Grid Magazine August 2015 [#076]

WHO IS THE NEXT RACHEL CARSON? KIDS LEARN FROM NATURE

PHILLYEARTH | SCHUYLKILL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION | URBAN BLAZERS TOWARD A SUSTAINABLE PHILADELPHIA

AUGUST 2015 / ISSUE 76 GRIDPHILLY.COM

the Education Issue

STATE OF THE

ARK THE PHILADELPHIA ZOO’S QUEST TO FIGHT HABITAT LOSS WITH CONSUMER-DRIVEN ACTIVISM

AN INTERVIEW WITH LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS AUTHOR RICHARD LOUV THE WORKSHOP SCHOOL • THE LIBRARY TAKES ON CULINARY LITERACY ALSO



SPECIAL GUEST COLUMN:

SPOKE’S Alex Vuocolo talks apps for bikes and a better SEPTA

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Creative play for the whole family.

Kids 12 and under are always free

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Through September 7 Art Splash is presented by PNC Arts Alive. Generous support is provided by The Women’s Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Julius and Ray Charlestein Foundation, and Origlio Beverage and The Honickman Group, as well as by Steve and Gretchen Burke, Sondra and Martin Landes, Jr., Dr. and Mrs. Horace Barsh, Jaimie and David Field, Deena S. Gerson in honor of Isaac Henry Hohns, an anonymous donor, and other generous sponsors. The A is for Art Museum app is made possible by Robert and Marta Adelson and an anonymous donor. (Credits as of June 1, 2015)

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Buy local: shop at these farmers’ markets for fresh food grown on local, sustainable family farms!

Dickinson Square

Moyamensing Avenue and Morris Street Sundays 10am-2pm Mid-May to Thanksgiving

Chestnut Square

32nd and Chestnut Streets, James Creese Student Center Tuesdays 3-7pm | End of April to Thanksgiving

Rittenhouse Tuesday

18th and Walnut Streets Tuesdays 10am-2pm | June to Thanksgiving

Dilworth Park

West Side of City Hall Wednesdays 11am-2pm | Mid-May to Thanksgiving

Fountain

East Passyunk Avenue at Tasker & 11th Street Wednesdays 3-7pm | Mid- May to Thanksgiving

University Square

36th and Walnut Streets Wednesday 10am-3pm | Year Round

Bala Cynwyd

Cynwyd Heritage Trail (Barmouth Trailhead) on the Cynwyd Heritage Trail Thursday 2:30-6:30pm | End of May to Thanksgiving

Jefferson

10th and Chestnut Streets Thursday 11am-3pm | Mid-May to Thanksgiving

Walnut Hill

46th & Market Streets at the Enterprise Center Thursday 4-7pm | Mid-May to October

Mt Airy

Carpenter Lane & Greene Street, across from the Weavers Way Co-op

Thursday 2-6pm | July & August

Gorgas Park

Ridge Avenue and Acorn Street Friday 2-6pm | End of May to Thanksgiving

Bryn Mawr

Lancaster Avenue and Bryn Mawr Avenue Saturday 9am-1pm (10-12pm every 1st & 3rd Sat. Jan - April) | Year Round

Chestnut Hill

Winston Road at Germantown Avenue Saturday 9:30am-1:30pm (10am-12pm Jan. thru April) | Year Round

East Falls

Kelly Drive and North Ferry Road Saturday 10am-2pm | June to November

High Street

3rd & Market Streets, in front of High Street Market

Saturday 10:30-2:30pm | June to Thanksgiving Rittenhouse Saturday 18th and Walnut Streets Saturday 9am-3pm (10am-2pm Jan. thru April) | Year Round Swarthmore

Parking Lot of the Swarthmore Public Library Saturday 9:30-1:30pm | June to Thanksgiving

Find out more at farmtocity.org/FarmersMarkets.asp and follow online at www.facebook.com/FarmToCity

CONTENTS

An endangered gorilla and a tiger walk through the Philadelphia Zoo’s Zoo 360 walkways.

D E PA RT M E N TS

09

“The human child in nature is an endangered species and is an indicator species for endangerment of other species.”

- RICHARD LOUV

JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR

MARKET WATCH Your guide to the weird and wild at the farmers market

11 GUEST COLUMN SPOKE magazine’s Alex Vuocolo has good news for bikers

12 THE BIG PICTURE Best-selling author Richard Louv warns us against Nature Deficit Disorder

15 AROUND TOWN The Invisible River Festival makes a siren of the Schuylkill

O N T H E COVER

36 THINKING GLOBALLY AT THE PHILADELPHIA ZOO Can America’s oldest zoo inspire action on climate change?

COVER P H OTO BY A L B ERT YE E

INSIDE THE ISSUE

44 THE SCHUYLKILL CENTER Celebrating 50 years of the wilder parts of the woods

46 THE FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA Forks over books at a new culinary literacy center

48 PHILLYEARTH A North Philadelphia permaculture haven for kids takes root

52 URBAN BLAZERS Leading urban youth to find trails and themselves

54 WORKSHOP SCHOOL Rebuilding lives and communities through immersive learning

GET CREATIVE WITH

THE CLAY STUDIO

Throw on a pottery wheel at The Clay Studio Aug 7, 5pm-8pm

Create clay animations at Spruce Street Harbor Park Sept 18, 5:30pm-7:30pm

Make a sculpture at Spruce Street Harbor Park Aug 21, 5:30pm-7:30pm

Watch our artists work at Dilworth Park Sept 16, 12pm-1:30pm

Build with your hands at The Clay Studio Sept 4, 5pm-8pm

Enjoy CLAY FEST: A free community festival at The Clay Studio Sept 12, 10am - 4pm

All events are free and open to all ages

Learn something new this fall

137 – 139 n 2nd street philadelphia, pa 19106 theclaystudio.org ǀ 215-925-3453

Fall Classes Introduction to Canning Stargazing at Morris Arboretum Mason Bee Nest Box Workshop Beekeeping 101 Who Needs Hostas?

Creating a Beautiful Native Shade Garden Your Yard is for the Birds learn more and register at bitly . com / morrised

@morrisarboretum

100 e n o r t h w e s t e r n av e , p h i l a d e l p h i a 19118 (215) 247-5777 • w w w . m o r r i s a r b o r e t u m . o r g

EDITOR’S NOTES

by

HEATHER SHAYNE BLAKESLEE

A NOT SO SILENT SPRING The noisy, messy, wonderful world of kids learning in nature

editor-in-chief

Alex Mulcahy alex@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 102 managing editor

R

achel Carson, the legendary author of the watershed book Silent Spring, was once a young girl. It seems an obvious thing to say, but it’s worth thinking about where this environmental icon—who changed the course of history—came from.

In one picture, at four or maybe five, she is sitting on high grass, trees and ragged fence line behind her, a magazine on her lap, a small dog at her side. She sports a blousy white frock and a raven, pageboy haircut that hangs high above her collar, straight bangs marching in lockstep across her forehead.

There are two remarkable things about the photo. The first: she isn’t looking at the camera, because she’s too engaged with what she’s doing. She’s outside. She has been reading.

She’s looking at the dog, and the expression on her face is one of bemusement; it would be easy to think that she’s been reading aloud to her canine companion. In our current age of kindergarten admission angst and overscheduled, stressed-out families, it’s lovely to see a child being a child.

The second striking aspect is that she has been allowed to sit outside on the grass in her white clothing, and no one seems to care whether she will come home for dinner with mud on her sleeves or crickets in her cuffs.

There is not a helicopter parent in sight.

Whoever is behind the camera is in silent assent that this is how a child ought to be in the world.

Some biographies credit Carson’s mother with instilling in her a sense of wonder in the natural world as she grew up in Springdale, Pa. It was a valuable asset that she took with her to the Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham College) and to Johns Hopkins University, where she earned an M.A. in Zoology. Along the way, she studied marine science at Woods Hole Biological Laboratory. She was a lifelong researcher, government administrator, writer and educator.

That a little girl in Pennsylvania dedicated her life to exploring and protecting the natural world so that others could revel in its wonder and bounty is not a happy accident. It is a deliberate consequence of being able to dirty her skirt hems while she explored the world

around her and developed a sense of resiliency that she would need later in life; seen as an alarmist activist when Silent Spring was published, she endured crushing pressure from the petrochemical industry, withstanding their vicious attacks with a wall of facts standing sentinel around her.

Carson was also the author of The Sense of Wonder, a long personal essay that entreats adults to help instill in children the wonder of the literal and metaphorical woods. In it, she takes her nephew Roger tramping about as she did, meditating on what it means for him, and for her. For us.

“A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement,” she writes. “It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood. If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantment of later years … the alienation from the sources of our strength.”

The journey from childhood exploration to lifelong environmental and community activism is one that we explore throughout our Education Issue, our first to focus on connecting kids to nature—and what it might mean for the future of our world if we don’t. The next Rachel Carson may be a kid in Philadelphia who is out hiking with Urban Blazers, connecting to climate change at the Zoo or growing food with PhillyEarth.

They don’t know it yet, but we’re going to need them.

Heather Shayne Blakeslee heather@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 107 associate editor

Claire Margheim claire@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 103 designer

Kathleen White kathleen@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 112 ad sales

Jesse Kerns jesse@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 100 distribution

Megan Matuzak megan@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 106 copy editor

Andrew Bonazelli writers

Marilyn Anthony Katie Borhi Christopher Putvinski Alex Jones Justin Klugh Peggy Paul Alex Vuocolo Hannah Waters Danielle Wayda photographers

Stephen Dyer Jared Gruenwald Max Stanley JJ Tiziou Albert Yee illustrators

Max Gordon Grace Hwang Narrator published by

heather shayne blakeslee, Managing Editor heather@gridphilly.com

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

Sustainability. Collaboration. Innovation.

“Our award-winning M.S. in Sustainable Design educates the next generation of leaders to continue the pathway toward a sustainable future.”

–Rob Fleming, Program Director

For more information, please contact us at 215.951.2943 or by email at GradAdm@PhilaU.edu.

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AUGUST 20 1 5

We are currently accepting applications for the Fall 2015 semester and beyond.

MARKET WATCH

by

PEGGY PAUL

It’s prime time to savor these late-summer beauties: STONE FRUITS (e.g., peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots) Though they vary in flavor, size and shape, all stone fruits (or drupes) are unified by their thin skin, soft, sweet flesh and nut-like pit. Peaches and nectarines are the densest of the bunch, especially well-suited for pies and grilling, while nectarines and plums, which have a higher water content, shine best in salads, cakes and preserves. Look for fragrant fruit with taut skin that gives just a bit to the touch.

USES: Slice and eat them raw with yogurt or cereal, dice them to make salsas with mint and chiles, poach them, roast them, toss them on the grill or cook them down into jams, butters and chutneys. They also make delicious ice creams, pies, cakes, scones and clafoutis, and they play especially well with seafood, pork and herbs like lemon thyme, tarragon, mint and basil.

OKRA (a.k.a. ladies' fingers or gumbo pods) The okra plant is a member of the hibiscus, or ILLUSTRAT IO N BY GRAC E H WA N G

mallow, family, along with cotton and cacao. Its edible seed pods are ridged and about the size and shape of your index finger. Their grassy flavor and thickening abilities are popular in Creole, Middle Eastern, Indian and North African cuisines. If you’re turned off by the viscous (some say slimy) substance released by okra during the cooking process, keep the pods whole, use them at room temperature and season them with lemon or other citrus juice before cooking. Both red and green okra are harvested from July to early October in the Philadelphia region. When buying fresh okra, look for pods that are vibrant in color and no longer than four inches (the larger the pods grow, the more fibrous they become).

USES: Chop them up to thicken and add texture to soups and stews, batter and deep-fry them, pickle them or toss the whole pods with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast, grill or sauté them with other vegetables.

HOT PEPPERS (a.k.a. chiles or chili peppers)

This time of year, you’ll find a rainbow of hot peppers at the farmers market in all shapes, sizes and levels of heat. Plump cherry peppers, tapered banana peppers and heart-shaped poblanos are on the mild side. Jalapeños, serranos and long-hots fall somewhere in the middle, and squatty habaneros, Scotch bonnets and ghost peppers can bring even the toughest heat freak to tears. The spiciness comes from a compound called capsaicin, found in the seeds and ribs of the fruit. Scrape out these parts if you’re looking to reduce the heat level, and make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after working with any kind of hot pepper.

USES: Dice and eat them raw as a garnish or in salsas and other spicy dips and salads or add them to marinades and compound butters.

Stuff and roast them or cook them down into sauces to season meat, poultry and seafood.

Peggy Paul Casella is a cookbook editor, writer, urban vegetable gardener, produce peddler and author of the blog Thursday Night Pizza.

AUGUST 20 15

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GUEST COLUMN

by

ALEX VUOCOLO

Hey bikers!

There’s an app for that

The GoPhillyGo App and a new SEPTA plan helps bicyclists get from here to there

F

or all its daily inconveniences, from bad weather to bad drivers, there’s still a certain seamlessness to getting around by bicycle: cyclists like me hop on the seat, ride to our destination and lock up on the nearest street sign. No putting coins in parking meters, buying tokens or filling up the gas tank.

But riding a bike gets more complicated when you have to switch to another kind of transportation, like a bus or train, in the mid-

ILLUST RAT IO N BY M A X GO R D O N

dle of a trip. It’s a concept called “multi-modalism,” and making that transition from bike to bus seamless is key to getting more people to take at least part of their trip by bike. Philadelphia has some of the highest bike commuting rates in the country, but the city and region’s bike network is incomplete and in some places nonexistent. A bike can only get someone so far: even devoted cyclists must also rely on public transit.

Progress is in the works: the SEPTA Cycle-Transit Plan, released in April, will improve the overlap between cycling and transit. The plan proposes upgrades—such as enclosed bike parking and educational signage—aimed at making it easier for cyclists to get to and park at transit stations. It also proposes modifications that would make more room on subway cars for bikes, which are currently prohibited during rush hour, exactly when we want to get more cars off the road.

This is the first plan of its type, however, and SEPTA is only just beginning to think about how to accommodate cyclists who also want to use a bike or bus during their trip.

While SEPTA is making changes, bikers can try GoPhillyGo, a new app that’s attempting to make multi-modal travel easier for cyclists and pedestrians. Spearheaded by the Clean Air Council and built by local GIS software firm Azavea, the app helps users plugging in a destination and determines how to get there by a combination of cycling, walking or transit.

Like other routing apps, you begin by entering a starting point and a destination. Similar to Google Maps, it also allows you to select a mode of transportation. The difference is that you can check off transit and bike, creating a route that employs both modes. Other routing apps may generate a multi-modal trip, but this allows you to establish that you want to use multiple modes from the beginning.

In most cases, that means riding a bike for the first and last stretches of a journey. The directions it gave me for getting to my parents’ house in Delaware County, for example, included a bike ride to Suburban Station, where I would jump on the R3, then a bike trip from the Media station to my parents’ house. Based on my experience, the route was the most sensible (and safe) available.

GoPhillyGo, like many apps that claim to be game changers, can only go so far in alleviating what is a systemic problem. But it acknowledges an important fact: we bikers are an adaptive bunch. We are used to working within a system that’s not built for us and using clever workarounds to carve out our own space on the streets. GoPhillyGo won’t make extra room for cyclists on subway cars. It won’t add bike racks to trolleys, or more places to lock up at transit stations; we’ll have to wait for SEPTA for that.

What it can do is make it easier for bikers and would-be bikers to more easily use public transportation, and to take some of the uncertainty out of our journey.

Alex Vuocolo is a freelance writer and co-founder of SPOKE magazine, a free print quarterly about cycling in Philadelphia.

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Aerialists above the Schuylkill River during the 2014 Invisible River Festival

a

River Runs Through It

The Schuylkill cleaves our city apart, but also brings us together by katie bohri

T

he Schuylkill River cuts through the heart of Philadelphia, defining East and West and bringing with it half of our drinking water. But how many of us actually see it? “‘Schuylkill’ actually means ‘hidden river,’ and much of the river is hidden from the public,” says Ryan Hennessey, explaining the name’s Dutch origins. He’s a volunteer with the Invisible River Festival, an immersive performance on, along and—most dramatically— above its waters: aerialists will be suspended from the Strawberry Mansion bridge as they perform gravity-defying twists and inversions as part of the day of education and performances.

For festival organizers, now in their third year, it’s all a way to celebrate the river while inspiring stewardship of its waters.“We created Invisible River to bring people to the Schuylkill so they could see the possibilities that seem invisible to most of us—swimming on the river, more boating opportunities for

P HOTO BY JJ T IZ IOU P H OTO G RA PH Y

all, healthier creeks that lead from our neighborhoods to the river,” says Alie Vidich, who founded the program in 2013 and now serves as its artistic and executive director.

Education about the Schuylkill—from the estuaries that feed it to how we use its resources—is woven throughout the event’s programming. The Philadelphia Water Department and Fairmount Water Works partnered with organizers to provide stormwater management demonstrations this year, and alongside educational programming, the riverbank festival will also feature interactive art exhibits dedicated to the river’s history and future. Attendees can expect boating lessons with free rentals, local food trucks and a beer garden.

Attendees can even bring their own watercraft to enjoy the festival from the water, and paddle alongside the fleet of performers.

Starting at 2 p.m. at the Mander Recreation Center, a drum line will lead spectators through a stormwater garden to the festival

site on the banks of the river. The on-river performance begins at 5:30 p.m., when a flotilla of dancers on stand-up paddleboards will perform for spectators, who are encouraged to bring their own boats as the group moves toward the Strawberry Mansion Bridge. There, dancers will be suspended from the bridge itself and will perform in midair above the Schuylkill’s waters.

“We’re hoping that spectators take away an awareness of the river,” said Hennessey of the festival. “We’re trying to make the environmental aspects of Philadelphia common knowledge.”

August 29, 2–8 p.m., Free. Procession starts at the Mander Recreation Center at 2 p.m. at 2140 N. 33rd St. in East Fairmount Park and leads the audience to the event. Parking is very limited in the parking lot of St. Joseph’s University’s Robert M. Gillin, Jr. Boathouse at 2200 Kelly Dr. Walking and bikes are encouraged. invisibleriver.org AUGUST 20 15

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Author and jounalist Richard Louv

Into The Woods Finding a new future by connecting with our roots interview by

heather shayne blakeslee

R

ichard Louv is the best-selling author of both the movement-launching Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle. Both books examine the benefits of being in nature that accrue to humans, particularly children—and the dire consequences that result when we cut ourselves off from the natural world. He spoke with Grid about how kids play, a new vision for cities in light of increasing worldwide urbanization and the need to rid ourselves of our dystopian vision of the future.

What is nature? Is a public park enough?

RL: My personal definition of nature is where I am in contact with multiple species other than my own, in addition to my own. That can happen in lots of places.

What is the big difference between playing a soccer game outside and engaging in unstructured play at a park or in the woods?

RL: Organized sports are good. But the fact is that child obesity in our history has occurred in the same decade as the greatest increase in organized sports for children. That doesn’t mean one causes the other; it means that it’s not enough ... There is one thing that is known about how kids play. It’s called the “loose 14

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parts” theory. The more loose parts there are in an environment, the more creative the play ... The environment with the most loose parts is a natural environment. So, we need more natural environments—the kids can dig holes and climb trees and pretend and build little forts. That’s very rare in urban areas, but we can create all of those.

To sum up the overall claim of The Nature Principle, it’s that the 21st century will be the century of human restoration in the natural world.

RL: The human child in nature is an endangered species and is an indicator species for endangerment of other species. There are some folks who really don’t want any more

kids in the woods ... The International Union for the Conservation of Nature ... declared [a positive connection with the natural world] to be a human right for children. One reason I think that that is so important is not only is it essential for human health and well-being on all levels and cognitive function, but because I think its essential for the preservation of nature itself, from us.

The studies, many of them done a couple decades ago, show that conservationists, environmentalists—almost all had some transcendent experience with nature when they were kids. What happens if that virtually ends?

Who will be the true stewards of the earth?

It’s true that there will always be environ-

THIS EXCE RPTE D IN TE RV IE W HAS B E E N E D ITE D FO R C LA RI TY

/ the big PICTURE mentalists and conservationists, but, increasingly, if we are not careful, they will carry nature in their briefcases, not in their heart. That is a different relationship and I don’t believe it’s sustainable.

Human beings, in order to preserve nature, need to love it. In order to love it, they can’t do that only in an abstract way … If at some point if they don’t get their hands dirty, feet wet, and actually use their senses in nature to learn about it, to know it and come to love it, they will not protect it ...

I’ve spent some time in Philly. I know how hard it is to find nature there, but we can create more school gardens, natural spaces, native species on rooftop gardens, and even in window sill gardens, we can make more green roofs that are planted with the kinds of plants that bring back butterfly migration routes and bird migration routes; we can treasure the wildlife that does exist in cities.

“The human child in nature is an endangered species.” That's a pretty bold claim.

RL: The whole world is urbanizing. As of 2008, more people live in cities than in the countryside. That was the first time in human history.

That will increase.

That means one of two things: the human species will increase and lose whatever connection it has to the natural world, or it means the beginning of a new kind of city.

I happen to believe that cities can become engines of biodiversity through native plants, through design ... there are lots of ways to increase the amount of “natural” habitats in our cities even in the densest of urban neighborhoods. You are seeing some of that happen around the country and around the world.

We have to face the fact that urbanization is continuing—and also have to face the fact that technology is increasingly part of our lives. It’s very distracting; it’s addictive.

I’m not anti-tech or anything like that, but ... the more high-tech our lives become, the more nature we need ... We need it neurologically, we need it psychologically, I think we need it physically and spiritually, as well.

Many people believe nature gives them a connection to spirituality. Do you think the Pope’s Encyclical will help spiritual people—more people in general—find a connection to nature?

RL: Yes, and, you know, now and then the right person comes along. Like many people, I feel very hopeful when I listen to the Pope. I think many people, and I’m not Catholic, but I think many people who are or are not Catholic are feeling good about that.

The key part of it is the spiritual question.

It is also moving past just information … I’ve believed from the beginning that information is not enough. People need tools …

We have to have a self-replicating social change.

“The number-one genre of fiction for young adults today... is called dystopian fiction. It's about a post-apocalyptic world in which not even vampires are having a good time. ” - Richard Louv When Last Child in the Woods was published it was compared to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and an international movement took root.

RL: I kind of describe [in the book] what might happen or could happen, and at the time, that was wishful thinking. And as it turns out, something much more dynamic than what I described has occurred ... it was already happening when Last Child came out ... a lot of people were out there working hard on these issues a long time before. Now, I think the real challenge is to broaden that movement.

I often talk about the new nature of the movement, which is—includes—the children in nature movement. It includes a traditional environmental movement, traditional sustainability movement ... but it becomes something much larger by pulling those together, and nobody is the leader. The food movement is part of that.

If we can begin to perceive that as something much bigger, much more hopeful than what many of us have been able to achieve in the parts of that movement—that there is great power in the aggregate of these movements—I think that we sense that and it gives us hope.

Sustainability ... is a problematic word. It’s either come to mean too much to too many people—too wide of a definition; it’s lost some of the power—or it’s become too narrow. In truth, most people in America think of sustainability as energy efficiency and stop there.

Now, clearly, in the beginning, sustainability had a deeper meaning than energy efficiency, but that is how most people interpret it. If we are only aiming at energy efficiency as a society, we’ll never make it to that definition of sustainability. We need to set the bar much higher at something much more inspiring.

I talk about nature-rich schools—not just sustainable cities, but nature-rich cities, nature-rich work places, nature-rich neighborhoods, nature-rich homes and yards filled with native species—filled with the kind of changes that will actually increase biodiversity and increase mental and physical health for human

beings. I talk about a nature-rich future. One of the reasons I think that phrase works is because, when you talk about that, people can suddenly attach images to that on their own.

Martin Luther King said, and demonstrated in many ways, that any movement, any culture will fail if it cannot paint a picture of a world that people will want to go to.

I’m convinced that most Americans, if you asked them what images come first in mind of the far future, they will paint a picture that looks a lot like Blade Runner and Mad Max and, at best, The Hunger Games—at least there’s a few trees. The number-one genre of fiction for young adults today, and has been for several years, is called dystopian fiction. It’s about a post-apocalyptic world in which not even vampires are having a good time. That’s not to say I am against dystopian literature. 1984 was a good warning we should have listened to, and we didn’t.

But it is to say ... what happens to a culture when it cannot conjure up a set up of images?

Not just of an adequate, sustainable and survivable future, but of a beautiful, great future, one that is far better than what we have now?

When I talk with young people about that, their eyes light up. They can see, they can begin to provide the images, their imaginations can create the images: a nature-rich future. On their own. They don’t have to have me or anybody else tell them what it is.

It will look a little different to everybody, but we need to begin to think about that. We need to begin to conjure up those images. When we do that, we feel hope.

Richard Louv is a journalist and the author of eight books, including Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder and The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age. He is co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Children & Nature Network, an organization helping build the international movement to connect people and communities to the natural world.

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/ made in PHILLY

Victor Michael hand-mixes a batch of his Philly Delcious Granola.

Not Your Mother’s Quaker Oats A St. Lucia native brings island flavors to locally made granola by danielle wayda

“T

he funny thing is, when I lived in St. Lucia, I didn’t even have to buy coconuts,” jokes Victor Michael of Philly Delicious Granola. “They’re all over the place, I could just pick one up outside.” His granola is made in West Philadelphia, where the St. Lucia native is now transitioning into retirement by fueling the rest of us up for work with hearty baked oats in a variety of flavors—including coconut milk.

Michael spent most of his career in the highstress world of running hotels, including on the island of St. Lucia, and his connection to Philadelphia comes in the form of the degrees he earned in business administration and hotel management from Cheyney University, just outside the City. Four years ago, still living on the island, he began selling his granola to tourists and local stores; owning his own business was his way of making the transition into retirement. But late last year, he returned to Philadelphia and decided to give his granola business a shot here, with the help of The En16

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terprise Center in West Philly.

Michael takes pride in the perfectly golden, uniform hue and crunchy texture of his product. “The best way to do that is to bake it in a convection oven,” he says. Convection ovens circulate hot air to keep oven temperatures steady, as opposed to more uneven radiant heat ovens, resulting in more consistently cooked food. This ensures that every oat is crisp and flavorful, and never burned.

For his signature ginger honey mix, he uses real ginger that has been dried and ground into powder, as opposed to fresh ginger, which he finds too moist. He does, however, use fresh coconut.

Since he can no longer walk outside and pick one up off the ground, he buys coconuts whole from the grocery store, but he grates the meat from the fruit himself. He prefers the fresh meat, rather than dried or flaked coconut that have been sweetened. The oils contained within (a current darling of the health food world that has uses ranging from skin and hair

care to a vegan substitute for coffee creamer) keep his old-fashioned large-flake oats from drying out during roasting, all while adding subtle flavor.

Another goodness-packed ingredient in the granola is flax seeds—high in fiber, as well as Omega-3 fatty acids. He partners with Nuts to You, the locally-owned gourmet nuts and snacks vendor, to source his wholesale purchases of oats, raisins and honey. None of his four flavor varieties—ginger, peanut butter, coconut milk and banana—contain any preservatives or artificial coloring.

You can find Philly Delicious Granola at Mariposa Food Co-Op on Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia. He hopes to be able to work with vendors like Weaver’s Way Co-Op and other independent retailers in the near future, and has a long-term dream of expanding his product line to include granola bars.

To find out more contact Philly Delicious Granola at Victor6011@yahoo.com P HOTO BY STEPHEN DYER

SCHOOL REUSE Reactivating vacant schools in Philadelphia and beyond A Grid report commissioned by the

CO M M UN ITY D ES IG N CO L L AB O RATI VE

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Where design comes into play

Join us for Play Space! Explore the unexpected ways that innovative play space helps both children and communities grow. Together, we can design a more playful Philadelphia. cdesignc.org/infill/playspace

1216 Arch Street, First Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 215.587.9290 cdesignc.org

STAFF Beth Miller Executive Director Alexa Bosse, AIA, ASLA Program Associate Linda Dottor, AICP Communications Manager Robin Kohles, AIA Program Manager Heidi Segall Levy, AIA Director of Design Services Danielle Parnes Program Assistant

BOARD Darrick Mix, Esq., Co-chair Paul Sehnert, Co-chair Jody Arena Story Bellows Alice K. Berman, AIA Cheryl Conley Tavis Dockwiller, ASLA John Donch, Jr., Esq. Daryn Edwards, RA Noel Eisenstat Eva Gladstein Jeff Goldstein, AIA Lee Huang Rebecca Johnson Joseph Matje, PE Megan McGinley, RA, LEED AP Kira Strong Paul Vernon, RA Lamar Wilson Richard Winston, AIA

SAVE THE DATE! Join the Community Design Erie Lanes Collaborative for our 18th annual October 3, 2015 Bowling Ball fun(d)raiser!

6:00 PM to 10:00 PM

MODERN LUXURY

SCHOOLHOUSE CHARM

www.apgliving.com

A student in the last days of Smith Elementary School in Philadelphia.

From Empty School Hallways, Pathways to Possibility Philadelphia’s Community Design Collaborative empowers communities to envision a future for vacant schools by grid staff When budget cuts and population shifts forced the School District of Philadelphia to close down 30 schools in 2013 and 2014, it was a citywide crisis.

For the people who lost a school, feelings run deep. For countless children, it was the place where the world opened up as they learned to read, explored what laid beyond the bounds of their block or felt the joy of making a friend for life. Parents did not lose an auditorium or gym, but the feeling of watching a child sing their first solo or make the winning shot at the buzzer.

In documentary photos of the last days of these schools, you can see and feel the emotion of the children, teachers, parents, administrators, security guards and others as they say goodbye; you can feel the loss in the empty hallways. Feelings of pride and possibility were replaced by sadness and anxiety.

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Would this community anchor become an unsafe eyesore?

Andy Rachlin of the Reinvestment Fund, a national leader in financing community revitalization, explains what school closings meant for the City.

“Our communities are literally tight-knit,” he says. “When you have this big empty building in a rowhouse community or a community with twins that are all packed together, it’s a very visible presence in the neighborhood that is stacked with the potential for blight and vacancy. It’s a real risk to the community … even graver, of course, is the psychological impact of having [closed] schools, which are, in ways real and emotional, centers of community. To remove the identity of the neighborhood school, I think, was something that people were very concerned about.”

For some of these properties, developers

saw immediate potential and began making plans, taking into consideration community input about what might work for them financially and also serve the neighborhood. This first scenario is an ideal situation where both developers and neighbors win.

But at one site in West Philadelphia, the speed of sale and development moved at a pace that left some community members feeling left behind.

Due to market or property conditions, other former schools were sure to languish, vacant, for an indefinite period of time.

Looking at this sensitive and complicated problem, the experienced advocates at the Community Design Collaborative resolved to give communities a voice in what came next for these closed schools and their neighbors, and to give people a tool that can change the world: thoughtful design.

PH OTO BY M ATT STAN L E Y (PART O F THE P HIL AD E L P HIA SCHO O L CLOS IN GS P HOTO CO L LEC TI VE)

THE FACTS

257

Number of active schools in Philadelphia in 2011

“Our communities are tightknit. When you have this big empty building in a rowhouse community or a community with twins that are all packed together, it’s a very visible presence in the neighborhood that is stacked with potential for blight and vacancy. It’s a real risk to the community.”

- Andy Rachlin Managing Director, Lending Investments the Reinvestment Fund

30 public schools were closed in Philadelphia between 2012 and 2014, due to financial distress and shifts in population and enrollment patterns.

The Community Design Collaborative provides pro bono design services to nonprofit organizations in greater Philadelphia, and raises awareness about the importance of design in community revitalization. Since 1991, volunteer design professionals have invested 100,000 hours of their time and expertise in over 600 projects.

33%

7

of Philadelphians are now Number of schools for which living within a half-mile of the Collaborative coordinated pro bono design services a closed school

DATA: P EW C H A R IT IB L E T RUST & U N I V E RS I TY O F PE N N SYLVA N I A

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Participants in the Collaborative's Workshop reimagine a former school site in West Philadelpiha along Lancaster Avenue.

“It’s a work in progress. But the community members have a seat at the table, and that’s an important thing.”

- Kira Strong People's Emergency Center / Collaborative board member

The future of the neighborhood, but where are the neighbors?

In the West Philadelphia enclaves of Mantua and Powelton Village, neighbors were worried.

The former sites of Drew Elementary School and University City High School, connected to another parcel of land, had been sold. Plans were already underway for development. It was a crucial 14-acre site, a super-parcel of land that could make or break the connectivity and livability of the neighborhood for generations. As Mike Jones of the Powelton Village Civic Association identified, “Such development can help to stitch back the fabric of this section of West Philadelphia torn apart by Urban Renewal in the 1950s or, alternatively, further isolate the communities along the Lower Lancaster Avenue Business Corridor.”

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After the trauma of losing two schools, the neighborhood was keen to increase the level of communication about plans for the site. Frustrated by their lack of involvement, several groups organized together. The Mantua Civic Association, Mantua Community Improvement Committee, Powelton Village Civic Association, Saunders Park Neighbors, West Powelton Concerned Community Council and the People’s Emergency Center organized a community meeting attended by over 100 neighbors who voiced concerns and offered solutions.

Kira Strong, Vice President of Community and Economic Development at the People’s Emergency Center (PEC), says the group came to together to explore “what kind of redevelopment could happen on the site, within the realm of reason, recognizing that it would be dense, that it would be mixed-

use and that there would be some economic drivers in terms of the site acquisition.” They knew that Wexford Science and Technology would be the main owner, and that Drexel University would be another partial owner; the neighborhood was wary of more student housing, as well as how high buildings would be built, but excited about the opportunity.

With ideas in hand, leaders reached out to the Collaborative to partner on generating designs. A week after the initial meeting, the Collaborative formed a rapid response team. In collaboration with the PEC and Interface Studio, a local planning firm that was already working with the neighborhood, the Collaborative facilitated a half-day “Design Workshop.” They worked to bring together the right mix of volunteer design professionals and representatives from the community groups.

The Charrette Process After the Collaborative worked to form a rapid response team to help one community participate in development plans that were moving too fast, they embarked on a second phase of the school reuse project. The three-part initiative, coordinated with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, is outlined below, and was developed to help market shuttered schools in which developers had not yet expressed interest.

Visit the Sites, and Talk to the Community

Collaborative volunteers at the School Reuse Charrette consider plans for two former Philadelphia schools.

The Collaborative recruited a team of volunteer design professionals who visited four school sites to examine the condition of the schools. The sites were narrowed down to two, which were then the focus of a charrette, or design day, as a way to start the conversation about how to reuse the more challenging school sites. A second volunteer team then spoke with residents and stakeholders from the surrounding communities and documented their findings to include in the discussion at the charrette.

Collaborate and Innovate on New Plans for the Sites

The group was given a brief overview of the zoning requirements that needed consideration, and they got to work. Breakout groups brainstormed and facilitators helped the groups prioritize ideas. They wanted to maintain some sort of educational space, ensure that the public had access to some open space and provide neighborhood-appropriate housing options. They also identified which commercial uses—like grocery stores and pharmacies—were of most need to the community. Then they documented their goals through design sketches that the Collaborative’s volunteers turned into fuller designs. Strong, who is also a board member of the Collaborative, says their work in the neighborhood was “incredibly helpful and constructive,” and it gave neighbors information that “would resonate with developers and community stakeholders.”

The information from the workshop and the designs that were generated helped prepare the community to testify at a School Reform Commission meeting and to work with Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who represents the area, to create a “Community Benefits Agreement.” Among other components, the agreement limited how high buildings could be built and how parking would be treated, and ensured a community review component to the design process.

Development has begun, and neighborhood representatives have been meeting regularly for the past year with the developers.

“They’ve been keeping community members apprised of their progress,” says Strong, “and have also been publicizing opportunities for local and minority job opportunities for construction, demolition and design.”

At the charrette, participants were presented with all the information the volunteer teams had found out about the schools and neighborhoods, and were provided with virtual tours of the sites. Charrette teams were made up of designers, neighborhood partners (nonprofit developers within the communities) and community members. They generated design proposals for both temporary and permanent reuse of the two sites.

Present the Plans to the City, Community and Developers After the charrette, the Collaborative volunteer team reviewed the design proposals with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and the neighborhood partners. They refined the designs and created packages that included plans, renderings, and cost estimates. The City and the partners will use the plans to attract interest from potential developers and gain community support.

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Charrette Goals

1.

Highlight the potential for redevelopment of those sites that had not yet received interest from developers.

2.

Engage the experience and expertise of design professionals, private and nonprofit developers, city agencies and community members to explore redevelopment strategies for vacant schools.

3.

A community member and charrette participant explains plans for the M. Hall Stanton School.

Emphasize the importance of including the community in planning for redevelopment to ensure that community needs are met.

What happens at a charrette?

4.

A design charrette gathers representatives from people who may be affected by a design project, design professionals and other stakeholders for an intense period of time in order to innovate, compromise and prioritize outcomes. The Community Design Collaborative uses the charrette process in some of its work as a way to mobilize citizen participation and ensure that community needs are met. Convening the right mix of people in the room and making sure the community is at the table is a core function of the Collaborative’s work.

Every site has its own realities, and the Collaborative aims to create cost-effective designs that are also innovative and sustainable. For the school reuse initiative, that meant assessing the conditions of the sites and then exploring the possibilities and realities of reusing these public school buildings that had been anchors in the community. This particular initiative focused on stabilizing the sites with a temporary use plan that would lead into a permanent plan, and trying to find solutions that could serve as models for other school sites in Philadelphia—or even in other cities affected by school closures.

Reactivating vacant schools While some buildings sold quickly, in other neighborhoods a handful of former school properties were languishing. The Collaborative stepped in to bring its resources to bear in ways that would assist the School District marketing overlooked sites to developers.

Its multidisciplinary teams of design professional volunteers toured four properties, assessed their conditions, and identified opportunities and limitations. In addition to the assessments, they also determined which would be the best candidates to address through an intense design day, called a charrette. The ideal sites were those that could serve as prototypes for other buildings, and where a potential community development partner—already embedded in the neighborhood and well-versed in its needs—could

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continue to offer support.

Two schools emerged: Old Frances Willard, in the Kensington neighborhood, and M. Hall Stanton, near Temple University. In November of 2014, the Collaborative brought together a mix of community members, design professionals, and public and private partners to re-envision temporary ways to activate the sites that would lead into more permanent uses, keeping in mind that innovative plans should also be realistic, cost-effective and sustainable. Neighborhood partner David La Fontaine of Community Ventures, a nonprofit developer, cites the Collaborative’s realism during the school reuse project as a critical component to how useful its work is to developers. “They are a really key part of the community development infrastructure in the City,” he says.

The two former schools represented dif-

Create innovative design solutions which would activate vacant sites in the short term and accelerate the process in the long term development.

5.

Create designs that can act as prototypes for other vacant school sites throughout Philadelphia and other cities.

6.

Assist in the effort to return these long-standing neighborhood icons to their original roles as anchors within the community.

ferent eras in school construction and had different neighborhood characteristics. Despite their differences, collective themes and needs emerged as the day went on: taking down physical barriers, creating chances for connection, building intergenerational affordable housing, accessing green space and replacing the educational programming that was lost. Public art would also help to liven up the spaces.

Lea Oxenhandler, of design firm KieranTimberlake, was one of the volunteers from her company, which led the design work for the charrette. She had also examined the issue of the school closings as a graduate architecture student at the University of Pennsylvania. “The continuity of this through the Community Design Collaborative was really exciting for me to be able to participate in,” says Oxenhandler. “[The Collaborative] has

Where are the schools?

M. Hall Stanton and Frances Willard are located in different neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Prior to the charrette, both schools were still vacant, and no interest had been expressed from developers who might buy and renovate the buildings into new uses. During the charrette, design teams created temporary uses and permanent uses for the sites in order to attract attention from developers and suggest realistic and financially viable uses that the community felt fit their goals. On the following pages, you can see how the community has re-envisioned these shuttered schools.

Who Participated?

“By the time the day is over, there is just this absolutely massive amount of ideas and drawings and thinking about the projects. It’s really just spectacular.”

Real Estate Developers (private and nonprofit): 8

- Paul Vernon KSK Architects Planners Historians, Inc. / Collaborative board member

Public Agency Representatives: 22

Academics: 14 Design Professionals: 36 Community Members: 25

been crucial in allowing a firm like mine to get involved in addressing the issue of vacant schools in our city. We were able to get about 25 volunteers together to work on the project … it would have been impossible without [the Collaborative] as an intermediary.” Oxenhandler also loved hearing directly from the community. “It was fascinating to see the level of interest and excitement about what these buildings could become … it speaks to the necessity and value of community involvement in this kind of issue.”

New partnerships, and good will, are some of the other outcomes of the process that helped Philadelphians affected by school closings take ownership over their neighborhoods and use design as a tool for transformation and revitalization. Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger supported and underwrote the Collaborative’s charrette,

and he distilled the collective experience this way as he addressed the group: “School closures were painful for the [School District of Philadelphia]. But they were also painful for neighborhoods. Schools are part of the roots for many residents who went to these schools and saw their families go there, too. We accomplished three things today: a chance to accept, heal, get on and move past… a chance to network with others with a stake in school reuse… and a chance to create and see ideas and develop aspiration. Every one of us heard something today that was a good idea.”

Collaborative Executive Director Beth Miller was equally pleased. “The charrette brought communities and nonprofit developers together for the first time,” she says.

“They came up with great ideas that respond to community needs, like intergenerational housing. And our designers were on hand to

immediately sketch and test them out.”

While the day represented the end of an already intense process, the work wasn’t over: the Collaborative’s volunteer team from KieranTimberlake took the ideas and documented them with more refined design schematics and added cost estimates for the projects.

The City, the School District of Philadelphia and community organizations now have site assessments and reuse plans they can use to help entice developers, a goal that Miller says is in sight. “There have been further discussions about applying these reuse concepts to these schools or similar sites,” she adds. “The charrette also demonstrated the huge value of temporary uses. Temporary uses aren’t merely placeholders. They bring energy and activity to school sites and keep them central to the life of the community. They are a real first step towards a long-term reuse.”

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1

SCHOOL PROFILE SECTION

Old Frances Willard School 1920 E. Orleans St. Philadelphia, PA

NEIGHBORHOOD: KENSINGTON

COMMUNITY GOALS Through a community task force meeting led by the Collaborative volunteer design team prior to the charrette, the community expressed the following goals for the site:

1

2

3

Community Gatherings

Rain Garden

Art Space

4

5

6

Accessibility

Plaza

Intergenerational Housing

Active gathering space for block parties, movies, BBQs, health fairs, music or dance events, and markets

Access and circulation throughout the building

To sustainably manage stormwater and green the site

Open space to welcome community into the site, for meeting neighbors, and circulation through the site

Space for community members and businesses to express themselves through art

For grandparents raising grandchildren with spaces for supportive programming and services

“As this is an urgent issue for communities across the city, we were thrilled that a large number of our staff chose to participate.�

- Richard Maimon

KieranTimberlake / Collaborative volunteer

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OPPORTUNITIES The proposed plans provide opportunities for the following program and site elements:

Temporary Use WillYard Place: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Flexible community gathering space for: • block parties • movie nights • BBQs • mobile health clinic • music and dance events • markets • local church events • storage • rain garden • outdoor classroom • passive play area • art panels • signage • raised planter beds • street trees • plaza • seating

Permanent Use A Playspace for All Ages: In addition to the elements of the temporary plan, the permanent plan includes the following: • intergenerational living • child care, indoor play • community classrooms • meeting space • children’s play space • improved lighting • parking

“School closures were painful for the [School District of Philadelphia]. But they were also painful for neighborhoods.

Schools are part of the roots for many residents who went to these schools.”

- Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger City of Philadelphia

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2

SCHOOL PROFILE SECTION

M. Hall Stanton School 1523 W. Cumberland St. Philadelphia, PA 19132

NEIGHBORHOOD: North Philadelphia

COMMUNITY GOALS Through a community task force meeting led by the Collaborative volunteer design team prior to the charrette, the community expressed the following goals for the site:

1

2

3

Urban Agriculture

Porch

Recreation

4

5

6

Intergenerational Housing

Community Programs

Neighborhood Hub

Opportunity to engage community, teach skills and generate revenue

For grandparents raising grandchildren with spaces for supportive programming and services

Open space to welcome community into the site, for meeting neighbors, and to connect the neighborhood through the site

Dedicated space for existing programs, including youth and cultural programming, health clinics and daycare

Spaces for both passive and active recreation

To replicate the school’s role as community gathering space for events, movies, performances, festivals and markets

“It was extremely rewarding to be able to collaborate so closely with neighborhood stakeholders … the feedback they provided was invaluable.”

Project number Date

Scale

2014-50

02 / 15 / 15

DESIGN CHARRETTE: REACTIVATING VACANT SCHOOLS M. HALL STANTON SCHOOL -

PERSPECTIVE - PERMANENT

- Fátima Olivieri

KieranTimberlake / Collaborative volunteer

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OPPORTUNITIES The proposed plans provide opportunities for the following program and site

Temporary Use Urban Innovation Center at Stanton: In addition to addressing outdoor space, the plans for Stanton also present various options for temporary use of the building.

• multipurpose field • athletic events • movie screenings • pervious surface • food trucks • urban farm • playground • lighting • gymnasium • crisis center • youth outreach • fitness and athletics • physical therapy • café and kitchen • community kitchen • retail • library • education space

Permanent Use Grands Stanton: In addition to the elements of the temporary plan, the permanent plan includes the following: • intergenerational living • tenant storage • social service offices • full-service day care • computing center • open plaza • parking • green roof

N

“[The school reuse project] made it more likely that the school will be reused. Just to have the work done, the design options explored, and the [estimated] costs are really, really useful.”

0'

10'

20'

40'

The Community Design Collaborative's products are intended to provide visual concepts and to assist in project design and planning. All drawings are limited to conceptual design and are neither intended nor may be used for construction.

Neither the Community Design Collaborative nor the project volunteers assume responsibility or liability for the technical accuracy of drawings or for any unauthorized use.

- David La Fontaine CO M M UN ITY D ES IG N CO L L AB O RATI VE

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Impact Services Corporation

Reclaiming Kensington’s Industrial Buildings Since 1979

Veterans Family Housing Center 26 Units Slated to Open December 2015 www.impactservices.org

School Reuse Initiative

The Collaborative thanks the firms, individuals, organizations, and agencies who shared their ideas and expertise

PARTICIPANTS Alice K. Berman Associates, LLC Alterra Property Group Althouse, Jaffe & Associates Ariel Bierbaum BartonPartners Architects Planners Brielle Cordingley Build Edifice, LLC Building Industry Association of Philadelphia Charter High School for Architecture and Design Dale Corporation Daryn Edwards David Gaffin Elizabeth Emig Express Urself Urban Crisis Response Center Fels Institute of Government Firm Hope Baptist Church George Anthony George Schroeder Grands as Parents

Heather Coyne Ian Smith Design Group LLC Impact Services Corporation Karen Soifer Kate Rutledge Klein and Hoffman, Inc. Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation Mark Brodsky Mark Hitchcock MDLA Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Office of Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell Office of Council President Darrell Clarke Office of Councilwoman Maria QuiñonesSánchez Office of Councilman Mark Squilla Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency Pew Charitable Trusts Philadelphia City Planning Commission Philadelphia Department of Commerce Philadelphia Housing Authority

Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation Philadelphia Urban Creators Philadelphia Water Pierre T. Ravacon Ramla Benaissa Architects, LLC Rob Wong Robert Maloney Rummler Associates, LLC Sara Nordstrom School District of Philadelphia School Redevelopment Initiative Scott Maritzer The Reinvestment Fund Troy Hill Uptown Entertainment & Development Corporation Wallace Roberts & Todd 32nd Ward

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PROGRAM PARTNERS

NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERS

Community Design Collaborative Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development AIA Philadelphia

Community Ventures New Kensington Community Development Corporation People’s Emergency Center Mantua Civic Association Mantua Community Improvement Committee Powelton Village Civic Association Saunders Park Neighbors West Powelton Concerned Community Council

VOLUNTEER DESIGN TEAM FIRMS Bruce E. Brooks, Inc. Built Form LLC BWA architecture + planning C. Erickson and Sons, Inc. Interface Studio KieranTimberlake KSK Architects Planners Historians, Inc. Larsen & Landis McGillin Architecture SMP Architects V. Lamar Wilson Associates Zimmerman Studio

FUNDERS National Endowment for the Arts The Mayor’s Fund for Philadelphia Office of Housing and Community Development

Reactivating Vacant Schools made possible with support from

Strengthening neighborhoods through design www.cdesignc.org

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Humanity for Habitat Endangered tigers and gorillas are now roaming the grounds at the Philadelphia Zoo. Can its consumer education programs make conservation activists of the humans walking among them? by alex mulcahy photos by alebert yee

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AUGUST 20 1 5

the Education Issue

I

Ali Shabazz, 11, visits with Bubba, an Aldabra tortoise, hatch date unknown. Cover, Shabazz feeds a giraffe.

nside the Rare Animal Conservation Center at the Philadelphia Zoo, 21-yearold Aaron Pettyjohn dumps a pile of trash on the floor. He’s trying to attract the attention of Zoo visitors, specifically the youngest among them, but his competition is spectacular. Across the hallway behind plated glass are naked mole rats, blue-eyed black lemurs, golden lion tamarins and a dozen more exotic, unusual and endangered species, the sight of which that launches pointed fingers and exclamations of “Look!” Cell phones and cameras emerge hurriedly from pockets.

Pettyjohn somehow finds an audience.

Two brothers, maybe five and seven years old, break away from their parents and begin picking up the items strewn about the floor. Soon they are sorting the quesadilla containers, zoo maps and aluminum cans that a Zoo visitor may well encounter during a visit, and tossing them into containers marked “aluminum,” “plastic” and “paper.” The boys do well, misidentifying only the plastic wrapper used for rain ponchos.

You might think otherwise, but Pettyjohn’s passion is not for #2 plastics. The Bucks County resident is a rising senior at the University of Rhode Island who hopes to be a veterinarian at a zoo. Yet he effortlessly rattles off facts that suggest he is a recycling junkie, and offers considered opinions about the limitations of plastic recycling and the serious toll that plastic places on our oceans.

The role of zoos is fast evolving, and the Philadelphia Zoo—the oldest zoo in the country—is among the leaders nationally. While they are, and remain, places to learn about and connect with wildlife—Executive Director Vikram Dewan calls the Zoo “Philadelphia’s largest outdoor classroom”—they are now simultaneously educating visitors about the wonder of our world, and the human behaviors that threaten it.

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Kim Lengel, director of conservation, in front of the Rodrigues fruit bats in the Rare Animal Conservation Center 38

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Rodrigues fruit bat

“Look at that face! It’s like a puppy dog with wings ... To see them hanging in the trees, and in the sun… when they are exposed to the direct sun, they gleam.”

- Kim Lengel Director of Conservation, Philadelphia Zoo

Valerie Peckham, the Zoo’s Conservation Program Manager, says of the shift, “We are trying to get people to not so much think, ‘We’ve got biodiversity, wildlife and nature over here, and then you [have] people—and the houses we live in, and everything else—over there.’ We are all a part of the same system, and we all rely on the same resources. By protecting wildlife, you are helping people just as much.

That’s a connection that a lot of people don’t make, but that is the overarching context.”

Recycling education, and awareness about energy and water usage is part of the Zoo’s commitment to empowering visitors to combat climate change. Now the Zoo is helping to transform some of the 1.3 million people who visit into advocates for “deforestation-free palm oil.” Zoos are becoming agents of change.

It’s a national trend. The Cincinnati Zoo has recycled over 60,000 cell phones in the past four years. The Houston Zoo, not far from the Gulf of Mexico, recently stopped offering plastic bags in their gift shop as a means to raise awareness about plastic pollution in waterways. At the Philadelphia Zoo, the primary educational focus is on climate change and palm oil.

Pete Riger, vice president of conservation at the Houston Zoo, says, “In the last 30 years, zoos have seen that conservation of wildlife and habitats ... are so important to their mission and their goals that they really need to…

get that focus out and the message out better to the public. Zoos over the last 20 years have been doing a great job of bringing it to the forefront.

“The Philadelphia Zoo is really a good example of focusing local to national impact,” he continues. “That’s why you see all the messaging when you go to their zoo. I think a lot of zoos are following suit in trying to get that message across to guests that there are simple actions that you can take from home in order to save wildlife.”

In 1859, the Zoo’s founders could not have imagined a makeshift game of trash basketball inside a Zoo building, but they also would have been hard-pressed to imagine the scale and demands of modern industry, which has dramatically and systematically destroyed wildlife habitats. Conservationists know that the wilderness and animals they cherish can’t be preserved without addressing how humans live.

It’s also clear that cultivating the next generation of environmental leaders is of the utmost importance. “We have this incredible opportunity to reach so many kids on so many issues,” says Dewan.

Indeed, many people who work at zoos were smitten at a young age by a love of wildlife. The Zoo has over 1,300 animals, all potential gateways to a life of treasuring the natural world.

The Zoo’s job: Make the connection between humans and animals, and then between hu-

mans and habitat.

Falling in love with animals is key A few hours later, we return to the Rare Animal Conservation Center to photograph Vice President of Conservation and Education Kim Lengel in front of her beloved Rodrigues fruit bats, which hail from a small island off the coast of East Africa. These aren’t technically hers—she hasn’t been a zookeeper in years— but they served as the subject of her graduate degree in biology from Villanova, and she’s devoted much of her adult life to protecting them.

The bats are the first animals on display in the building—clearly, it matters who you know— and visitors are immediately greeted with an unmistakably pungent, earthy smell. Lengel likes the aroma.

“Look at that face!” Lengel exclaims. “It’s like a puppy dog with wings.”

Lengel’s fascination with wildlife dates back to early childhood, when her father would read her books about nature, and then take her to nearby creeks and ponds. “We had this one that was my favorite that was called On Small Pond. I would pretend the pond we visited was Small Pond. For me, it was great. I loved being in the muck and handling animals and learning about them.”

In 1988, Lengel started at the Zoo as an intern “on a whim.” Once there, she became enamored with bats. Eventually she took a AUGUST 20 15

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“Ninety percent of our visitors are local constituents, and it is pretty reflective of the diversity—economic, ethnic, education [level] and so on—of our community.”

- Andy Baker Chief Operating Officer, Philadelphia Zoo

three-week course with Gerald Durrell, a charismatic and influential zoologist who founded a zoo on the island of Jersey, part of the Channel Islands between France and Great Britain. Durrell, a champion of the Rodrigues bat, helped to reframe the purpose of zoos as places to rescue—and breed—endangered animals, with the hope that one day they could be reintroduced into the wild.

Lengel went on to do graduate work, studying the bats, and then field work in Rodrigues.

The bats’ resurgence is a major success story.

At one point, there were thought to only be 100 left, and now there are over 20,000. It’s a success story that can partly be credited to the work that Lengel and the Philadelphia Zoo did—and continue to do. The Zoo funds a fulltime position for a Rodrigues-based conservation group that protects the bats, among other species.

Standing in front of the bats, Lengel explains her fascination further. They’re the only flying mammals, and with more than 1,000 known types of bats, are an incredibly diverse species. Some bats echolocate, using sound to navigate the world, but some have working eyes. What were the evolutionary pressures, she wonders, that drove them to flight? Did the big bats evolve separately from the small bats?

And then how did all of the unique co-evolutionary relationships between bats and the night flowering plants they pollinate—such as guava—come to be?

Then she tells a story about being on Rodrigues at dusk, overlooking a ridge and seeing the fruit bats fly three or four feet above her head, struggling to get out of the valley below.

“To see them hanging in the trees, and in the sun… when they are exposed to the direct sun, they gleam.”

Are bats beautiful because they’re fascinating, or are they fascinating because they’re beautiful? Either way, this is the deep connection the Zoo wants their visitors to feel, and then they want that feeling to inspire action.

Changing the experience of visitors and animals Very few institutions attract such a wide variety of people as zoos, and Philadelphia is no exception. This means attitudes and education around sustainability and conservation will exist on a wide continuum. This puts the Zoo 40

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in a unique position.

“We are a conservation organization that attracts non-conservationists,” says Andy Baker, chief operating officer of the Zoo. “Ninety percent of our visitors are local constituents, and it is pretty reflective of the diversity—economic, ethnic, education [level] and so on—of our community. So, we do see ourselves as having a broader appeal than something like the Nature Conservancy or the Wildlife Fund. Obviously, they serve extremely valuable roles, but they’ve got the choir. We’ve got the people who aren’t part of the choir yet.”

Like Lengel, Baker has been with the Philadelphia Zoo for over two decades. And, also like Lengel, his interest in the natural world was formed early. Baker devoured books about the fictional Dr. Doolittle, whose central character is able to understand the speech of animals, and he even briefly oversaw a homemade zoo (admission: 25 cents) when he was a child growing up in Arizona. He attended Stanford, and then worked at the Los Angeles Zoo, followed by a stint at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. before joining the Philadelphia Zoo in 1992 as assistant curator of mammals.

By the time he arrived in Philadelphia, he had already done several years of field work in Brazil studying golden lion tamarins. (They are the second animals you encounter when visiting the Rare Animal Conservation Center, living right next door to Lengel’s Rodrigues fruit bats.) He, too, cites his primary inspiration from Gerald Durrell, and his view that zoos should serve as “arks” for endangered animals, and also gives credit to his mentor Devra Kleiman, whom he worked with at the National Zoo. Kleiman, in 1972, was the first female scientist hired in the U.S. by a zoo, and was one of the founders of a Brazilian organization that, through an unprecedented collaboration among zoos, forged an international alliance to save the golden lion tamarins. Baker continues to serve as a special advisor to the board of directors of the nonprofit Save the Golden Lion Tamarin.

These days, Baker is most excited about Zoo 360, the revolutionary overhead trails the Zoo introduced in 2011. Now, both visitors and the animals are having new experiences.

According to Baker, “The Zoo 360 trail concept was really driven from an animal well-being standpoint—that was its inspiration, but

we also recognized early on in the development of it, it had a lot of potential to have a positive impact on guest experience, as well. We are definitely seeing that. It creates a more unpredictable experience. I think it repositions the relationship in an interesting way, and that is an area I am interested in digging into. It puts the animals much more in the driver’s seat; if they want to move away from something, they can. In many cases, they are above the visitor.

I think it puts people and animals in different relationships rather than a traditional setting.

People immediately get it.”

Animals can now engage in high-speed, long-distance running, and, for the Zoo’s mother lion, it has provided a little separation from her cubs. And who would begrudge a mother lion a little alone time?

Again, the hope is that the immediacy of the zoo experience translates into action or behavioral change of the visitors. But for the past few years, the Zoo has been exploring a different approach: encouraging behavior first.

“So, you have these amazing experiences with animals,” Baker says. “We tell you they are in trouble, then we expect behavior change to happen. So, that’s still a critical part. We see the empathy building and experiences being a core part of how we accomplish our mission.

“We have also really pushed ourselves in the last few years to the reverse [of ] a kind of ‘caring leads to doing,’” he continues. “A model for that is a Habitat for Humanity … We give them

Golden lion tamarin

P HOTO BY J E RO E N KRAN S E N (TA MA RI N)

the Education Issue

Andy Baker, chief operating officer, poses in front of one of the Zoo 360 trails, while a gorilla uses it to go for walk

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A display in KidZooU aimed at connecting consumer behavior and wildlife survival

“Philadelphia Zoo is really a good example of focusing local to national, regional and national impact. That's why you see all the messaging when you go to their zoo ... that there are simple actions that you can take home in order to save wildlife.”

- Kim Lengel Director of Conservation, Philadelphia Zoo

something to work on, and that makes them feel part [of something], reinforces their existing identity of already being green, which encourages further action. That is why we have moved towards—as much as possible—trying to create opportunities for action while people are on site so they have already done something before they leave the Zoo.”

Empowering kids to change behavior When it comes to climate change, the message of the Zoo is direct, simple and positive: What you do matters. Here’s the simple logic displayed on a sign in KidZooU, their award-winning exhibit designed for kids, to encourage kids to “save” the budgie, a bird native to New Zealand:  Making new cans, bottles and paper requires electricity…  Much of the energy comes from power plants that burn fuel…

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    

Burning fuels makes greenhouse gases…

Greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun…

The heat causes climate change…

Climate change causes droughts where budgies live…

Recycle and re-use everything you can to save budgies.

Suddenly, climate change is less abstract. A loveable, furry face needs some help.

“We know that kids are often the drivers for… behavior in their households, so we are really appealing to the kids as the ‘wildlife heroes,’” says Lengel.

The Zoo primarily addresses climate change by encouraging personal actions, such as recycling, and using less energy and water at home.

Since they are aiming at educating children, and because the Zoo is such a mainstream organization, the more radical messages about consumption—the ideas that question what is at the heart of our current economic model— won’t be found at the Zoo. They will tell you to

turn off your TV, but not to destroy it.

Regular visitors will notice signs scattered throughout the campus aimed at adults that call attention to technologies and strategies the Zoo has employed to use resources more wisely. Dad can learn about the resource-saving qualities of a waterless urinal, while any passerby might read about the benefits of an energy-efficient geothermal heating and cooling system, like the one the Zoo has.

“Our goal is very much to meet people where they are,” says Dewan. “With someone that is coming in with a double stroller for the day and [has] a lot of things to do, perhaps the best you can hope for is just one or two quick messages.”

Save an orangutan, call a corporation There is an overwhelming and immediate danger that is alarming to conservationists: palm oil production.

Palm oil is remarkably versatile—it can be found in your chocolate bar, your shampoo and, in some parts of the world, your gas tank.

It’s a very lucrative crop that’s in high demand.

As recently as 1990, palm oil production accounted for 37 million acres of land; by 2020, projections are that it will reach 185 million acres. This is bad news for some of the stars of our zoos, especially Sumatran tigers and orangutans. If palm oil production goes unchecked, these animals will soon become extinct.

Feeling the urgency to address this issue, the Philadelphia Zoo decided that they would encourage advocacy among their visitors.

Fitting in with their overall approach, the Zoo took a positive tone with the initiative.

Their 2011 “Leaves of Gratitude” campaign collected 53,000 handwritten thank-you notes from the community, sent them to corporations that had created any policy attempting to improve their supply chain, and urged them to do more.

Initially, the Zoo supported the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an NGO established by members of the palm oil industry.

While Peckham sees value in the work they’ve done to establish best practices for palm oil producers, there is a very big piece of the puzzle they are not addressing: deforestation.

Despite the outcry of environmentalists everywhere, the RSPO continues to label palm oil “sustainable” that is being grown on newly destroyed tropical forests, the habitat of many endangered species.

“We no longer use the term ‘sustainable palm oil’ because that’s the language used by the RSPO,” Peckham says. “We don’t feel the standards used by the RSPO to certify palm oil as ‘sustainable’ are strong enough, so we advocate for palm oil that goes beyond RSPO and is ‘deforestation-free.’”

Miriam Swaffer, corporate policy advocate at the Union of Concerned Scientists, sees progress, citing the stated support of deforestation-free palm oil by the U.N., the World Bank, governments and the business community. As consumers learn more, she says, business as usual will not be acceptable, and corporations will feel pressure to do the right thing.

Some of that pressure, even if it is applied gently, is coming from the zoo community, and Swaffer sees the Philadelphia Zoo as a national leader in this movement. “This has been a big sea change for the zoo community,” she says, “to get involved in direct advocacy, especially around corporations. I think the Philadelphia Zoo and particularly Valerie Peckham has been so instrumental in normalizing this kind of action… [making zoos] epicenters for taking action in the world.”

The Philadelphia Zoo, and zoos everywhere, can have a profound impact. Dewan points out, “I think it’s not only the depth and diversity of the individuals that we reach, but also the scale.”

IN FOGRA P H IC BY AVERY M A E H R E R

The Houston Zoo’s Pete Riger agrees. “Zoos in the U.S. have 180 million people walking into our gates every year, so we have an audience. If we can get that message out to them, we will have a great impact, because you are already engaged. You come to the zoo for a reason, you want to come to the zoo, you want to have fun and you want to see animals, so you already care. So, we already have that piece.

Now once you are there, we have to engage and get you to understand how simple it is to help us save animals.”

So, there is reason for hope, but when asked

if he retained optimism about the future, Philadelphia Zoo COO Baker paused before answering.

“I think what I always go back to is we can make a difference and it may not be… the end result may not be everything that we might want, but we can make the end result better than what it would have been if we hadn't acted. That’s always the lens I try to put on everything that we do. You lose more battles than you win in conservation biology, but you can change outcomes, and I think that is what we are here to do.”

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Elementary students at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education get down in the mud during a hike 44

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the Education Issue

STREAMS, NOT SCREENS Freeing bodies and minds for 50 years at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education by justin klugh photo by rebecca dhondt

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s a child, environmental leader Mike Weilbacher can remember getting lost in the pine woods of Long Island. “That was our home,” he recalls. “We’d go off, two miles away from our house without cell phones, and our parents would have no idea. It was a different world.” Today, not only are the pine forests of his youth long decimated, but children’s exposure to the outdoors is far less regular. “The average child is watching 40-50 hours of screens a week,” he says. “So, essentially a child’s full-time job is looking at a screen.”

As the Executive Director of the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, Weilbacher and his colleagues believe in a simple philosophy: Get kids back outside and see what happens. They do so with a curriculum of outdoor programs for kids from ages 3-15, giving them access to a world that surrounds them, but with which they may lack familiarity. And it’s a good thing, according to the National Wildlife Federation, which cites getting outside as a means to improve children’s fitness, Vitamin D levels and even eyesight. In a country where one in three children suffer from obesity, getting children away from their desks and into the woods is a refreshing philosophy. Schools with environmental programs saw an uptick in standardized test scores, as well. From a social standpoint, a 2009 study at the University of Rochester found that nature can smooth out rough emotional edges, or, as the NWF puts it, “Nature makes you nicer, enhancing social interactions, value for community and close relationships.”

Weilbacher has seen children enter the woods and become different people. “Kids who spend more time outside are healthier,” he says. ”They have less absenteeism in school, they’re calmer. They play more creatively when they’re outside, there’s less win-lose and more free play. Boys and girls mix differently. Essentially, we evolve to being immersed in green.”

By offering a less structured take on education, children who participate in Schuylkill Center outdoor programs do not feel they are losing out on their free time.

“The Schuylkill Center is a special place,” says Manager of School programs Camila Rivera-Tinsley. “Being out in nature— for anyone—provides these moments of spontaneous inspiration. Kids are able to have their imaginations be truly stimulated because it’s an open palate. You give this loose framework for what the lesson is about, and they think that they are guid-

ing the lesson. Suddenly, they want to know more, and it creates self-driven learning. They’re doing it on their own and that makes them happier learners.”

Schuylkill Center summer camps for younger children allow for exploration of the 340 acres of wooded Schuylkill Center property, where the lessons can range from ecosystems to outer space to organic farming. Older kids get to hike, camp, bike, raft and engage in the outdoors during five-night stays.

The ”Monkey Tail Gang” meets after school, allowing kids to unwind after a long day in kindergarten to fifth grade, and numerous day trips allow for extended adventures. Kids can even have their birthday parties on the property, selecting from a variety of themes. For adults, there are walks, workshops, lectures and classes, and even training programs offered to become a Pennsylvania Master Naturalist. It’s a different take on the spirit that embodied TSC when it opened in 1965.

“Fifty years ago, the paradigm would have been to bring kids outside and tell them lots of great information about the environment and hope that they absorb it,” Weilbacher says. “Now, it’s more about giving kids lots of time to immerse in nature and just be.”

Like its students, the Schuylkill Center will continue to evolve—currently, they are looking at ways to unite technology and the outdoors—while keeping their overall message the same. Environmentalist icons did not simply walk out of the woods with a head full of keen ideas; they received an education, formal or not, that put nature in front of them and allowed for it—as it often does, without waiting for permission—to grow on them.

“This is where the next John Muir comes from,” Weilbacher says. “Somebody who grows up with green living so important to them, who becomes the next environmental leader.”

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Free Library of Philadelphia President Siobhan Reardon 46

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the Education Issue

A HUNGER FOR KNOWLEDGE Nourishing more than minds at the Free Library of Philadelphia

by Marilyn Anthony photo by jon roemer

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n 2008, Siobhan Reardon, the first female president of the Free Library of Philadelphia, had some challenging ingredients to work with when she arrived: a 30 percent budget cut, a stalled capital campaign, pressure to close many neighborhood libraries and the astounding fact that over half a million adults among Philadelphia’s 1.5 million residents are functionally illiterate.

The situation that Reardon inherited sounds like a recipe for disaster, but seven years later, the Free Library of Philadelphia (FLP) is well into implementation of its strategic plan, “Building Inspiration: 21st Century Libraries Initiative,” and the Library Press proclaimed her its “2015 Librarian of the Year.”

The Culinary Literacy Center (CLC) on the fourth floor of the Central Library at 19th and Ben Franklin Parkway is one of the innovations cooked up by Reardon. “We had this former cafeteria space, and I recalled how much I’ve enjoyed taking cooking classes for the learning, the socialization, the skills and the recipes I could bring home and share with my family,” Reardon recalls. “There are so many takeaways from cooking.

So we made up the name ‘Culinary Literacy Center’ and set about creating programming to advance literacy skills.”

Since June 2014, CLC boasts completion of 325 programs with over 3,000 participants. Led by Culinary Literacy Specialist Elizabeth Fitzgerald, the CLC enlisted many partners to design and populate cooking programs, utilizing the new demonstration kitchen to engage children, immigrant women, veterans, ESOL students (English speakers of other languages) and more. Regardless of the audience, key elements comprise the CLC’s approach. “We look at ways food and nutrition can come together to create a class that’s fun and educational,” says CLC Librarian, Suzanna Urminska, CLC classes range in size from 35 to as few as 5, creating a comfortable setting with ample opportunity for hands on learning. The classes fold in literacy skills, using recipes to introduce new words and concepts, spelling and pronunciation, but also sequential thinking and the ability to follow directions. Math and science play a part through measurements, conversions and understanding cooking techniques.

Students write, speak, touch and do specific tasks, a process that literacy specialist Sarajane Blair says is “a perfect formula for reinforcing literacy. You’re teaching math and science without people realizing it because they’re so engaged with the food.”

Through the yearlong “Nourishing Literacy” program, the sixth graders at Masterman School read the junior edition of Michael Pollan’s, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” Students dis-

cussed the book, learned how to read recipes, devised their own recipes based on ingredients available at corner stores and then cooked the dishes. CLC’s Fitzgerald, mother of a two year old, plans to expand “Nourishing Literacy” to reach kindergarteners and third graders.

Chef Marc Vetri taught an 11-week class introducing ninth graders to culinary skills based on the course he teaches for hospitality majors at Drexel University. The CLC course ended with an Iron Chef style competition, complete with judges. Vetri committed early and deeply to the CLC, based on his belief that food has a rare ability “to teach about the environment, science, industry, culture, math. Just about everything can be taught through food. And then, you can eat it.”

Former school educator Shayna Marmar, who runs Honeypie Cooking, worked with Fitzgerald to develop recipes encouraging people of all ages to eat vegetables. Marmar appreciates the “natural literacy in the fabric of cooking,” adding, “In the CLC, we want to educate to the best of our ability and we want it to be approachable and joyful.”

But the proof, as the saying goes, is in the pudding. Amy Weidner’s two sons, Branch and Jay (ages 10 and 12), students in the “Summer Thyme Cooks” classes, compete to see who gets to make dinner for the family of six. They’ve added words like “zesting” to their vocabulary, watch cooking shows as a family and are much more aware of and appreciative of ingredients. “It’s a sweet program,” Weidner notes.

FLP President Reardon sees an enduring future for public libraries. “Now is the carpe diem moment,” she says. “We have an obligation to be very flexible in our services. People learn noisily now. A lot of the fun things in learning are not quiet things: singing songs together, telling stories to children, talking with others about what you are discovering or thinking or feeling.”

Mix in the clatter of knives, bowls and spoons and the chatter of cooks caught up in the pleasures of cooking, eating and learning together in the Culinary Literacy Center. The 21st Century FLP library offers all Philadelphians lifelong learning and a welcoming, well-laden kitchen table too.

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PhillyEarth permaculture students at the Village of Arts and Humanities stand with their teacher, Jon Hopkins (center) in the middle of their garden 48

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the Education Issue

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT PhillyEarth fosters risk-taking and resilience in North Philadelphia

by Marilyn Anthony photos by jared gruenwald

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he cob oven, hand-built from Warnock Street clay, was nearly finished when it suddenly collapsed. Jon Hopkins, Director of the PhillyEarth project thought, “Oh my god, this took us four days to build.” His crew of neighborhood kids saw his stricken look and said, “What are you worried about? We got this. We’ll be back tomorrow and we’re gonna build it again.”More than any competency test could measure, the kids in the PhillyEarth program showed in that moment how well they have mastered one of the key principles Hopkins wants to impart: resiliency.

PhillyEarth began in May 2012 as a program of the Village of Arts & Humanities. Other Village programs are arts-related and include dance, music, sculpture and garden design, all of which are intended to reclaim and enliven public spaces.

PhillyEarth uses the natural resources of the Village to teach youth between the ages of nine and 19 the principles of permaculture and appropriate technology: built solutions that are both sustainable and suited to the site. Extending the 30-year mission of the Village by adding urban farming made perfect sense to Executive Director Aviva Kapust. “The history of the Village is rooted in transforming physical space with and for the community,” she says. “PhillyEarth is right in line with the type of work the Village wants to do. We try to be an incubator for risky ideas with a very logical premise.”

The Village is concentrated in an eight-square-block area near Germantown Avenue and North 11th Street, though its reach extends over approximately 260 blocks in a section of the city where 86 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. “The kids there really have nothing,” says Nick Renner, co-founder and director of engineering at Integrated Symbiotics. “PhillyEarth provides the opportunity to engage in old agricultural ideas and new technologies.”

Renner collaborated with Hopkins to build a solar-powered aquaponics system for PhillyEarth. It resides in an earthship made of reclaimed tires, bottles and scrap, sheltering aquapon-

ics tanks in which fish and plants thrive.

The now fertile lots on Warnock Street contain a chicken coop, a pallet shed, raised beds of companion-planted vegetables and the resurrected cob oven, but the space was previously home to crack dens. Councilman Darrell Clarke accepted the Village’s petition to enroll the crack houses in his “40 Houses in 40 Days” initiative to tackle blight with the understanding that the Village would build a farm.

Hopkins began reinventing these lots by planting a willow fence instead of an energy-intensive, unwelcoming chain link fence. The willows form a graceful barrier protecting the farm naturally, and offer the first indication that this cared-for space embodies principles of permaculture.

Permaculture has multiple interpretations, but activist Guy Baldwin’s definition comes closest to PhillyEarth’s mission.

“Permaculture is a holistic approach to landscape design and human culture,” he says. “It is an attempt to integrate several disciplines, including biology, ecology, geography, agriculture, architecture, appropriate technology, gardening and community-building.”

Rob Fleming, Program Director for Philadelphia University’s Masters of Science in Sustainable Design, recognizes the complexity of PhillyEarth’s undertaking. “Jon’s teaching the full practice of permaculture; teaching kids how to think in terms of cycles, of interconnected systems, of relationships beAUGUST 20 15

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Building a solar oven for use at PhillyEarth as part of their permaculture program

“Jon [Hopkins] is not only an incredible craftsman, designer and maker; the way he involves kids in every aspect of creating this farm is truly a work of art.”

- Nick Renner Integrated Symbiotics

tween humans and the natural world. That’s why I think his is a very powerful model.”

Hopkins recruits youth for his outdoor classroom with a simple gambit. He asks them who they know who can do any of the things they’ll learn at PhillyEarth, like build a solar still or raise chickens. The answer is always the same: nobody. PhillyEarth builds cool skills and cool hands-on projects that give kids a powerful way to differentiate themselves. It’s also a lot of fun. “Jon is not only an incredible craftsman, designer and maker; the way he involves kids in every aspect of creating this farm is truly a work of art,” Renner observes.

Hands-on learning rules. Kapust emphasizes, “Jon does not do the work. It’s all done by the students. The nature of the work demands a level of excellence from them. We’re reaching kids who want that kind of engagement. They don’t do it for money or prizes. They do it for the pride of achievement.”

Hopkins recruited his first class of 10 students from the after-school program at the Village. Since then, over 300 youth have worked their way through the clever PhillyEarth merit badge system. Peer involvement fuels retention. Hopkins says, “When a kid sees another kid wearing a badge, he’s like “‘how’d he get that? I want that, too.’”

There are six beautifully designed badges: Up-Cycle, Water, Zero Waste, Smart Build, Grown and Energizer. Each is earned through completion of a specific curriculum. A motivated student could complete all six badges within one year. Youth who earn every badge are invited to become co-teachers at PhillyEarth, and are encouraged to become Neighborhood Sustainability Leaders by taking their skills into their church or school.

PhillyEarth participants have, on average, been more boys than 50

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girls, but not by a significant amount. The program, which is open to everyone, is 100 percent free.

PhillyEarth imparts Science Technology Engineering Art and Math (STEAM)-based skills, and with funding from the American Honda Foundation, is crafting learning modules for use in public schools. Hopkins, a California native from the Bay Area, believes kids in underserved neighborhoods around the city and country are going to live their lives differently when the empowering experience of PhillyEarth helps them realize they’re not as empty-handed as they might feel. They have power to make changes and choices that are better.

Graduates of PhillyEarth will be consultants on a permaculture initiative for the Norris Square Neighborhood Project this fall. Kapust shares, “We’ve had tons of requests,” and the Village is “all in” when it comes to collaborating with other nonprofits and urban organizations. This is the real win, when PhillyEarth graduates can apply their knowledge to creating solutions for other sites.

The Food Trust, leaders of a $5 million grant program funded by GlaxoSmithKline, agrees. The Food Trust’s “Get HYPE Philly!” chose PhillyEarth to be one of a collective of 10 organizations with the goal of empowering 1,000 youth leaders to promote a culture of health in 100 middle and high schools. “Get HYPE Philly!” aspires to reach over 50,000 Philadelphia youth by 2017.

Hopkins thinks his program delivers the powerful trait of self-confidence and the self-assurance to take risks. “The reward [for students] is seeing accomplishments firsthand. What we started out with was nothing and, now we have something.

And it’s like, whoa!”

There are many reasons children should have unstructured play outside, from learning about nature to expressing creativity, not to mention being able to move around freely. Interaction with nature at an early age can boost mental acuity, creativity, social skills, and physical and mental health—not just for children, but the whole family. Take advantage of the many local organizations providing educational opportunities for outdoor and unstructured play at our arboretums, public parks and community organizations. You can find more profiles, articles and interviews on the subject throughout our Education Issue, and to find even more local opportunities, visit the national Children and Nature Network online.

The Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center

childrenandnature.org

Friends of the Wissahickon

These are just snapshots of some of the exhibits and programs offered. Please visit these organizations’ websites for full programming information. For more events in August, please see our events section on page.

cobbscreekenvironmentalcenter.org 700 Cobbs Creek Pkwy.

Prices and times vary

Throughout the year, Cobbs Creek runs three urban demonstration gardens and houses, three trails and 965 acres for kids to experience outdoor education, problem-based hands-on science, environmental conservation and stewardship. Check out the Future Scientists program for 7th and 8th graders, an environmental enrichment STEM-based (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education program.

fow.org 300 W. Northwestern Ave. Prices and times vary

The Friends have great family opportunities beginning in August, including kid-friendly hikes, nature exploration, and child and parent outdoor yoga. Introduce your children to the beauty of the Wissahickon, including creeks, pools, bridges and valleys.

Overbrook Education Center wix.com/overbrook 6134 Lancaster Ave. Prices and times vary

OUTDOOR PROGRAMMING Sister Cities Park

ccdparks.org/sister-cities-park Sister Cities Park, 18th St. and Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.

Free

Starting in August, there are three great programs for kids. Join Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Free Library of Philadelphia for a nature-inspired story and craft time called Story Art. On Wednesdays, participate in Children and Nature: Growing Up Green, outdoor play that inspires a greater connection with the outdoor world. Then join the Academy of Natural Sciences at Sister Cities Park every other Tuesday for Nature in the Park, fun-filled natural science activities.

Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University ansp.org 1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy .

Prices and times vary

At the Academy, this summer is full of nature-inspired exhibits and summer camps for kids, including Bug Fest and Academy Explorer Camps with themes like “Bugstravaganza,” where kids visit outdoor spaces, dig in the dirt and find out about beekeeping.

the Education Issue

The Center provides weekly hands-on activities like Volunteering in the Garden, and also has opportunities for older children like the Overbrook Environmental Solutions (OES), a program directed at vocational and career technical education for students in the areas of science, technology, engineering, arts (design) and math.

Please Touch Museum pleasetouchmuseum.org 4231 Ave. of the Republics Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park Admission is $17 for adults and children age one and over.

Children under one are free

Throughout August, come out on Thursday evenings for “Make Art, Make Science, Make Believe!” to participate in hand-on educational entertainment. Or, visit the many interactive exhibits going on until September, including Imagination Playground for unstructured play and River Adventures to explore science, nature and weather.

Smith Memorial Playground smithplayground.org 3500 Reservoir Dr. Free

This 16,000-square-foot playhouse and playground provides opportunities for unstructured creative play for children 10 and younger.

Smith provides storytime, family days and crafts, and offers “Ready, Set, Play!” to its members. This interactive parent and caregiver playgroup aims to educate parents and caregivers on how children learn through play while engaging in open discussions of parenting.

ONGOING EVENTS Sharing Nature with Children at the Bucktoe Creek Preserve bucktoecreekpreserve.org Bucktoe Creek Preserve, 102 E Street Rd., Kennett Square, Pa Tues. and Thurs., Aug. 4 to 20, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. $5 TLC members; $10 non-members

Nature walks through the preserve involving activites such as salamander searches, plus a special adventure to the Gnome Countryside on Thursday, August 13. Please pack a lunch and drop-off promptly at 10 a.m. Snacks and drinks are provided. Limited spots available.

Sharing Nature with Children at the Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County tlcforscc.org/education/education-programs 432 Sharp Rd., Avondale, Pa First Sundays of May through September, 10 to 11 a.m. $5 for TLC members; $10 non-members

Explore the wonders of nature by engaging your child in different activities each month to awaken their natural senses. Light refreshments will be provided. This program runs the first Sunday of every month from May through September 2015.

Story Hour for Preschoolers at Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust pennypacktrust.org 2955 Edge Hill Rd. Huntingdon Valley, Pa Starting Aug 13. Thursdays. 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Free

Bring your children ages 2–5 to enjoy nature stories told by Megan Haley Keaton, followed by a special activity, sing-alongs and a walk down to the pond. Story Hour is held the second Thursday of each month.

Art Splash​at Philadelphia Museum of Art philamuseum.org/artsplash 2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.

June 30 to Sept. 7, Tues. through Sun., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wed. until 7:00 p.m.

Visit the website for specific events, programs and costs

Gallery tours, programs, hands-on activities and more, designed with imaginative play and participatory conversation. This summer Art Splash’s gallery and studio programs are inspired by the natural world and, like nature, are always changing.

Field Studies at Awbury Arboretum awbury.org Weekday mornings, 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. $6 per child

Enroll your children, preschool through middle school, in hands-on environmental education programs focusing on exposing young people to the natural world through fun activities and exploration.

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Kids taking a hike with the Urban Blazers program learn which berries are edible 52

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the Education Issue

BLAZING AHEAD After decades of fear, outdoor educators instill a new culture of fun around Philadelphia's parks by hannah waters photo by urban blazers

T

he woods of Fairmount Park are haunted. There, in a dilapidated hut, lives the Green Lady, according to local legend. She roams the park with a single purpose: to steal kids who venture too far into the forest and, in some tellings, eat them.

Folklore often hides a kernel of truth, and the lesson of this Philadelphia legend is clear: Stay out of the woods. However, in July, four campers with Urban Blazers plainly exhibited a different attitude towards the Green Lady as they hiked down Boxers’ Trail, a 3.8-mile path that winds through Fairmount Park from Strawberry Mansion. They pointed out a hut across the stream—the Green Lady’s house—and, in their spookiest voices, foretold that she would steal us away. But Janae Squire, 11, was having none of it. “She’s not real,” she assured me with an eyeroll.

Squire’s attitude—her sureness of self and her comfort in the woods—exemplifies the work of Urban Blazers, a Philadelphia nonprofit founded in 2005 that immerses kids from under-resourced neighborhoods in their local parks. Many poorer neighborhoods have beautiful parks nearby, “but they are not being accessed by the people who live in those neighborhoods,” says Eric Dolaway, executive director of Urban Blazers. “The access issue is less about physically being able to get to a trail, and more about knowledge and confidence.”

Instilling that knowledge and confidence requires supplanting a fear of parks that is justifiable given their recent history.

The Green Lady kept kids safe when Philadelphia’s parks filled up with trash and crime in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s. The last decade has seen investment and improvement in the parks, but cultural attitudes take longer to catch up.

Urban Blazers is rigorously structured to create a new culture of fun and enjoyment around parks, and it’s reached nearly 7,000 kids since inception. In addition to a suite of summer camps, staff and volunteers meet with the same classes in partnering charter and independent schools every single week, leading the students in team-building games and developing mentoring relationships. The games focus on building trust among the students, and feedback sessions after each visit let them voice their joys and frustrations. The approach builds camaraderie in the classrooms so that students feel safe with one another even when feeling unsafe in the woods and parks.

There are additional benefits. “Plenty of teachers give us the

feedback that their kids communicate better and that there’s less bullying in the classrooms,” says Dolaway.

The team-building activities prepare students for monthly ventures into the woods (taking public transit whenever possible) for a walk and unstructured play. Unlike many environmental education programs, Urban Blazers doesn’t explicitly teach science and nature. Nonetheless, it offers access to rich ecological knowledge. During one trip, campers foraged for mustard seeds and wineberries. They pointed out poison ivy along the trail’s edge, and then a natural remedy growing nearby: jewelweed, which spills a pain-relieving juice when you break its stem.

More than local ecology, this knowledge lets them have a safe and fun time in the woods, especially if they return alone.

Dolaway knows that the kids are going to try berries, so he teaches them which ones are safe to eat and which are not.

They’ll climb trees regardless, so he teaches them to recognize when a tree-climbing situation veers into dangerous territory.

That knowledge brings them comfort, as what once scared them becomes familiar. “I thought it was going to be scary and boring,” says Amir Barbee, 12, about his first time in the woods.

“But then we came out here and it was so much fun!”

It’s the fun that makes the difference in building a long-term love of parks. Many schools bring students into the woods only for science class or trash pick-ups. However, “unstructured experiences in nature are just as important, if not more important, than structured experiences for developing a connection to the environment,” says Marianne Krasny, Professor and Director of the Civic Ecology Lab at Cornell University. “They’re more likely to result in an interest in the environment as an adult.”

While it’s a nice side effect, Urban Blazers isn’t looking to create environmentally conscious adults. It wants to see kids and teenagers using the parks today—and it’s working.

“After they go hiking with us, our kids go hiking again,” says Dolaway. “And they introduce their friends and their siblings and their parents to the trails we go hiking on. That’s something that we do that I don’t think is being done by anyone else.”

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Workshop School student leader and rising sophomore Quwontay Hunter works on a carpenter project 54

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AUGUST 201 5

the Education Issue

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING One student’s chance and hard work means his community’s gain by alex jones photo by ann cohen

Q

uwontay Hunter has changed a lot over the past few years. Since enrolling at the Workshop School, his teachers, mentors and mom agree: the 16-year-old rising sophomore from West Philadelphia hasn’t just grown—he’s flourished. When the friendly, soft-spoken teen attended traditional public school, “He didn’t really care too much for it,” says Fanta Grant, his mother.

The Workshop School is a public school in West Philadelphia that takes a project-based, hands-on approach to learning. Students work on everything from developing alternative fuel vehicles and constructing a food truck for mobile nutrition education to building a dock for Bartram’s Garden’s boating activities on the Schuylkill River.

Students also create products for sale to the public at Workshop Industries, an after-school program that focuses entrepreneurship. The Jawnament—a laser-cut wooden Christmas ornament developed by students that celebrates one of Philly’s favorite regionalisms—became so popular with holiday shoppers when it debuted last winter that the school sold out.

“The Workshop School [is] promoting me to do a lot of things better,” says Hunter. “I love that school, everything about it.”

Ann Cohen, board chair of the school’s nonprofit wing, has also witnessed his transformation.

Since he started at the Workshop School, Cohen has seen Hunter’s confidence and engagement grow. “Any project that came up, he was there,” she says. “Building a desk for one of his teachers, or building a dock at Bartram’s Garden.” He even works gardening for Cohen during his limited free time.

Hunter also participates in the school’s EVX Team, in which students and teachers collaborate to design alternative fuel vehicles. In tinkering with cars, he may have found his calling.

“My dream is to learn the concept of fixing cars, auto mechanics,” Hunter says. And he wants to find a way to do it that will lessen the burden that car trouble can have on members of his community.

When you’ve got car trouble, “usually you need to have connections and resources. You can’t just go into a shop and say, ‘I need you to help me fix this.’ They’re going to run your tax up,” Hunter says. “You need to have connections. That would be a good resource for somebody to have me, because I can help them with their problems, but I can also make the financial part less of a stress.”

The Workshop School offers three certified programs of study: pre-engineering, automotive technology, and auto body

and collision repair. “[Quwontay] has a lot of intuitive, handson ability, and the auto technology program is a great one,” Cohen says. “It’s a great career, particularly with his interest in sustainability and alternative fuels. That’s going to be a field that’s going to grow.”

Hunter’s passion for sustainability goes beyond hybrid cars and upcycled materials. Not long after his family moved from Germantown to West Philly in 2011, he started volunteering at nearby Mill Creek Urban Farm, a nonprofit educational urban farm promoting food security and food justice. This is his second year participating in Mill Creek’s summer job training program for high school students.

Over time, “[Quwontay] has become much more of an advocate for the mission, for food justice,” says Aviva Asher, Mill Creek’s Director of Farm and Education Programs. Through learning to grow, harvest, and sell chemical-free produce at the farm, students develop job skills around agriculture, customer service and leadership.

Asher has observed how Hunter is building on his different interests—like carpentry and farming—thanks to programming from Mill Creek and the Workshop School. “Today we were at Overbrook Environmental Center, and he said, ‘You know, we could build you a high tunnel just like that.’ That’s great!”

By his own admission, Hunter likes to keep busy—something he learned from his mother. “She is a hard-working woman, and I think that’s where I get my hard working from,” he says. “Hard work is a good quality of work. You can’t never go wrong when you get hard working.”

His effort is paying off: This year, staff at The Workshop school nominated Hunter for the Triskeles Program’s prestigious Green Career Pathways Youth Entrepreneurship Council, where he’s collaborating with students from other schools and mentors to teach city youth about urban farming.

After high school? Hunter and his mother agree on one thing: college is the next step. “I just want him to be successful, for the main part,” Grant says. “I’m very proud of him.”

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FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE AT LEAST 2 years and 7 months by September 1 Friends School Haverford is now offering a flexible schedule, full-day, natureand play-based nursery school program especially for little ones who miss the preschool cut-off date.

Now Enrolling! Call:

610-642-2334 FriendsHaverford.org

/ EVENTS

All Month Introduction to Pollinator Habitat Gardening Interact with gardeners who want to have a positive impact on the plants and insects that play an invaluable role in nature. Register by emailing lcerf@awbury.org. awbury.org WHEN: Mondays, 4 to 6 p.m WHERE: Awbury Arboretum, 901 E. Washington Ln. COST: Free with admission

August 7 Smooth Jazz Summer Nights Smooth Jazz will fill the waterfront Friday nights in August, as the Penn’s Landing plays host to nationally-renowned acts.

Listen to some of the country’s best in a beautiful riverfront venue. All the concerts are family-friendly and open to the public.

Explore the Wissahickon Creek at the Four Mills Reserve. Investigate how fast it flows and hunt for eddies, riffles and other stream features. Explore using nets, buckets and tools to find out what creatures are living in the Creek’s backyard. Registration required; register online. wvwa.org/events

August 8 The Role of Nurses in Severe Weather: Anticipating, Preparing & Responding At this workshop, nurses will learn about the effect climate change has on severe weather and its health impact. Nurses will be better able to identify valuable health resources in communities. Register online. psrphila.org WHEN: Sat., Aug. 8, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

WHERE: Friends Center, 1501 Cherry St. COST: $30

Peach, Princess & Pirates Celebration Join the party for New Jersey’s favorite summer fruit with crafts, a planting activity and a treasure hunt. Children who come dressed in costume will receive a free ride ticket; limit one per child. CamdenChildrensGarden.org WHEN: Sat., Aug. 8-9, 1. to 4 p.m.

WHERE: 3 Riverside Dr., Camden, N.J. COST: $6

Bug Fest Join The Academy of Natural Sciences for bug activities like observing live ants, bug yoga, and tips on how to cook bugs from popular chef, David George Gordon, author of the Eat-a-Bug Cookbook. ansp.org/bugfest

The Hacktory Summer Camp Events

WHEN: Sat., Aug. 8, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

WHERE: 12 Morris Rd., Ambler, Pa COST: Free

The Hacktory has summer camps available for children going into third to fifth grade.

Each week features a different theme related to art, tinkering, engineering, building and design. Early drop-off and late pick up are available, as well as sibling discounts and scholarships. Register online. thehacktory.org

Garden Railway Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Weekend

WHEN: Mon. to Fri., Aug. 10 to Aug. 14, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

WHERE: 3711 Market St.

Come visit Thomas & Friends at the Garden Railway, featuring a quarter mile track with loops and tunnels, bridges and trestles and miniature buildings created entirely of natural materials. morrisaboretum.org WHEN: Sat., Aug 8 WHERE: 100 E. Northwestern Ave. COST: Free with admission

August 9

delawareriverwaterfront.com/events WHEN: Fri. Aug. 7, 7:30 to 9 p.m.

WHERE: Great Plaza at Penn's Landing, S. Columbus Blvd. at Chestnut St. COST: Free

August 10

Family Creek Exploration

August 11 Weavers Way Movie Night at the Farm: Stuart Little Grab a picnic and a blanket, and join us for an evening under the stars. The show starts at sunset. Come early to shop the Henry Got Crops farmstand until 7 p.m., and spend some time exploring the farm. weaversway. coop

Summer Foraging Walk with "Wildman" Steve Brill Steve Brill will lead one of his world-famous foraging tours at Pennypack Ecological Trust in Huntingdon Valley. Steve will find seasonal wild edibles and all participants will be encouraged to try these natural, free snacks. Register online. pennypackfarm.org WHEN: Sun., Aug. 9, 1 to 3 p.m.

WHERE: 2955 Edge Hill Rd., Huntingdon Valley, Pa COST: $20

How to Get Rid of “Stuff” Sustainable Haddon Heights will inform you about Earth 911 and other resources to help keep unwanted things out of the landfills at “Sundays on Station with Sustainable Haddon Heights.” For each reusable bag you have used, receive an entry into the weekly contest. sustainablehaddonheights.org WHEN: Sun., Aug. 9, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

WHERE: 600 Station Ave., Haddon Heights, N.J. COST: Free

Invasive and Native Plant Safari See firsthand the difference between a disturbed, invaded woodland and a naturally balanced area, and find out how you can help at home. Suitable for children 10 and older with a responsible adult. Online registration recommended. fow.org WHEN: Sun., Aug. 9, 2 to 4 p.m.

WHERE: Wissahickon Valley Park, Kitchens Ln. COST: Free

WHEN: Tues., Aug. 11, 8 to 9:30 p.m.

WHERE: Saul High School, 7095 Henry Ave. COST: Free

August 12 Nature's Hidden Surprises: Creek Study on M acroinvertebrates Join Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Educator Judith Gratz for her monthly nature walk series at Tacony Creek Park.

Discover creeks, critters, trees, birds and more. ttfwatershed.org WHEN: Wed., Aug. 12, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

WHERE: Tacony Creek Park, I Street and Ramona Ave. COST: Free

August 13 Monarch Butterfly Garden Kit Monarch butterflies are now candidates for the Endangered Species List. Help them rebound by planting a garden that is both attractive and sustains butterflies. Bring home our Garden Kit, complete with a garden design, plants and easy-to-use instructions.

Register by emailing education@mtcubacenter.org or go online. mtcubacenter.org WHEN: Thurs., Aug. 13 WHERE: Mt. Cuba Center, 3120 Barley Mill Rd., Hockessin, DE COST: $30

WHEN: Sat., Aug. 8-9, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

WHERE: 1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.

COST: Adult: $17.95, Kids: $13.95; dress as your favorite bug, get $2 off admission/ after 3 p.m. $9.95

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/ EVENTS

August 14 Shooting Stars & S’mores Come to the Schuylkill Center to watch the falling stars of the Perseid Meteor shower.

The new moon, on August 14, makes conditions perfect to see this natural phenomenon. Use telescopes to take a close look at planets and stars and then relax fireside for s’mores and stories. Register by calling 215482-7300. brownpapertickets.com WHEN: Fri., Aug. 14, 9 p.m.

WHERE: Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, 8480 Hagy’s Mill Rd. COST: $5

August 15 Putting Food Aside: Canning Basics for Home Cook

the

Workshop covering all of the basic techniques of water-bath canning to create delicious canned goods from your kitchen.

This is a lecture class, so you will not be cooking, but you will be able to sample a variety of products made by the instructor.

Register by emailing education@mariposa. coop. mariposa.coop/events WHEN: Sat., Aug, 15. 12 to 2 p.m.

WHERE: Mariposa Food Co-op, 4824 Baltimore Ave,. 2nd Fl. COST: Free

Rain Barrel Workshop

Festival of India

Purchase a professional, locally made rain barrel from Camels Hump Rain Barrels.

Learn how to care for your rain barrel, retain runoff and reuse the water in your garden. Registration required; register online. wvwa.org

Come take part in the 21st Festival of India, showcasing facets of the local Indian-American culture. Providing a colorful panorama of art, music, dance and cuisine. delawareriverwaterfront.com/events

WHEN: Fri., Aug. 14, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

WHERE: Four Mills Reserve Barn, 12 Morris Rd., Ambler, Pa. COST: $75

WHEN: Sat., Aug. 15, 1 to 9 p.m.

WHERE: Great Plaza at Penn's Landing, S. Columbus Blvd., at Chestnut St. COST: Free

Forest-to-Plate Dinner

Kid-Friendly Hike with Marv Schwartz

The first foraging dinner of its kind will be hosted by the Wild Foodies of Philly with caterer Jeffery A. Miller, benefitting the Awbury Arboretum. The dinner will prove wild edible plants are more than just a novelty, but can instead become a vital part of our culinary, physical and educational landscapes, playing a major role in our restaurants, parks and streetscapes, as well as in our classrooms and home kitchens.

BYOB. Register online. awbury.org

Family-friendly hike taking in many of the most interesting Wissahickon sites, the Valley Green Inn, Forbidden Drive, the Mt. Airy bridge and the Finger Span Bridge, Devils Pool and Pee Wee rock on the return path to the Inn. fow.org

WHEN: Fri., Aug. 14, 6 to 9:30 p.m.

Come shop, nosh and network in this co-working space! Shop and support local, sustainable businesses that are making an impact in the city. impacthubphilly.com

WHERE: The Francis Cope House at Awbury Arboretum, 1 Awbury Rd. COST: $65

WHEN: August 15 WHERE: Valley Green Inn, Valley Green Rd. COST: Free

Summer Market at Impact Hub Philly

WHEN: 1 to 4 p.m.

WHERE: 1227 N 4th St.

Intro to Woodworking Learn the basics of woodworking by building a simple box, using a table saw, chop saw and drill press, along with a variety of hand tools.

Emphasis is placed on good layout, marking and measuring technique to build confidence.

Register online. dmdphilly.org/events WHEN: 1 to 5 p.m.

WHERE: 711 Market St. COST: $59; $55 early bird

August 16 Archival Framing from Reclaimed Frames Participants will learn how to manipulate a found frame to archivally mount paper objects. Mat board and additional items will also be available to purchase for use in your project. RSVP by emailing info@theresourceexchange.org. theresourceexchange.org WHEN: 1 to 3 p.m.

WHERE: The Resource Exchange, 1701 N. 2nd St. COST: $5 workshop fee, plus the cost of frame

Grist Mill Demonstration Day The Springfield Mills at Morris Arboretum has been carefully restored and made operational once again by a dedicated group of volunteers. Come visit this 19th century mill and see how corn was milled for meal and flour. morrisarboretum.org WHEN: Sun., Aug. 16, 1 to 4 p.m.

WHERE: 100 E. Northwestern Ave. COST: Free for members or $5

Caribbean Festival The 28th Annual Caribbean Festival is a culturally rich celebration of 14 Caribbean Islands that will treat you to family fun, culture, music and food. Part of the PECO Multicultural Series. delawareriverwaterfront.com/events WHEN: Sun., Aug. 16, 12 to 8 p.m.

WHERE: Great Plaza at Penn's Landing, S. Columbus Blvd. at Chestnut St. COST: Free

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/ EVENTS August 16 continued ...

August 22

Finding Icons in the Wissahickon Valley Walk from Valley Green Inn to the Mt. Airy bridge and back going through some of the most interesting icons and points of history in the park with Bruce Wagner and Cathryn Fassbender. This three-mile walk travels through points of history, use and pleasures of the Wissahickon Valley. See what is happening today, and see what used to be over the course of two centuries. fow.org WHEN: Sun., Aug. 16, 3 to 5 p.m WHERE: Valley Green Inn, Valley Green Rd. COST: Free

August 18 Homesteading Series | Hometown Herbs How-To: Tinctures and Gylcerites Herbal experts will show you how to use alcohol and glycerin to preserve beneficial plant properties for internal and external use.

Register online. weaversway.coop WHEN: Thurs., Aug. 18, 6 to 8 p.m.

WHERE: Henry Got Crops Farm, 7095 Henry Ave. COST: $5

August 19 Food School: Make Your Own Provola Caputo Brothers Creamery

with

In this hands-on class, you will take cheese through the entire process from curd to finished provola, which you will get to take home and age. Enjoy local, seasonal snacks and complimentary Philadelphia Brewing Co. beer and Commonwealth Cider. Food School events are 21+. This is a private event.

Register online. fairfood.ticketleap.com WHEN: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

WHERE: City Kitchen, Reading Terminal Market, 51 N. 12th St. COST: $60

August 20 Compost Workshop Learn composting techniques and visit Mt. Cuba Center’s composting operation with our staff. See the equipment used in composting, compost tea production and application.Register emailing education@ mtcubacenter.org or register online. mtcubacenter.org WHEN: Thurs., Aug. 20 WHERE: Mt. Cuba Center, 3120 Barley Mill Rd., Hockessin, DE COST: $120

Celebrity Chef Farm To Table Dinner Celebrate local with the Doylestown Food Co-op at their inaugural Celebrity Chef Farm to Table Dinner. Enjoy a delicious meal by chef Ron Strouse with local foods harvested at the height of the season. Also enjoy a silent auction and local wine and beer tastings. doylestown.coop.

WHEN: 6 p.m.

WHERE: Bucks County Audubon Society’s Honey Hollow Education Center, 2877 Creamery Rd., New Hope Pa. COST: $95 for non-members, $75 for members

Chocolate & Vanilla Festival A delicious daytime event dedicated to two of nature’s most flavorful plants. Join the Camden Children’s Garden for crafts and fun educational activities. CamdenChildrensGarden.org WHEN: Sat., Aug. 22, and Sun., Aug. 23, 1 to 4 p.m.

WHERE: Camden Children’s Garden, 3 Riverside Dr., Camden, N.J.

August 23 Decrease Food Waste Learn the basics of canning and freezing all your “in-season” produce by keeping it out of the trash. sustainablehaddonheights.org WHEN: 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

WHERE: 600 Station Ave., Haddon Heights, N.J. COST: Free

Explore the Woods and Andorra Meadow Come and hike about three miles, covering the Andorra Meadow, Cedars House, and Bells Mill Road, returning to Cedars House.

Learn about the former Andorra Nursery and visit the Wissahickon Environmental Center. This is a moderate level hike that requires good sneakers or hiking boots. Children over eight years old are welcome with adult. fow.org WHEN: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

WHERE: Cedars House, Northwestern Ave., and Forbidden Dr. COST: Free

August 29 Saturday Wellness Walk Trade the sweaty gym for open skies, fresh air and friendly company with an invigorating walk along our beautiful trails. The walk will be led at a moderate pace, along a wider and more level trail. schuylkillcenter.org WHEN: 2 p.m.

WHERE: Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, 8480 Hagy’s Mill Rd. COST: Free

Backyard Aquaponics with Integrated Symbiotics Get involved with this full-day, hands-on workshop. Learn how to grow vegetables and cultivate freshwater aquatic animals in an integrated system that you can set up and maintain in your own backyard. Register by emailing nrenner@integratedsymbiotics. com. integratedsymbiotics.com/events WHEN: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WHERE: Weavers Way Co-op, Chestnut Hill, 8424 Germantown Ave. COST: $120

Ecosystems and Plant Communities Discover the local diverse plant communities present in the area. Explore the ecology, geology, hydrology, plants and animals through classroom study and field trips.

Learn how to replicate similar plant associations in your home landscape. Register by emailing education@mtcubacenter.org or register online. mtcubacenter.org WHEN: Sat., Aug 22-29 WHERE: Mt. Cuba Center, 3120 Barley Mill Rd., Hockessin, De COST: $240

Invisible River Festival Come out to this all ages, community river arts festival, featuring a drum line processional down to the river, dancers flying and floating, free public boat rentals, interactive art, food vendors and a beer garden. invisibleriver.org WHEN: 2 to 8 p.m.

WHERE: Sat., Aug. 29,2200 Kelly Dr. COST: Free

August 31 Co-ops and Social Justice Book Club Cultivating Food Justice: Race, Class, and Sustainability, by Alison Hope, will be featured at the club this month. The book describes efforts to envision and create environmentally sustainable and socially just alternatives to the food system. Register by emailing education@mariposa.coop. mariposa.coop/events WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m.

WHERE: 4824 Baltimore Ave., 2nd Fl. COST: Free

Academy of Natural Sciences Library Gallery This special exhibit showcases the plant and animal specimens, objects, books and archival materials that are so closely intertwined with the Academy’s history. ansp.org WHEN: 1 to 4 p.m.

WHERE: Academy of Natural Science of Drexel University: 1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.

COST: Adults: $17.95; Kids: $13.95

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/ DISPATCH

A Life More Ordinary An aspiring hero’s quest abroad turns toward more humble goals by christopher putvinski

“A

nyone who thinks they can change the world on their own is both wrong and dangerous.” It was in early 2013 when I first heard these words from distinguished anthropologist Wade Davis. I mistakenly took it as defeatist: Was he implying that a single person wasn’t capable of effecting the change he or she wanted to see in the world?

I was a newly enrolled, overly ambitious graduate student at the environmental studies program at the University of Pennsylvania.

I was also intent on changing the world, and righting its wrongs. To name but one: 17,000 children under the age of five dying in the developing world—each day—from entirely preventable circumstances. I wanted to help provide them with clean water, a ready supply of food and government stability.

A year into my studies, after an internship in Washington, D.C. and a stint abroad, I pursued a more policy-focused internship and landed at the Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity, Philadelphia’s anti-poverty agency. Admittedly, my primary concern was giving my résumé a boost, but I also harbored the faint hope of learning something transferable to the developing world.

I had always known that Philadelphia was a city afflicted by poverty, but I was ignorant to its severity. Here, in the richest nation in the world, one in four people live below the poverty line, and almost 25 percent of Philadelphians lack access to a stable, healthy supply of food. Working with the agency, I was able to see up close the daily struggle too many Philadelphians face. For someone who wanted to dedicate his life to helping the poor abroad, the fact that I had overlooked the plight of my neighbor was painful to come to terms with.

Still hellbent on changing the world, I decided I should focus on the U.S.—specifically Philadelphia—first. I wanted to help other people see what I had seen, and so I set to work on a short documentary film, The American Food Disparity. It features interviews with lawmakers, best-selling authors, experts, academics and, most importantly, the food insecure and impoverished themselves. Even if it has moved someone and raised some awareness, I know my efforts have not been nearly enough.

I had so badly wanted to change the world— to be a hero. But during the film’s year-long production, I met many who truly embodied the traits of heroism: committed, motivated

for the right reasons, grateful and genuine. I dedicated the film to “everyday heroines and heroes.” They are extraordinary people. I now know I can never live up to the examples they set each and every day: I’ve realized I am neither that selfless nor committed. The sacrifice is too great. I want and expect too much in return.

The war correspondents, the volunteers at soup kitchens, those working to change policy—the unsung heroes expecting nothing for their work—are the ones living out what was, but no longer is, my life’s dream.

“Bear witness to what is going on and decide whether we want to dedicate our lives to the good, or to the forces of negativity.” Davis also imparted this advice to me. I decided some time ago to try and dedicate my life to good, and I will still do as much good as I can. But I will do it—at least for now—leading an otherwise ordinary life, my eyes and heart open to the people around me.

Christopher Putvinski has a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and wrote and directed The American Food Disparity. He resides in Philadelphia.

Each month, Dispatch features personal reflections on adventures in sustainability. Have a story you’d like to share? E-mail getinvolved@gridphilly.com 64

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a winning combination

When sports and sustainability team up.

Dan Schupsky Master of Environmental Studies ‘14, University of Pennsylvania To learn more about how Dan and other MES students are inventing creative solutions to sustainability challenges in their community, visit www.upenn.edu/grid

Dan Schupsky, Assistant Swim Coach at the University of Pennsylvania, had been a passionate advocate of the environment in his earlier career as a high school science teacher. However, he’d never linked green issues and his coaching work—until he started his studies at Penn’s Master of Environmental Studies (MES) program. “A little lightning bolt went off!” Dan says. “I envisioned an eco-rep program, in which student athletes on each team would lead studentbased projects to make our sports teams more sustainable.”

Dan’s idea found enthusiastic support both in the MES program and the University as a whole. Dan’s advisor encouraged him to pursue it as an independent study project. He worked alongside Penn’s Environmental Sustainability Director, Dan Garofalo, to develop his idea further and Penn Athletics warmly welcomed the new program.

Staff from Penn’s MES program are here to answer your questions face-to-face on the second Wednesday of each month.

Walk right in.

www.upenn.edu/grid

In 2013, 12 eco-reps on 11 different teams worked to improve recycling in locker rooms, at games and on the road. And in 2014, Dan and more than 40 student volunteers helped green the Penn Relays by reducing waste, raising awareness and educating fans. “You can make sustainability work anywhere,” Dan says.

“And I’m lucky that MES gave me the support and creative freedom to prove it.”

www.upenn.edu/grid

www.facebook.com/UPennEES

@PENN_EES