Grid Magazine July 2019 [#122]

JULY 2019 / ISSUE 122 / 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

TAKE THE PLUNGE

Grid’s guide to nearby

outdoor summertime fun PLUS

Declare energy Independence this July p. 10

Introducing the Volta Way, advice from a radical homemaker p. 6

Wissahickon snakes find a champion p. 12

RE-PURPOSE THE PAST TO SERVE OUR FUTURE MS in Historic Preservation COLLEGE of ARCHITECTURE and the BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Hassrick House 1958, designed by Richard Neutra, located on Jefferson’s East Falls campus

At our new Center for the Preservation of Modernism students develop preservation protocols tailored to the unique character of early and mid-century modern architecture.

Jefferson’s MS Historic Preservation not only prepares graduates to preserve historic buildings and sites, but also to re-envision and re-purpose the past to serve present and future needs. The curriculum foregrounds adaptive reuse of historic structures, as well as historical research and graphic documentation. Philadelphia, the first UNESCO World Heritage City in the US, serves as a living laboratory of architectural styles and periods for our real-world projects and internships.

Learn more and apply today at Jefferson.edu/Grid

Monthly Maker Cody Hughes Philadelphia, PA untitledco.design @untitled_co_ TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF I am Cody Hughes, owner and founder of Untitled_Co. A sculptor by trade, I made the shift about three years ago to functional goods - partly to fulfill my compulsive need to make, but mostly in an effort to bring beauty to our everyday essentials. Together with my partner, Ali, we design and build handcrafted one-of-a-kind furniture and home goods.

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON? Currently we are honing in on our product line. Refining and developing our popular products, picking out the things that bring lesser joy and prototyping new works. As we grow we are also looking for more ways to incorporate sustainability into our manufacturing processes.

WHAT ARE YOU GOALS? Our goals are always in flux with us. We’d love to open a shop where we can support and showcase the local makers that inspire us. Down the road we hope to open an inn that will be completely furnished by local artists: soap in the bathroom, handmade textiles on the bed, furniture in the lobby and even the foods coming out of the kitchen will come from the skilled folks in the community. But for right now, our goal is to keep the lights on by doing what we love.

Discover more stories nextfab.com/grid #nextfabmade

NextFab is a network of collaborative makerspaces.

North Philly

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Wilmington

EDI TO R ’S NOTES

publisher Alex Mulcahy managing editor Alexandra W. Jones

by

alex mulcahy

A Breath of Fresh Air, For Now

associate editor Timothy Mulcahy editorial assistant Jillian Baxter copy editor David Jack Daniels art director Michael Wohlberg writers Bernard Brown Rob Fleming Constance Garcia-Barrio Alexandra W. Jones Randy LoBasso Claire Marie Porter Meenal Raval Lois Volta photographers Kriston Jae Bethel Margo Reed Rachael Warriner Albert Yee illustrator Lois Volta advertising Santino Blanco santino@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 112 distribution Alex Yarde alex.yarde@redflagmedia.com 215.625.9850 ext. 107 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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e can all breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing the news that the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in Southwest Philly will be closing. And after we exhale, it might finally be safe to inhale again, too.

Make no mistake, this is a huge victory for the residents of Philadelphia. PES has been a flagrant violator of environmental laws, and is the largest single source of toxic pollution in Philadelphia County. Ding dong, the witch is dead!

But whose victory is this? While the closure of this pollution machine is cause for celebration, it’s important to recognize the real cause of the closure. It wasn’t activism, or a sudden concern for the health of a community breathing dirty air everyday.

It was money, and this should give us little comfort.

Philadelphia Energy Solutions was in financial shambles, according to “Beyond Bankruptcy:The Outlook for Philadelphia’s Neighborhood Refinery,” a report written by Christina Simeone for the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.. PES filed for bankruptcy in January of 2018, and, given a large debt they had due in 2022, Simeone believed a second bankruptcy was inevitable. The tenuous nature of their finances and the cost to rebuild what had been damaged made closing the refinery the only logical decision.

Some might say that the market is recognizing the inefficiencies of fossil fuels (although, according to Kleinman’s report, this facility was particularly inefficient.) In the long run, it’s argued, the efficiency and

relative safety of harvesting renewable energy will win because it is going to cost less.

But what if it doesn’t? What if we get into a trade war with China, where 80% of the rare earth metals necessary for solar panels are mined, and they deny us access to the essential metals? Or what if competing industries, like smartphones, that rely upon these same metals make the costs spike?

What if there are mining diasasters? Could fossil fuels make a comeback because they would cost less again?

Mayor Kenney has spent much time empathizing with those who will lose their jobs. It’s very sad indeed to lose your livelihood, the finanacial anchor of your life.

But everyone who worked at PES deserves a better job. And no job should come at the expense of someone else’s health. As Councilperson-At-Large Helen Gym said, “No Philadelphian should have to wake up with their city on fire.”

Economics did us a favor this time, but the market is more often malevolent than not. As we eye national elections, we need to make sure our leaders possess a moral compass, and that clean air and water are part of their vision. Letting the market decide our future is a passive and dangerous approach, even if it works out every once in a while.

ALEX MULCAHY Editor-in-Chief alex@gridphilly.com COV E R P HOTO BY JAUHIE N SASNOU

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TH E VO LTA WAY

by

lois volta

DEAR LOIS,

What if the people you live with don’t care if the house is a mess?

Is it actually possible to find balance in the home?

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here’s no right or wrong way to run a household, so balance in the home means something different for everyone. We all come from our own places, have our own intimate, ingrained domestic habits, and generally don’t like being told what to do.

Disagreement within the home can threaten our sense of autonomy, personal space and conceptions of fairness. If you bear the brunt of the mental and physical load of the home, it’s natural to be upset. In asking our partners or housemates to engage in domesticity, we can expect a vulnerable and sometimes volatile experience.

Start by defining what a balanced home looks like for you and deciding if it is worth fighting for.

You should never ask for “help” around the house; this perpetuates the perception that you are the manager of the home, and that you should be given help and support as opposed to shared responsibility and teamwork. Rather, ask that your partners, housemates and children live mindfully and respectfully. This is a new mindset, which requires you to be respectful and understanding of others, their differences, past experiences and domestic inadequacies.

Can you love a person who’s never touched a laundry basket? This is not a lesson in passivity toward or complicity in domestic inequality, but a grand reveal of radical acceptance, compassion and patience through which real change may occur.

Let’s respect the historically and social6

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ly-gendered pressures within the home. In an environment of mutual respect, we leave the argument and enter into a conversation.

Healthy communication is a sign of a balanced home, and for this, your self-respect is required. If those in your home aren’t respecting you enough to have a constructive and open conversation about domesticity and shared labor, why are you living with them? If children are involved, are you a role model of cooperative collaboration and self-respect?

For me, gender equality, sustainability, kindness and beauty are worth fighting for. My family doesn’t always appreciate it.

I figure it out as I go and I know that I’m not always right—I’ve come to peace with this. I also feel loved just as I am, confrontational ideals and all. It’s worth the hard conversations and interpersonal fights to show my children that they can experience domestic gender equality firsthand, that washing and folding napkins and rags is far better than using products that end up in a landfill, and that having a good attitude makes everything easier for everyone.

Life takes work and cooperation. The byproduct of living is mess. Accept the mess and roll up your sleeves, especially if you have taken for granted the domestic labor that makes your life better.

Balance is more likely when we are open to learning from each other. I try to teach without teaching, lead by example, and scream into a pillow when the house is trashed instead of venting my anger on others, thus compromising my role as patient, loving mother. I find it meaningful and necessary to be open with my family about how I balance my personal and work lives so they under-

IL LUSTRATIO N BY LO I S VOLTA

2019-06_Perks_GridPrint_Burger.pdf 1 2/19/2019 11:51:54 AM

stand that I am not, nor should be, willing to shoulder the second-shift of housework on my own.

Yes, I can do most of the housework better, faster and more easily than they because I have a lifetime of practice. If it’s not cherished and respected, this feels like a curse. I absolutely love it when my husband or kids ask me for advice on how to do something around the house. It shows me that they are willing to learn and hold their share of the weight even if they don’t know how. It feels good to see in them the recognition that skills within the home are valuable and worth learning how to do well.

There is an art to all of it, and I hit my 10,000 hours years ago.

Everyone can develop domestic awareC ness; it is most heartfelt when we come to it of our own accord, not because we are be- M ing told to engage or, conversely, to “ease- Y up.” Truth is, the more I look for domestic CM awareness, the more I find it in the quality MY of love and respect we have for each other CY and ourselves.

CMY When I follow everyone around with a dustpan, letting loose a broad scream for K help, I am not respecting myself. In caring for others without conditions or expectations, I am being respectful. I feel loved when this way of being is seen and appreciated. Ultimately, I want to know that it is safe to enjoy showing my love to others through service without my efforts being devalued and seen as trivial. I value the work that we all bring to the table.

These are the concepts that I tackle to find a deeper understanding of domestic balance (it’s not just about divvying up the chores).

The more I place love in my home, the more the home gives back to me and the people within. It becomes a place worthy of being taken care of. The work is internal, and I am enough to spark change in the hearts of those with whom I have relationships.

It’s not easy, but that’s okay; we are all in this together. Balance will make an appearance now and then to remind you that it’s going to be just fine. lois volta is a home consultant, musician and the founder of Volta Naturals. loisvolta.com

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B IK E TA LK

by

randy lobasso

We’ll Cross That Bridge The origin story of the Ben Franklin Bridge’s new pedestrian ramp

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our weeks after 9/11, the Delaware River Port Authority ordered a shutdown of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge walkway after local reporter Paul Moriarty broadcast a report speculating about the walkway’s vulnerability to a terrorist attack.

Back then, the Ben Franklin Bridge walkway wasn’t patrolled by police, as Moriarty thought it should be. Given the worrisome atmosphere of the post-9/11 world, everyone was looking for flaws in our infrastructure and security systems.

Negotiations and a public outcry forced the hand of the Authority, and the walkway reopened in December 2001—but its semi-permanent closing had made an impact.

It brought attention to a larger issue that John Boyle, research director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, had been pressing since the ’90s: the Ben Franklin Bridge walkway should be a feature, not a bug, of the portal between Philadelphia and Camden.

The new ramp for the Ben Franklin Bridge walkway opened on June 4.

This is a ramp that took a long time to build. Time during which hundreds of people pushed their bicycles up a steep, grated staircase in Camden if they wanted to ride over the bridge; and people in wheelchairs couldn’t use the walkway at all.

Furthermore, because the bridge wasn’t patrolled, it was closed after dark. More than a few times, people walking across the bridge got stuck in the middle while crossing at dusk.

“People would either have to call the [Delaware River Port Authority], or in some cases, we heard of people jumping down onto the highway and walking back,” says John Boyle.

A New Jersey resident, Boyle has made it his mission to advocate for a remaking of the Ben Franklin Bridge walkway, which he uses on his daily work commute.

As a member of the DRPA’s citizens’ ad8

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John Boyle bikes across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge on his daily commute.

He has been advocating for a pedestrian ramp for more than 10 years.

visory board, he worked with the Authority and the state to get it done. He successfully advocated for both bridge police patrol and a ramp on the Camden side of the bridge to allow pedestrians and cyclists easier access to the walkway.

When the bridge was closed again without notice after the London Bombings in July 2005, the walkway issue gained more traction, and bicycle coalition volunteers Matthew Anastasi and Jim Kriebel formed a Ben Franklin Bridge walkway committee.

Its goal: to grant pedestrians full access to the bridge and construct an ADA accessible ramp.

In 2008, DRPA added the ramp into its five-year Capital Improvement Program, but the home stretch wasn’t smooth.

In 2011, the Authority suffered a public relations crisis after an uptick in the bridge toll. Pressure mounted and the ramp project was deferred. However, a coalition of advocates, ranging from Camden-based businesses to nonprofits and elected officials

pressed back and got the decision reversed in early 2012.

In 2017, the DRPA approved $7.8 million in funds for the bridge ramp, and with more than $4 million in additional funds from the Federal Highway Administration and the William Penn Foundation, the project was finally underway.

It is “the first big expenditure from the Authority’s Capital Budget to make the bridge walkway more accessible for all users,” notes Boyle. The narrow portion of the walkway has been widened and an ADA-compliant ramp on the Camden side added.

Boyle is excited that the ramp is open— but not just because it allows cyclists to use the walkway without getting off their bikes.

“In addition to not wanting to walk my bike up those 39 steps ever again, we’re at a time where Camden is going through a major redevelopment,” adds Boyle. “It will enable much greater access between the city of Camden and the city of Philadelphia.”

randy lobasso is the policy manager at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.

P HOTO G RAP H BY RACHAE L WARRI NER

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EN ERGY

by

meenal raval

This July, Declare Independence from the Pump!

Clean Laundry Clean Planet Clean Slates

Cut the gas station (and maybe your car) out of your commute and drastically decrease your fossil fuel usage

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ossil fuels are everywhere in our daily lives. So much so that we hardly notice them. Doing the laundry? Your dryer is likely burning gas. Taking a shower? Your basement water heater is likely burning gas, too. A quick quesadilla before heading out? Umm…likely your stove is a gas stove.

And that disposable water bottle you just tossed into your bag for the day? It’s made of plastic, which is made from oil.

About to plan a road trip? The gasoline that you fill’er up with is refined from crude oil—a fossil fuel.

When we drive a car, each gallon of gasoline used emits about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This can add up over the course of a year.

For example, I drove a Honda Fit, offering about 27 miles per gallon, for about 10,000 miles each year. The resultant annual emissions were about 7,400 pounds, or 3.35 metric tons of CO2.

There’s a popular and feasible idea for transitioning away from fossil fuels. Electrify everything. Your dryer could be replaced with an electric dryer, or a clothesline. Your water heater could be replaced with an electric one, even a tankless one. Your stove could also be replaced with an electric one; fancy stoves called induction cooktops offer the same control over the pan as a gas stove.

The single-use water bottle has countless refillable options, in styles for everyone.

But the car?

There are alternatives to the gasoline car, too. In the transportation scene, they call them multi-modal. Basically, the car isn’t the right option for every trip. Consider walking, cycling, using mass transit or car-sharing,

and then, if you must, an electric car. Each of these use much less fossil fuel energy (and related greenhouse gas emissions) than a single-occupancy gasoline car.

For your daily getting around, see if you can leave the car at home more often. Jot this on the kitchen calendar, and reward yourself each day you do so! For trips to the shore this summer, consider the bus or the train.

Most days now, I bike to work since it’s just a half-mile away. When I need to get from Mt. Airy to Center City, there’s the regional rail station around the corner, that can get me downtown within a half hour.

Since train service is infrequent, I sometimes opt to take a bus to the Broad Street Line. The bus shows up within minutes, and the BSL gets me to the City Hall station within 15 minutes. I’ve found there’s no need to drive the car into town, only to deal with traffic congestion and paying for parking. When I do drive these days, I drive an electric car.

An electric car has no tailpipe and therefore, no tailpipe emissions. Many have said that’s untrue, reminding me that the electricity on our grid comes from a mix of generation sources—coal, oil, gas and nuclear, which definitely have emissions. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, just switching from a gasoline car to an electric car reduces your emissions by about 60%, no matter where you recharge. Since many electric car drivers recharge at home, when the home has rooftop solar panels installed, the emissions drop to zero.

So, think multi-modal. And think electric. And soon, you too will find yourself declaring independence from the pump!

meenal raval is a catalyst for the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign, and Solarize Southeast PA, to assist people in the Philadelphia suburbs transition away from fossil fuels like coal, oil, gas and gasoline.

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music. without walls.

Celebrate summer with toe-tapping music, marshmallow toasting over a camp fire, star gazing, local craft beer, tasty food truck fare, and a view that will take your breath away.

Live performances by Hoots & Hellmouth, and Vanessa Collier.

Tickets and info natlands.org/FridayNightLights PHOTO BY ED CUNICELLI

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urban naturalist

Snakes Alive

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hen craig johnson saw his neighbors getting picked on, he knew he had to get involved. It didn’t matter a bit to Johnson that his neighbors were snakes.

Johnson lives in Glen Fern, a historic house dating back to the mid-1700s that sits at the end of Livezey Lane—a street that is crossed by the Wissahickon’s Orange Trail and is close to Devil’s Pool, a popular swimming hole1. Although Glen Fern is the last house on the Lane, a den of northern water snakes occupy a prime bit of real estate a few yards just beyond at the base of an old stone dam on Wissahickon Creek.

1

The dam, known as Livezey Dam, features a sunny southwest exposure with easy access to the water, perfect for basking or, in the spring, spending some intimate time with members of the opposite sex. To be specific, water snake mating usually consists of one of the heftier females in the middle and a group of the smaller males wrestling with each other to actually seal the deal, yielding what is commonly called a “mating ball.”

Northern water snakes, as the name implies, also spend a lot of time in the water, swimming and hunting for fish and frogs.

The dam’s location on the water makes it the perfect home base for such excursions, and

The crowds swimming at Devil’s Pool leave behind heaps of trash and destroy the surrounding vegetation, yielding a nightmare for staff from Philadelphia Parks and Recreation as well as the Friends of the Wissahickon.

The water itself is teeming with fecal bacteria, and swimmers often injure themselves on the rocks. Of course it feels exciting to hop into an illicit swimming hole, but please, don’t be that person. Next time you want to go swimming with your friends, hit a state park or one of Philadelphia’s dozens of proper swimming pools.

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its stone construction offers endless cozy cracks and crevices great for hibernating during the winter or sleeping the day away in warmer weather.

The only problem with the dam, from the water snakes’ perspective, are all the hikers and bathers walking past it.

Northern water snakes are practically harmless. If you’re so inclined (and I often am), you can pick one up and lose only a little blood to their needle-like teeth. In the end, the copious musk and poop the snake smears on you will make you forget the bite.

Of course, if you’re not inclined to pick one up, it will just sit there or escape into the water. It wants nothing to do with you.

Unfortunately for the water snakes, which are chunky with dark reddish-brown

TO P P H OTO : C R A I G J O H N S O N • B OT TO M P H OTO : K R I S TO N J A E B E T H E L

Newly created “snake-uary” on Wissahickon Creek protects by bernard brown reptile from cold-blooded attacks

Water snakes in a “mating ball;” Craig Johnson, a self-described “habiteer,” has worked to protect Wissahickon’s snake population.

blotches on a dark gray background, they do slightly resemble the venomous water moccasin (aka the cottonmouth), which live nowhere near Philadelphia. The closest they range is southern Virginia. Nonetheless the resemblance is enough to make the benign water snake a target, particularly for ignorant young men showing off for their friends.

Johnson saw visitors harassing the snakes as soon as he moved into Glen Fern in 2010 and personally intervened when he could.

More recently, though, Johnson observed an increase in snake activity as well as increased harassment of the water snakes as Devil’s Pool became more popular.

“Three years ago was the time we had the most confrontations with visitors abusing and killing the snakes,” Johnson says, and sometimes visitors would become heated when he stepped in to stop the abuse.

In January of 2018, he felt called to take more drastic action.

“I had this dream where the snakes came to me and said, ‘You’ve befriended us. Could you help us have a safe place at Livezey Dam?’ ” Johnson recalled.

The snakes picked the right dreamer.

Johnson is the executive director of Interpret Green, a studio that creates nature habitats for parks, libraries and schools, “so students can go out every day and have a nature experience,” he says. “I’m a ‘habiteer.’

I create habitat.”

Johnson fought back against the snakes’ tormentors by turning the whole situation into a learning experience. In the winter of 2018 he worked with Friends of the Wissahickon to fence off the prime basking spots and to create interpretive signage to teach visitors about the snakes (full disclosure, I consulted on a volunteer basis on the interpretive signage).

The “Snake-uary” was such a success in its first year that this past winter Johnson quadrupled its size to about 100 feet by 40 feet and added more snake amenities such as rocks and logs to hide under. Inspired by a female water snake who gave birth in a heap of wood chips in his garden, Johnson added a similar pile inside the fence.

“At least one out of every three or four visitors stops and reads the sign,” Johnson says. “They look in there to see if they see snakes, and they ask questions.”

What they don’t do is beat them up.

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G R E AT P HI LLY BUI LDI N GS

a 10-pa rt serie s on th e be st{ } d e sig ned bu ilding s in p h illy

Obstructed View A hidden entrance makes the exceptionally designed Barnes by rob fleming feel exclusive—and not in a good way

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t is a rare day, indeed, when Philadelphia gets a new art museum. Major buildings like the Barnes Foundation are like central characters in an unfolding drama of time and space within the civic heart of the city.

The Barnes is an architectural accomplishment to be sure. Its quiet dignity, serene landscapes and soaring spaces make it a true masterpiece—a hero to be sure. But like all heroes, the Barnes has its tragic flaw.

Designed by Billie Tsien and Tod Williams and opened in 2012, the Barnes Foundation sits along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and therein lies the problem.

But first, let’s look at the highlights.

It might seem odd to start with the building’s performance, but in the early 21st century, a project that does not strive to meet the highest environmental standards possible is not worthy of the term masterpiece.

Thankfully, The Barnes is an example of authentic sustainable design.

Meeting LEED Platinum standards, the project is one of the greenest museums in the world. The integration of solar panels 14

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and a green roof are elegantly organized.

The panels harness the sun’s energy for building use and the green roof helps to reduce the strain on the city’s combined sewer system. A large rainwater cistern stores all the water needed to flush toilets, and the lighting strategies combine artificial and natural light to perfectly illuminate the art while saving energy at the same time.

From an environmental point of view, the Barnes stands as an exemplar of how beautiful design and high-performance green buildings can peacefully coexist. Future high-profile projects built in the city have no excuse but to match or exceed the standards achieved by the project.

Now—about that fatal flaw…

Every building in the urban context has an important role to play in creating vibrant civic spaces. Sadly, the Barnes fails in this important social-cultural responsibility.

The facade facing the Parkway is relatively opaque, offering nary a glimpse into the magical world of art and architecture that lies behind. A dense shrubbery wall blocks views to a terrace that is accessible

only to those who have “made it” into the museum. Sadly, the “closed” nature of the design speaks the language of exclusion.

It ignores the lessons from the Pompidou Center in Paris, or the MET in New York, where broad architectural gestures engage the broader community and encourage everyone to “come in and enjoy the art.”

Even more disappointing is the actual entrance off the parkway. Where is it? A passerby might never know that the entrance to this amazing museum is down a wonderful pathway leading away from the parkway.

Lessons from its neighbor, the Rodin Museum, were ignored. That museum design managed to engage the parkway in both access and scale but retain the sense of quiet reflection in the entry sequence.

But here is the thing. It’s not too late to attack the fatal flaw of the building’s underwhelming urban response. The exclusive shrub-protected terrace can become an inclusive set of public steps on which citizens can sit and enjoy the parkway. The invisible pathway off the parkway can be punctuated by a new portico that encourages people from all walks of life to “come in and explore.” The “cantilevered corner” can be opened to the public and become the “Rocky Statue” for art and design lovers—a photo opportunity to be sure.

The Barnes can go beyond its leadership in environmental performance and its standing as a design masterpiece to become a true hero—a prominent player in the city’s long tradition of civically engaged architecture.

P H OTO BY M I C H A E L W O H L B E R G

The facade facing the Parkway is relatively opaque, offering nary a glimpse into the magical world of art and architecture that lies behind. A dense shrubbery wall blocks views to a terrace that is accessible only to those who have “made it” into the museum.

PHILLY FOODWORKS is changing our local f ood ec onomy!

We are an online market and farm share program that is dedicated to creating a sustainable local food system for the Greater Philadelphia region.

Here is how we are changing the local food system: FAIR PRICES AND EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION ROUTES

Unlike many traditional distributors that demand exclusivity and leverage competition to get the lowest-possible prices, we keep farmers’ well-being at the center of our business model.

We allow our growers and producers to sell to whomever they want and encourage them to do what is best for their businesses.

We also have established a network of aggregation hubs where multiple farmers in certain areas can deliver products to be transported in consolidated deliveries to our warehouse in Philadelphia.

And we cover the cost of trucking! This not only reduces the carbon footprint and allows smaller farmers to access the city market, but it also allows farmers to keep more of their profits to invest back in their business… or hey, maybe even go on vacation!

INVESTMENTS IN PRODUCER OPERATIONS

Another way we support farmers and producers is by helping them make investments in their dayto-day operations. In the past, we have provided financing for seed, greenhouses, coolers, and even a truck for various farms. In 2019, we are in talks to help finance another greenhouse for one of our farmers, which will help us guarantee a steady crop of greens throughout the winter.

CROP PLANNING AND COLLABORATION WITH FARMERS

In 2018, we launched a project aimed at increasing the diversity of our products and locking in seasonal orders far in advance. The result was a giant spreadsheet detailing the specific crops each of our farmers grow, roughly how much they will be planting for upcoming seasons, and the approximate time they plan to harvest.

When he noted overlapping crops among different farms, our produce buyer, Loren, collaborated with the farmers to choose different varieties or later planting times so Philly Foodworks won’t have to turn away any of our farmers’ crops due to excess supply, and so excess crops don’t go to waste in the fields due to lack of demand.

As a bonus, this also means that we’ll have an even wider range of produce in the coming seasons, as well as longer availability of items due to staggered plantings among different farms. For the farmers, it means that they have a guaranteed market for their products and the support (both financial and strategic) to try new varieties—like Black Nebula carrots and Sichuan Red Beauty radishes, for instance.

When you shop Philly Foodworks, you too are helping change our food system! phillyfoodworks.com | 215-221-6245 | info@phillyfoodworks.com J ULY 20 19

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P HOTO COURTESY O F FAIRM OUN T PARK CO N S ERVA NCY

YOUR SUMMER ESCAPE PLAN

Grid’s guide to exploring nearby outdoor wonders story by alexandra w. jones

IF

you’re thinking that this summer might be a great time to escape from Philadelphia’s city streets and explore the outdoors, this is the list for you. The Philly area has tons of nature havens that can serve as the perfect getaway from your metropolitan life. Whether you like to camp, bike or simply enjoy the outdoors, there’s a great location for an adventure closeby. So strap on a pair of comfortable shoes, slather on some sunscreen and see how many of these little pockets of fresh air you can check off.

Bartram’s Garden

Bartram’s Garden Adventurers take a break from the city and go offshore in kayaks and rowboats along the Schuylkill River.

Located in West Philadelphia, the 45-acre Bartram’s Garden has eight acres of trails on which you can discover a wide variety of trees and plants. Opened in 2017, a 1.1.-mile trail segment called Bartram’s Mile connects to the Schuylkill River Trail, which winds through the garden and is perfect for bikers, walkers and runners alike.

HOURS: Garden is open sunrise to sunset;

Welcome Center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends COST: Free admission; Garden tours are $12 for

non-member adults and $10 for non-member youths and seniors LOCATION: 5400 Lindbergh Boulevard

Bellmawr Lake You can’t beat this lake’s proximity—it’s less than 30 minutes from Center City. The twoacre, man-made swimming hole has sand and a 100-foot water slide. Land activities include beach volleyball, horseshoes, picnicking and mini golf.

HOURS: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

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and $13 on weekends; Children 2 to 11 pay $9 on weekdays and $10 on weekends LOCATION: 850 Creek Rd, Bellmawr, NJ

Beltzville State Park A two hours’ drive from Center City, this 3,000-acre state park is located in the foothills of the Poconos. Chief among its attractions is a 525-foot sand beach. Visitors are welcome to take a dip, paddle canoes or kayak, though the beach isn’t attended by lifeguards. Birders can spot waterfowl and other species in nearby forests. There are also plenty of trails to explore.

HOURS: 8:00 a.m. to sunset COST: Free LOCATION: 2950 Pohopoco Dr, Lehighton, PA

Boxers Trail If you’re searching for a well-reviewed trail in the midst of Fairmount, look no further.

Runners and cyclists alike can enjoy the 3.5-mile-long loop, which swivels past the historic Smith Memorial Playground, several historic mansions, and the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. It gets its name because boxers like the legendary Joe Frazier used it as a running path.

dunes. Grab yourself a walk-in tent site next to the Walking Dunes Trail or rent one of its 12 camping cabins that share a communal bath house. Its beaches offer visitors everything from ocean swimming and boating to kayaking, fishing, clamming and wind-surfing. Additionally, the park’s trails are a great excuse to hike and bike.

HOURS: 8 a.m. until sunset COST: $35 per night for tent camping LOCATION: 15099 Cape Henlopen Drive Lewes, DE

Cherry Springs State Park At 250 miles from Center City, this is the farthest spot on our list. But if you are seeking a night sky where the constellations are not lost in visual pollution, Cherry Springs State Park is worth the road trip. Known to be one of the best places in the country to see stars, this park, surrounded by the 262,000-acre Susquehannock State Forest, is remote and dark. There are 30 campsites available at the park—fire rings included.

It also boasts trails for hiking and biking.

A short walk from the beach in Cape May, Cape Henlopen has a unique campground— one that rests among pine-covered sand

COST: Free LOCATION: 63rd and Market streets

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Another Poconos-area favorite is this 70,000-acre park. Visitors can see waterfalls, enjoy swimming holes and observe Native American archaeological sites. It’s also a great place for camping and hiking.

Raymondskill Falls, Pennsylvania’s tallest waterfall at 150 feet, can be seen from a trail that’s only 0.3 miles long. Its beaches are not only a great place to swim, but to lounge, picnic and boat, too.

HOURS: Day-use areas are open from sunrise

to sunset COST: $2-10 for amenity fees LOCATION: River Road Off Route 209 Bushkill, PA

Fairmount Park

COST: Free

There’s plenty of room for all sorts of fun across Fairmount Park’s 2,050 acres. In addition to biking, walking and running, the park boasts picnicking grounds, basketball courts and an equestrian center. Hike up to Belmont Plateau if you’re looking for a view of the city skyline and a patch of grass from which to enjoy it. More into history? Take a walk down the Trolley Trail, which follows the course of an old trolley that ran through Fairmount in the early 20th century. Or explore the “Charms” of Fairmount—six historic houses that offer a glimpse into life just before and after the American Revolution.

LOCATION: 4639 Cherry Springs Road

Coudersport, PA

Cobbs Creek Trail

Cape Henlopen State Park

HOURS: Open 24 hours

HOURS: Open 24 hours

HOURS: Sunrise to Sunset COST: Free

Cemetery and several tennis courts. You don’t have to cross many roads to complete it, making it ideal for families with children.

This paved and shady trail runs 3.7 miles from 63rd Street Station to 70th Street. It winds through playgrounds, the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center, the historic Mount Moriah

Cape Henlopen Birders at Hawk Watch can glimpse Red-Tailed Hawks and Golden Eagles.

HOURS: Open sunrise to sunset;

Tour times for the Charms may vary COST: Free; Charms tours cost $8 for adults, $5 for seniors and kids ages 13-17 LOCATION: Northwest Philadelphia

FDR Park This South Philadelphia park, which was originally built on reclaimed marshlands, offers trails for walking, running and biking. Today, it’s full of fields and lakes and offers great views of the city skyline, Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field. The park also boasts a golf course, tennis courts, skateparks and lakes for fishing.

HOURS: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

COST: Park entry is free, prices for

sporting activities vary LOCATION: 1500 Pattison Avenue 18

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P HOTO COURTESY O F AP RIL AB E L , D E L AWARE STAT E PA RKS

Fairmount Park Hikers explore the physical remains of what was once a trolley network, including massive stone tunnels and bridges.

French Creek State Park This 7,730-acre state park, which has more than 35 miles of trails, makes up the biggest stretch of forests between Washington, D.C., and New York City, and it is perfect for your hiking, swimming, fishing and biking needs. You can stay the night in a yurt that has a fridge and a cook top or a cabin outfitted with modern amenities. Its campground has 200 camping sites, approximately 60 of which have electric power. Visitors can also refresh themselves at the swimming pool by Hopewell Lake during daytime hours.

HOURS: sunrise to sunset COST: Starting at $15 per night for PA residents; starting at $20 per night for non-residents LOCATION: 843 Park Road, Elverson, PA

John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge It’s a green sanctuary near the Philadelphia Airport. John Heinz boasts more than 10 miles of hiking trails, complete with observation platforms where visitors can witness the wildlife of the freshwater Tinicum Marsh. The refuge supports birds as well as mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, in-

sects and plants. Visitors can kayak and canoe along a 4.5-mile section of Darby Creek that winds through the marsh, and biking is permitted in select areas.

HOURS: Refuge is open from sunrise to sunset;

COST: Primary membership $300,

additional $175 per family member.

Infants are free; discounts for toddlers and senior citizens LOCATION: 137 W. Knowlton Rd., Media, PA

Visitor center is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

COST: Free

Morris Arboretum

LOCATION: 8601 Lindbergh Boulevard

With miles of paved and unpaved trails, the Morris Arboretum is the perfect place to go for a hike and to learn about plants—it has more than 2,600 kinds growing in its living collection. It also has several family-friendly exhibits, including “Out on a Limb,” an elevated canopy 50 feet above ground that allows visitors to look down as they climb across rope netting. There’s also the “Railway Garden,” in which visitors can observe model trains as they chug along a quarter mile of track past miniature replicas of wellknown Philly buildings.

Linvilla Orchards Swim Clubs For some classic summer fun, join the swim clubs in Linvilla Orchards. Linvilla Orchards, a 300-acre family farm just outside of Media, PA, is home to two swim clubs: Hidden Hollow and Knowlton. Every member has access to the facilities of both clubs.

Located right on the farm, each club boasts perfect grounds for swimming, sunbathing, picnics and poolside parties—which the clubs host for members and nonmembers alike. Swimming lessons are taught at both, and each club has their own swimming and diving teams that any member under 18 is welcome to join.

HOURS: 12 to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m.

to 8:30 p.m. on weekends

P HOTO COU RT ESY O F FA IR M OU N T PA R K CO N S E RVA N CY

HOURS: Weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.;

Weekends 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

COST: $20 for non-member adults; $10 for non-member students and kids ages 3-17 LOCATION: 100 E. Northwestern Avenue J ULY 20 19

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Kids can’t get enough of the Squirrel Scramble’s rope netting—part of Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania’s Tree Adventure exhibition.

Wharton State Forest & Atsion Lake About an hour outside of Philadelphia, you’ll find Atsion Lake in Wharton State Forest. It’s a popular swimming spot with lifeguards on duty. The 100-acre lake is surrounded by picnic areas, playgrounds, barbeque grills and concession stands. A half mile away, visitors can rent canoes and kayaks at Pinelands Adventures. There are also wheelchair-accessible nature trails. And if you’d like to make a weekend out of it, the park hosts around 50 lakeside tent and trailer sites as well as other camping amenities.

Pennypack Park

Rail Park

HOURS: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Established in 1905, Pennypack boasts 1,600 acres of woodlands, meadows and wetlands.

The park has playgrounds, hiking and biking trails and a small educational environmental center on Verree Road. Walk along Pennypack Creek, a tributary to the Delaware River, and see how many snakes, turtles and frogs you can find. On Wednesdays, you can also stop by the Ed Kelly Amphitheater for a free concert, often by a tribute band—7:30 p.m. is the usual start time.

Established on what used to be two elevated railroad lines, The Rail Park in Chinatown is similar to the High Line in New York City. One day, the park will stretch for three miles, connecting 10 neighborhoods and 50 city blocks. For now, however, only a quarter mile of the park has been completed and opened to the public. It’s pet friendly, wheelchair accessible and offers amazing skyline views.

COST: $5/$10 per car during the week and $10/$20 per car on weekends LOCATION: 715 Rt. 206, Shamong, NJ

HOURS: Sunrise to sunset

COST: Free

COST: Free

LOCATION: Steps at 1120 Callowhill Street; Wheelchair accessible entrance at the intersection of Broad and Noble Streets

LOCATION: 8500 Pine Road

HOURS: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Quarry Swim Club Finally, a quarry you’re allowed to swim in! Located in Hopewell, New Jersey, the Quarry Swim Club has been welcoming waterbugs for the last 100 years. It stopped operating as a rock quarry in 1916, and underground springs pump water into the hole, which is about 55 feet deep. It officially became a swim club in 1928 and has since added other amenities like an in-ground swimming pool, dressing rooms and a snack shack.

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays;

12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends COST: Passes for six visits for $102 for ages 13 & older; $78 for ages 6 - 12; and $54 for ages 5 & under LOCATION: 180 Crusher Road Hopewell, NJ 20

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Schuylkill River Trail

Wissahickon Valley Park This park has more than 50 miles of hiking trails, five of which can be found on “Forbidden Drive”—a flat, gravel trail that runs alongside the Wissahickon Creek. Bikers, hikers and horseback riders enjoy this trail together. It leads to the historic Valley Green Inn, built in the 19th century, and now operates as a restaurant. The park is also designated an “Important Birding Area” by the National Audubon Society. Owls, woodpeckers, nuthatches and blue jays are among the birds frequently spotted here.

Everyone who’s seen the Schuylkill River trail has made a mental note to bike it one day. Take a day to actually do so this summer. It winds from Center City, throughValley Forge National Historical Park in Montgomery County to Parkerford, PA. It even has a “boardwalk” section that extends over the Schuylkill River, giving you a great view of the city skyline. The trail is ideal for walks and runs, too, and weaves beside historic Philly landmarks like Boathouse Row, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Fairmount Water Works.

HOURS: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

HOURS: Open 24 hours

HOURS: Sunrise to sunset

COST: Free

COST: Free

LOCATION: 2501 Walnut Street

LOCATION: 82 Cabin Bridge Road Forksville, PA

COST: Free LOCATION: Valley Green Road

Worlds End State Park Tucked inside Loyalsock State Forest is Worlds End State Park—a great place to photograph and explore mountains and streams. The park also has camping amenities and more than 20 miles of hiking trails, including a geology trail that takes visitors down a path where they can observe various rock formations.

P HOTO COURTESY O F R. KE N N E DY FO R V IS IT P HIL A DELPHI A

summer at the

seaport

SUMMER ON THE WATER There are plenty of ways to get out on the water with Independence Seaport Museum! Feeling adventurous?

Register for one of several kayaking excursions to various destinations around Philadelphia. phillyseaport.org/onwater

Wolff’s Apple House Farm Market & Garden Center

Fresh Food • Beautiful Plants

Wolff ’s is “Always in Season!” Summer brings vine-ripened tomatoes, delicious melons, peaches & berries, plus fresh-picked corn on the cob every day!

Our chef prepares fresh food to go! Picnic salads, salsa, hummus, pulled pork, salads & wraps, house-roasted cold-cuts, and more!

Browse our garden center for summer blooming annuals & perennials!

www.WolffsAppleHouse.com

81 S. Pennell Rd. - Media, PA - 610-566-1680

Sustainable Living and Resource Saving Products for Eco-Friendly Lifestyles, on and off grid 252 Bridge St. Phoenixville, PA 19460 610-935-2600 CommunityEcoStore.com J ULY 20 19

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NOT OUT OF THE WOODS Greenland Nursery battles invasive plants, one seedling at a time story by claire marie porter • photography by margo reed

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n his battle against invasive plant species in the Philadelphia region, Max Blaustein is taking prisoners.

Boards displaying various vine cuttings are tacked to a barn wall at the Greenland Nursery, which Blaustein has managed for the last decade. Chinese Wisteria vine, thick and bendy, a hairy English ivy clipping and the pale-colored flaky Japanese honeysuckle vine are lined up like criminal suspects.

These invasive plants seem omnipresent in our city. Brick walls often crawl with English, or “common,” ivy—purple wisteria drips romantically from balconies. Many of us likely grew up pinching off the ends of honeysuckle blossoms, gingerly drawing out the single drop of nectar.

They’re so common most would never

“You could drive past [the woods] a thousand times, and unless you know what you’re looking for, you would never realize it’s in really poor health.”

—max blaustein, guess they are some of the most destructive of invasive plants in the region—some are crowding out native species with excessive germination, others are physically pulling trees down.

The Philadelphia park system has one of the highest concentrations of invasive plant species in the region, says Blaustein.

Luckily, Philadelphia’s Department of Parks and Recreation is doing something to combat the problem. It’s hired Blaustein and nursery worker Dhan Parker to reestablish the century-old nursery off of Ford Road in West Fairmount Park and outfit the surrounding parks and woods with native plants.

While Philadelphia’s vast park system will ultimately serve as a home to the fullgrown plants, Greenland is where the seedlings are born and raised.

Opposite page: Gardeners Max Blaustein and Dhan Parker walk among seedlings destined for restoration sites surrounding the Horticulture Center; above: Virginia Rose is the most common wild rose native to North America.

the 13.5-acres of Greenland Nursery facilities have been in operation on and off since 1876, when it was established as “The Fairmount Park Nursery,” where trees and flowers were grown.

According to Department of Parks and Recreation spokesperson Theresa Stulman, its current name comes from “a failed real estate development known as the Village of Greenland, which was laid out prior to Fairmount Park being developed in 1868.” “[Fairmount] initially appears to have been a heavily wooded area according to the detailed 1870 topographical map surveyed by park engineers,” says Stulman.

To a certain extent, it still is today. But many of the plants that now make up the forest were never meant to grow there in the first place.

“Most don’t know the dire situation its greenery is in, due to increased pressure from invasive species of plants,” says Blaustein. “You could drive past [the

Greenland Nursery manager

woods] a thousand times, and unless you know what you’re looking for, you would never realize it’s in really poor health.”

What’s left is about 10 percent of the original canopy, he says, which is a couple hundred years old. The understory is almost completely stripped of vegetation, he says. The native seedlings are browsed by deer, while the invasive plants are left alone.

The team works off a list of 150 native woody tree and shrub plants, with varying levels of priority, says Blaustein. There are a few native species doing all right on their own.

“We were not seeing a lot of natural rehabilitation in the forest, so we’ve had to get involved,” he says.

Parker and Blaustein collect native seeds in the fall and bring them back to Greenland Nursery for processing. They clean, dry and store the viable seeds.

In one of the nursery buildings, little drawers and bags of seeds are stored in industrial-sized refrigerators.

“This is like their winter in here,” says Blaustein. Some seeds are large, like the white oak acorns, and some look like dust.

Others, like elderberries, are already eagerly sprouting in the bag.

Their seedlings will help to reforest the city and its surrounding woods. The nursery germinates between 15,000 and 20,000 plants per year, and about 100 different species of native plants.

“Most of it’s your bread-and-butter species that should be here, and just aren’t,” Blaustein explains.

Three or four of those species are state-listed as rare or endangered, says Blaustein. Wafer ash, or hoptree, is one. It’s one of the few trees in the citrus family that is native to Philadelphia.

Occasionally, long lost or endangered native species will spring up after invasives have been cleared from an area and restoration work has been done. Annual wild rice, a threatened, marsh-loving grass, showed up at the John Heinz National J ULY 20 19

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Blaustein carries a seedling to be planted at a restoration site.

Wildlife Refuge, and white thoroughwort, a rare princess of an herb with disc florets, appeared in the Wissahickon’s Houston meadow after restoration began. The team collected those seeds and propagated them.

A lot of the trees and shrubs take three to four years to grow to size, and each age group has its own nursery at Greenland. They tend to some 10,000 plants at a time. Inside the greenhouses are various stages of native life.

Blaustein calls out the names as we walk past—“persimmons, dogwoods, hickories and hollies, native roses and elderberries.”

The team also propagates “live stakes,” or tree stem cuttings that easily root on their own. They look like twigs, but these willow and dogwood stems have a powerful rooting hormone and will grow into trees that strengthen the stream banks and prevent soil erosion. A thousand of these cuttings were planted along the Lansdowne and Montgomery creeks at the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center this spring.

The Greenland Nursery team also considers provenance in their approach. The idea that something may be native in both Pennsylvania and North Carolina, but the plant will have adapted to its unique locale.

“The closer you collect your source material, the better adapted it will be to local [threats],” Blaustein says.

Furthermore, the parkland that surrounds the creeks is the first line of defense when it comes to stormwater protections, says Blaustein.

“If those are healthy landscapes, the water is going to be a lot cleaner. It buffers the effects of climate change,” he says. “The benefits are huge.”

We need to learn what our natural land24

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scape should look like, and it may be quite different than what we think. A healthy ecosystem may require some sacrifices—a bittersweet goodbye to Oriental bittersweet.

“The parks in Philadelphia are extremely important—they’re cleaning the air, they’re keeping the city cooler, they’re hugely important to managing stormwater,” says Blaustein.

It’s not only for the butterflies and birds, he says—it’s for the health of people. where a hiker might see a beautiful forest scape while walking the Wissahickon, Tony Croasdale, environmental education program specialist for the Parks and Recreation department, sees an invasive monoculture of Japanese knotweed.

“There should be 20 species of shrub there, and there aren’t,” he says. “It’s still mostly invasives in the understory.”

Japanese knotweed is an invasive foliage that grows rapidly and densely, and it is nearly impossible to kill. It can grow through cracks in cement and even floorboards and easily crowds out native plants.

“When I first started out, I remember, I knew the invasive plants better than the natives. I knew what I was supposed to pull,” says Croasdale, but not what to keep.

Native species of plants aren’t commonly recognized by the average onlooker.

What would a healthy native landscape look like?

Our stream banks would have a lot more shrubs, he says. Instead of the monochromatic orange and white of apricot flowers and honeysuckle, you’d see bright white viburnums and blueberries, and bold orange-reds of persimmons and butterfly

milkweed. There would be many more meadows, essential spaces necessary for ironweed and a host of other prairie plants that need temporary grasslands to grow.

To maintain that diversity the city is installing meadows in Cobbs Creek and Pennypack Park, says Croasdale.

The East Coast in general is heavily invaded, and Philly was the point of introduction for a lot of these plants.

“We can’t just let nature on its own anymore, unless we want things to go extinct,” says Croasdale.

Invasives would ultimately take over. In most cases, if you want to keep diversity intact, there will have to be a significant amount of interventions—this may mean installing deer closures, removing invasive plants or introducing a needed pest. And, likely, a period of time when the forests look bare. After clearing invasive species, there won’t be much left that’s green.

“There is also less diversity of invertebrates associated with alien plants,” Croasdale says. Most insects cannot consume the plant tissue of invasive plants. “We’re depriving insectivores of a lot of their foods,” he says. “Eye-level birds have declined.

Could be deer—but could be that there’s a lot less insects available.”

That’s why these plants were introduced in Philadelphia in the first place, he points out, because they were resistant to bugs.

Who, after all, wants plants covered in caterpillar holes?

Then there’s the issue of invasional meltdown, which the East Coast has been witnessing with the introduction of the Spotted Lanternfly. The tree of heaven, an invasive species from the same region in China as the insect, is omnipresent in Pennsylvania, giving the bug a foothold. More invasive plants means more opportunities for invasive bugs to colonize.

Philadelphia is fortunate. It has one of the largest urban park systems in the country—the Fairmount Park system includes 63 parks, approximately 9,600 acres of land— and the larger the area, the more resistance to invasive species.

Yet these lands are all highly manipulated. The goal, says Croasdale, is to get things back to what we understand to be a healthier ecological state—so forests are diverse in both species and genetic composition and structure.

Farm-to-Table Fresh Organic and Local In conjunction with Frecon Farms,

Cosmic Cidery and Brewery is now open! Sit by the water and sip a refreshing adult beverage.

1 Boathouse Row • 215-978-0900 Open 7 Days a Week • 8 AM to 8 PM

cosmicfoods.com

We clean with eco-friendly products that we make by hand using only nautral non-toxic ingredients (plant and mineral derivatives) and essential oils.

HolisticHomeLLC.com 215 • 421 • 4050 J ULY 20 19

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EV EN TS

july 2019

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Herbal Tea Workshop

Greensgrow Farm Dinner

Woody Plant Conference

Learn the basics of growing and harvesting herbs for tea. Walk through the garden to observe medicinal herbs, how to harvest them and their medicinal properties. Create your own personal herbal tea blend to take home. terralunaherbals.com

Co-hosted by Philly Foodworks, this dinner is a benefit to make local food accessible to everyone through Greensgrow’s SNAP Share Program. Features a four-course meal by 1149 Cooperative, inspired by summer produce grown at Greensgrow Farms and other local farms. Live jazz with V. Shayne Frederick Ensemble. greensgrow.org

In its 22nd year, this daylong conference focuses on great woody plants of the Mid-Atlantic states and how to use them in landscaping. The conference is geared toward landscape professionals and avid amateur gardeners. scottarboretum.org

WHEN: 5:30 to 7 p.m. COST: $40 WHERE: 1340 Frankford Ave.

WHEN: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 500 College Ave., Swarthmore

WHEN: 6 to 10 p.m. COST: $90 WHERE: 2501 E. Cumberland St.

J uly 11–13

Peace: Open House + Reception

Netroots Nation 2019 This conference for progressive activists will feature over 80 expert panels, 60 training sessions, a film series, networking and even a Democratic Presidential debate. Attendees include online organizers, grassroots activists and independent media-makers. netrootsnation.org WHEN: 8 a.m. (7/11) to 11:30 p.m. (7/13) COST: $99-$895 WHERE: Pennsylvania Convention Center

Join for a day filled with culinary and art workshops connected to this two-year project at the Free Library. Experience guided tours of the Peace exhibition, showcasing collaborative artwork by resettled Syrians and Iraqis and book artists that interweave historic and contemporary stories of refuge. fps.swarthmore.edu WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 1901 Vine St

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Friday Night Lights

27th Annual Haddonfield Crafts and Fine Art Festival

This annual fundraiser for Natural Lands includes live music (this year it’s Hoots & Hellmouth and Vanessa Collier), wine and beer, marshmallow toasting and star gazing.

VIP tickets include private bar and lounge and complimentary appetizers.

Enjoy more than 250 artisans exhibiting a wide range of arts and crafts, including ceramics, glass, jewelry, wood, fiber, metal, paper, drawings, paintings, photography and wearable art.

WHEN: 8 to 11 p.m. COST: $25-$75 WHERE: 1199 Cannery Road, Coatesville

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WHEN: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (7/13), 12 to 5 p.m. (7/14) COST: Free WHERE: Downtown Haddonfield

J uly 24 Green Stormwater Infrastructure Partners Quarterly Meeting GSI Partners will be joined by representatives from the Wissahickon Clean Water Partnership, a coalition of towns and sewer authorities of the Wissahickon Creek Watershed working to address impaired stream health. sbnphiladelphia.org WHEN: 8 to 10:30 a.m. COST: $25 for non-members WHERE: 1515 Market Street, Room 208

J uly 28 Ben to the Shore Bike Tour Ben to the Shore is a 65-mile charity bike ride from Philadelphia to Atlantic City.

Upon arrival at the finish line, riders will be greeted by friends and family for an after party. All proceeds go to Families Behind the Badge Children’s Foundation. fbbcf.org WHEN: 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. COST: $75-$275 WHERE: 200 N. 6th St.

FRIENDS CENTER

The Quaker Hub for Peace and Justice in Philadelphia

Choose Friends Center for Your Eco-Friendly Event!

Since 1856, Friends Center has been a gathering place for business, community and private events. With our LEED Platinum green renovation, modern video and teleconferencing facilities, we are both historic, up to date and ready for your use.

• • • •

Rooms to accommodate events from 10 to 700 people.

10 unique spaces to fit your specific needs.

Centrally located and easily accessible.

Bike, transit and pedestrian friendly.

For more information: Shakirah Holloway 215-241-7098 • sholloway@friendscentercorp.org 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102

friendscentercorp.org

From The Schuylkill to the Hudson: Landscapes of the Early American Republic June 28–December 29, 2019

This exhibition is made possible by the Henry Luce Foundation. Major support is provided by the Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, Inc. Leadership support is provided by Julie and James Alexandre, and Bowman Properties, Ltd. Generous support is provided by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., Louisa C. Duemling, the Newington-Cropsey Foundation, and Dorothy and Ken Woodcock. Additional support is provided by the Foundation for Landscape Studies, Furthermore Program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, and the PAFA Annual Exhibition Fund.

Historic Exhibitions in 2019–20 are supported by The Templeton Family.

Special Exhibitions in 2019–20 are supported by Jonathan L. Cohen.

David Johnson, The Hudson River from Fort Montgomery (detail), 1870

118-128 N. Broad Street Philadelphia, PA pafa.org

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G R I DP HI L LY.COM

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TOP OF MIND local businesses ready to serve

advocacy

fitness

Clean Air Council

Elevate Health and Performance

Philadelphia’s oldest environmental nonprofit organization dedicated to clean air and providing education on dirty energy.

An integrated wellness practice that offers individualized fitness services, including physical therapy, nutrition counseling and massage, with specialized programs like prenatal and geriatric fitness.

cleanair.org

Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia Provides services to educate and connect new and existing businesses with methods that emphasize social and environmental impact as much as profit. sbnphiladelphia.org

https://elevate.healthcom

954 Dance Movement Collective Our mission is to get you dancing!

The 954 Dance Movement Collective studio is also available for rehearsals, readings, classes, events, recitals, workshops, photography, video and performances. http://www.954dmc.weebly.com

biking food

An independent, Philadelphia-based bike shop, offering the best of commuter, touring and off-road bikes and services.

Birchtree Catering

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Award-winning woman-owned catering business committed to sustainability, local and seasonal ingredients, and relationships with farmers and vendors. birchtreecatering.com

crafts

energy

Alligood Energy Offers sustainable home energy audits with a “whole house approach” to improving your home’s energy efficiency. A short analysis pinpoints your home’s weaknesses and teaches you how to lower its energy impact in the most cost-effective way.

Eldredge Geothermal Solutions Eldredge Geothermal Solutions offers innovative and cost-efficient geothermal ground loop installations, HDPE Fusions, horizontal drilling, and customized sewer, water and drainage solutions. eldredgegeo.com

Solar States Farm to City

The Clay Studio The Clay Studio is a nonprofit institution deepening the connection between people and clay, focused on community outreach and education in ceramic arts.

A leader in the local food movement, Farm to City works to unite Philadelphians with their farmers, through local farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and buying clubs. farmtocity.org

theclaystudio.org

Gilda’s Biscotti

Made Institute Philadelphia-based independent fashion design and sewing school offers a full curriculum of affordable classes for students of all experiences levels to help them meet their professional goals, or learn sophisticated skills. made-institute.com

Sweet Mabel Store and Studio The store features a collection of folk art and crafts, carrying local, national and fair-trade items. The art studio is community-oriented and open to all levels of skill, with a focus on recycled and repurposed materials. sweetmabel.com

GRIDPH I L LY.CO M

An all-inclusive source for DIY home brewers, fermenters, cheesemakers, beekeepers and more. From hop plants, to foraging knives, Philly Homebrew provides all the materials for enthusiasts to get started, educated or inspired. phillyhomebrew.com

alligoodenergy.com

Trophy Bikes

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Philly Homebrew

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Gilda’s handmade, traditional biscotti are baked to crispy Italian perfection using well-sourced ingredients and traditional flavors. gildasbiscotti.com

Philadelphia-based Solar States offers solar installations and education on “going solar” for residential and commercial clients. solar-states.com

SPS Insulation LLC Insulation contractor in Upper Darby specializing in energy efficient and costreducing insulation methods for both residential and commercial communities. spsinsulation.com

Tintco Johnny Brenda’s Fishtown’s treasured indie-rock venue, restaurant and bar, is a unique community space with a world-class sound system and curious eats. johnnybrendas.com

Little Baby’s Ice Cream Little Baby’s scoops are handmade, Philadelphia Style, with quirky flavors and an idiosyncratic scoop shop vibe. Dairy from grass fed, happy cows and nondairy vegan options abound. littlebabysicecream.com

Professional window film services for all commercial and residential windows, with creative and individualized tinting approaches including imaginative designs and solar control film. 215-205-3455

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A N D R E W A B B OT T A LO N A B R A M S O N C H A R L ES A DZ E M A CARINA AHREN G R E G O R Y A LO I A V I C TO R I A A Q U I LO N E C H R I S T I N A A R LT CHARA ARMON M A RY A R M ST RO N G ALLAN ASH AMANDA ASHMORE DENIS & JUDY ASSELIN AW B U R Y A R B O R E T U M K Y L E B A G E N S TO S E G R E TC H Y N B A I L E Y DYLAN BAIRD AMANDA BAKER SUZANNE BAKEWELL JEFFREY BALIFF N A N C Y B A R TO N E L I S A B AT T L E D OT T I E B A U M G A R T E N ANNA BEALE BRENT BEERLEY P. B E H R E N S J OS E P H B E R N ST E I N BRUCE BERRYMAN K AT H R Y N B I R S T E R M I C H E L L E B LO O D W E L L L I N D A B LY T H E JAMIE BOGERT NICOLE BOICE H E C TO R B O N E S ALEXA BOSSE CO L L E E N B OY D JA N E B OY D BRACKEN LEADERSHIP HELENE BRENNAN SUSAN BRETZ LINDSEY BRITT SO P H I E B RO N ST E I N BERNARD BROWN ROBERT BROWN RUTH BROWN WILLIAM BROWN BENJAMIN BRUCKMAN COLE BRUNSON DANIELLE BUEHLER REGAN BUKER MARLA BURKHOLDER MCHELLE BURNS-MCHUGH PA U L B U T T N E R ELAINE CAHILL ANTHONY CAMP F R A N K LY N C A N TO R M A D E L I N E C A N TO R KYLE CARMONA K AT E C A S A N O M A R Y LO U I S E C A S TA L D I M A R I SSA CAST RO J O C ATA N Z A R O C H LO E C E R W I N K A HEDY CERWINKA MARY CHEN BLUE CHEVIGNY ROSE CHIANGO SUSA N C H I N N I C I M OY E R HE CHUNG J E R O M E C LO U D ANN COHEN SARAH COLINS KASSANDRA COMBS ANNE COOK CHERYL COOK MARY COOLEY K E I L A C O R D O VA CAROL FERN CULHANE ELIZABETH CUNICELLI JOANNE DAHME MARY DEVILBISS PA U L D I F R A N C E S C O AURORA DIZEL LISA DIGIACOMO GILDA DOGANIERO A M E L I A D U F F Y-T U M A S Z K R I ST I N A DUGA N CAROL DUNCAN SUSAN EDENS A M A N D A E D WA R D S MICHELLE EISENBERG HELEN ELKINS N I C E S P O S I TO M O R G A N E VA N S E D WA R D FA G A N K AT E FA R Q U H A R L I SA F E I N ST E I N ANDREW FELDMAN J A M I E F E R E L LO JULIA FERNANDEZ JO ANN FISHBURN ANNA FISCHMAN ALLISON FLANDERS ROB FLEMING SUSAN FLESHMAN E R I K A F LO R Y BOB FORMICA P H I L FO RSY T H DEANA FRANK SUSAN FRANK LAUREN FRISCO JEFFREY FULLER MICHAEL GALE C O N S TA N C E G A R C I A - B A R R I O G LO R I A G E L L A I NANCY GERYK LAURA GIBSON MARY GILMAN SIOBHAN GLEASON E D WA R D G O L D E N C H R I ST I N A G R I F F I N BRENT GROCE ROBERT GROVES LENNY HABERMAN

SUSAN HADDEN KENNETH HAHN HEIDI HAMMEL CHARLENE HANBURY K E L LY H A N N I G A N BARBARA HANSEN MARCIA HARP J O H N H A RTZO G LEANNE HARVEY ROBERT HASSON K AT I E H AW K E S CJ HAZELL W I L L I A M H E N GST ANNA HERMAN H E AT H E R H E R S H H E AT H E R H I L L JODY HILL JUDY HOFFMAN RICHARD HOFFMANN M A R YA N N H O O K E R D A N I E L H O WA R D ANDI HUBBARD HARRIETTE HUBBARD LY N D A H U B B E L L M A R YA N N E H U N T E R A M E Y H U TC H I N S K AT H R Y N I D E L L TYKEE JAMES J O N AT H A N J E N S E N LO R R A I N E J E W E T T BRETT JOHN CRAIG JOHNSON BRAD JONES CAROLE JONES FREDERICK JONES MADELEINE JONES MARTINJONES IRA JOSEPHS LY N N K A R O LY NANCY KASSAM-ADAMS J O S E P H K AVA N A G H SOHEE KEMPF KALLIE KENDLE LAURA KENNEDY BILL KING N A N C Y K L AVA N S E VA N K L I N E F E LT E R J E RO M E K N AST E M I LY K O VA C H JENNY KRAFT CYNTHIA KRELLICK VICKY KRESGE VA L E R I E L A N G L E VA N A L AY E N D E C K E R JAMIE LEARY LAURA LECHTENBERG DON LEEDY MINDY LEMOINE ST UA RT L EO N LIZ LEWIS SUZANNE LEWIS A M Y K AT E LO B E L K AT H L E E N LO P E Z FA C U N D O L U C C I AISHA MACKINS M E G A N M A L LO Y JOHN MARGERUM DEBORAH MARGULIES LELAH MARIE FRED MARSHALL W M J M A R S TO N L E E D A P L I S A M AT H E W S O N N I C O L E M AT T H E S E N NEIL MCBRIDE R YA N M C C O R M I C K K AT H L E E N M C C O U R T JEN MCCREERY M A R Y LY L E M C C U E PAT R I C K M C D E V I T T ALLISON MCDONAGH MICHAEL MCGETTIGAN TO M M C G E T T I G A N THADDEUS MCGINESS DENNIS MCOWEN ST E P H E N M E A D A N D Y M E H R OTA PA I G E M E N TO N DANIELLE MERCURIO GAIL MERSHON ELIZABETH MILLER EVE MILLER JENNINE MILLER KIM MILLER NIESHA MILLER S U S A N M O N TA G U E JOHN MOORE B NAGENDRA JEFFREY NEWBURGER M I C H E L L E N I C O L E T TO K AT H L E E N O ’ M A L L E Y ANNE ODONNELL ST E V E O L I V E R P E N N Y O R D WAY K AT E O S H E A W I L L I A M O S WA L D A L E X PA L M A C H R I S TO P H E R PA P P O C A R O L I N E PA R K O G N I A N PAV LO V JANE PEPPER ELISABETH PEREZ LUNA M A R Y A N N P E T R I L LO ALLISON PIERSON BOB PIERSON SARA PILLING JESS PLUMMER S TA N P O K R A S MARGIE POLITZER DEBBIE POSMONTIER LISA POWLEY CONNOR PRITZ SARAH PULEO MAUREEN PURCELL

SUSAN QUINN H O L LY Q U I N O N E S ROSEMARY RANCK G E N I E R AV I TA L KIM RAZNOV TED REED JENNY REEVERTS M.B. REGAN G I G I R E I TA N O JENNIFER REZELI JOAN RILEY JOHANNA RIORDAN MARK RIVINUS JULIA RIX C H R I S TO P H E R R O B E R T S TERRY ROBERTS LIZ ROBINSON JON ROESSER G LO R I A R O H L F S JOHN ROMANO ANDY ROSEN MARC ROWELL LO R R A I N E R YA N JENNY SANDLER MARY SCHOBERT REGINA SCHOFIELD KEVIN SCOLES S H O S H A N N A H S E E F I E L DT RACHEL SEMIGRAN DANIELLE SERVEDIO R I C H A R D S E X TO N J I L L S H A S H AT Y TO N I S AV C H U C K V I C TO R S H U G A R T L I S A S H U LO C K K L AU D I A S I KO RA L A U R A S I LV E R M A N KAREN SINGER C SKEMA BETH SMITH ERICA SMITH MEGHAN SMITH ANNA SMUKLER D AV I D S N E L B A K E R A N N E LY S S A S N Y D E R G A R Y S O B O LO W LO R Y S O D A PETER SODY R YA N S P I E S LAURA SPINA ALLISON SPONIC D I A N A ST E I F PA U L S T E I N K E M A RGA R E T ST E P H E N S E R I C S TO W E R S S H AW N S U M M E R S C H R I S SW I T KY D O R OTA S Z A R L E J D AV I D TA N I E R A N N E TAY LO R N Y S S A TAY LO R ANNE THOMFORDE THOMAS F R A N K TO R R I S I EST E L L E T RAC Y T R A C Y T U M O LO SUSAN UNVER I L A VA S S A L LO LAUREN VIDAS LO I S V O LTA PAT R I C I A WA G N E R L I N D S E Y WA L A S K I J O H N WA L B E R P H O E N I C I A WA L L A C E D E B B I E WA R D E N M A R S H A L L WA R F I E L D M A R I LY N WA X M A N LAURA WEBB H A N N A H W E I N ST E I N CAROL WEISL LEE WENTZ K I RST E N W E R N E R H O L L I S W E S TO N PA U L W H I T TA K E R RACHEL WISE ERICA WOLF ZACHARY WOLK J U D I T H W O LO F F ALBERT YEE JEN YUAN HILLEL ZAREMBA CURTIS ZIMMERMANN

your

name here —

A course of nature MES program director Yvette Bordeaux helps environmentally motivated students find their way VIRTUAL CAFÉ Join the MES program director from 12-1 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month for an online chat about your interests and goals.

Log in with us.

www.facebook.com/UPennEES @Penn_MES_MSAG

“Now more than ever, we need people to get involved and get educated about environmental issues,” says Yvette Bordeaux, PhD, who is the Director of Professional Masters Programs in Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania. “Master of Environmental Studies students want to make a difference—there’s just something more they need to make it happen.” The two-year interdisciplinary program equips students with tools to get ahead or shift into a fulfilling career— whether that includes scientific knowledge, sustainability practices, or policy expertise. “The curriculum is unique to each student,” explains Yvette. “We start with where you want to go. Then we figure out what you need to get there.”

The pathways to a greener future lead MES graduates in many different directions, says Yvette, but the campus itself is a fertile ground for environmental innovation. “Philadelphia is our living laboratory,” she continues. “We have students doing local internships in fields like green infrastructure, urban forestry, and energy policy, and the work they do is going to have a lasting impact on Philadelphia’s citizens.”

To learn more about charting your course in environmental studies at Penn, visit:

WWW.UPENN.EDU/GRID