these solutions.” A pioneer in the field, Drexel was one of the first universities in the United States to found an undergraduate environmental science degree in the late 1960s. In 2014, the program was reassigned to the Academy of Natural Sciences, with a new name, Environmental Studies and Sustainability (previously it was called just Environmental Studies), and a revamped curriculum, which includes the option for specialized study tracks including Policy, Government and Business, Social Awareness and Action, and Scientific Inquiry. Under the leadership of Carol Collier, formerly the executive director of the Delaware 28
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River Basin Commission for 15 years, the program was developed with a distinctly hands-on approach. Part of this is due to Drexel’s much-lauded coop structure, where undergraduate students attend the university for five years, spending a few semesters placed at internships in their fields, as well as time in the classroom. By the time they’ve graduated, students have had multiple forays into the working world, to gain experience and try out various aspects of their field of study. The other component is the program’s faculty, many of whom are what David Velinsky, Ph.D., department head, Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science & VP for Academy Science, calls “professors of practice.” “These are people who might work for the DVPA, someone who’s in [environmental] law, maybe people from Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission… it’s not just academic professors,” he says. “You get the theory, but a lot of the classes are taught by people in the field, urban planning or the EPA field—that’s what makes our program a little bit different.”
Rosemont College: This small liberal arts college on the Main Line offers an undergraduate Environmental Studies major that combines biology, chemistry, communication, philosophy, political science and statistics. rosemont.edu University of Pennsylvania: Offered at both the undergraduate and graduate level (the Master of Environmental Studies is especially popular because of its flexible structure), the Ivy League connections and resources at Penn make these top-tier programs. upenn.edu Villanova University: This bachelor’s program, part of Villanova’s Department of Geography and the Environment, combines science, math and geography classes with humanities courses such as Ecofeminism and Environmental Ethics. villanova.edu St. Joseph’s University: St. Joe’s only offers a minor in Environmental Studies, with required classes spanning across multiple disciplines, like Energy: Problems & Promises, in the Physics department, and Food and Justice, in the Philosophy department. sju.edu
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august 2018
August 4
August 8
August 13-15
Water Tour
Outdoor Movie Series: Parent Trap
Many of the fountains, waterfalls and other water structures at Morris Arboretum were inspired by founder John Morris that he engineered based on things he saw while traveling the world. This tour visits those sites. morrisarboretum.org
FringeArts hosts an outdoor movie screening of Parent Trap, the 1998 movie starring a young Lindsey Lohan. fringearts.com
Sustainability & Climate Change Teacher Training Workshop
WHEN: 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. COST: Free w/ admission WHERE: Morris Arboretum, 100 E. Northwestern Ave
WHEN: 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: FringeArts, 140 N Christopher Columbus Blvd
August 11
August 5
S’mores & More
2nd Street Festival
Hang out by the campfire and enjoy s'mores, nature exploration and more in the last days of summer. riverbendeec.org
Musicians, food and vendors will be on display at this festival in Northern Liberties. Now in its 10th year, the festival raises money for a business improvement district in the neighborhood. Acts and vendors to be announced. 2ndstfestival.org WHEN: 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 600 N. 2nd St
Knee Deep in the Creek Learn to evaluate water using a biotec index and look for fish, insects, frogs, turtles and other aquatic wildlife. Wear water shoes or an old pair of sneakers. montcopa.org WHEN: 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Norristown Farm Park, 2500 Upper Farm Rd, Norristown
WHEN: 3 to 5 p.m. COST: $10/family WHERE: Riverbend Environmental Education Center, 1950 Spring Mill Rd, Gladwyne
Teachers interested in climate change can learn about the subject in addition to carbon footprint, sustainability and green infrastructure. There will also be sessions led by sustainability experts with interactive activities. WHEN: Varies by event COST: Free WHERE: Varies by event
August 15 World Wonders: Egyptian Mummy Makers
August 12
Mummification was a large part of ancient Egyptian culture, a part that will be explored in a hands-on fashion. Using fake mummies, attending children will work through every step of the mummification process. This is intended for children. penn.museum
Jamaica Independence Celebrations in Philadelphia
WHEN: 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. COST: Included w/ museum admission, $11-19 WHERE: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 3260 South St
The Jamaican community in Philadelphia celebrates 56 years of independence on this day. Standard event fare like food, music and dance will be there, in addition to contests for bun eating, beer drinking, dance and song and more. There will also be a special tribute to legendary musician Bob Marley. bicyclecoalition.org WHEN: 12 to 9 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Big Yard Entertainment Complex, 6039 Passyunk Ave
S ep tember 2 Blue Corn Lifestyle: Green & Organic Fest The Blue Corn Lifestyle Fest celebrates the pre-Hispanic and indigenous cultures of Mexico and the U.S. The event showcases traditional dress, food and music, with the objective of preserving the culture and improving economic opportunities for rural Mexicans. WHEN: 12 to 5 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing, 101 S Christopher Columbus Blvd
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DIS PATC H
personal essay
Origin Story From the mountains of trash piled high in the city, there emerges a superhero for our time
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ome people call me a "scrapper.” Some people call me a "garbage picker.” I call myself “Philly Green Man, Environmental Superhero.” It’s hard to say exactly where it began. I had what people would consider a respectable job, teaching architecture for nine years with some of the greatest students in Dobbins High School history. But even then I would regularly pick up an interesting piece that I would see in someone’s garbage and bring it home. I pretty much decorated my entire home with these almost-thrownaway gems. In 2008, like a lot of other people, I felt very inspired by the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama. In particular, when I heard a speech about the green economy, I knew that I wanted to be part of it. The green economy can include a lot of different things: solving energy problems differently or keeping our waterways clean. But more than anything, the green economy should be about reducing waste. One way to do that is by identifying things that people see as trash and turning them into commodities. Since I was already picking things out of the trash periodically anyway, I figured why not go hard and create an enterprise. There was one more piece to the puzzle. Having traveled to Senegal, West Africa, more than 25 years ago made me realize just how much we have in this country. There are 100 million people right now worldwide who can’t afford footwear. Here in America, there are 2.5 million pairs of footwear purchased every week, and a majority of them are not worn to completion. If I could connect these two facts, I realized it was an opportunity for me to do something to not only make a living, but to be able to provide usable goods to people around the world who would not ordinarily be able to afford them. So I made up my mind. I was going to “trash pick” to make a difference in the world. Clean up these usable, valuable items, and take them to a flea market and 32
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sell them. Sometimes selling them directly to a consumer, but other times selling them in bulk to someone with family in places like Senegal. They send their relatives products, such as shoes, that will be used to start a business. Picking in the trash gave me freedom from a traditional job, and the freedom to walk Philadelphia’s neighborhoods—not only identifying goods that are thrown away that have value, but to see the many problems in our environment and our city.
On my Facebook page, Philly Green Man, I regularly document places that have been forgotten by city officials and interview people in neighborhoods that are regularly inundated with trash that is dumped and then ignored by the city. So there is much work for Philly Green Man, Environmental Superhero, to do. I don’t mind if other superheroes would like to join me, too. I found my mask in someone’s trash. You would be amazed what people throw away.
ogbonna hagins is an independent recycler living in Philadelphia who collects unwanted usable footwear. Check out Philly Green Man on Facebook and Instagram. IL LUSTRATIO N BY JAM E E L A WA HLGREN
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Thinking outside the walls This Penn alumna knows that there are many paths toward solving problems VIRTUAL CAFÉ
Some epidemiologists study the way diseases move. Jana A. Hirsch (Master of Environmental Studies ’10) studies the way people move: where and how residents travel in major cities. “Epidemiology is a way of thinking about the world,” she says. “I happen to apply it to neighborhoods.”
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A similarly pragmatic approach shaped Jana’s academic trajectory. After completing Penn’s MES degree concurrently with her undergraduate studies, Jana was accepted into PhD programs in different fields, from epidemiology to geography to nutrition. Jana credits her successful applications to the interdisciplinary MES program and supportive faculty mentors. “The beauty of Penn for me was its ability to allow me to focus on the problems I’m interested in without a strong emphasis on discipline boundaries,” she says. Now an assistant research professor in the Urban Health Collaborative, Jana teaches her students to think outside the walls as well. “The advice I give is that you should follow the things that interest you,” she says. “There are a lot of different paths you can take.” To learn more about Jana’s boundary-crossing career in urban and environmental research, visit:
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