The Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia held its sixth annual Excellence in Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Awards on Thursday, April 21 at FringeArts and La Peg. Green stormwater infrastructure uses vegetation to soak up rain so that runoff doesn’t overwhelm combined stormwater/sewer systems such as Philadelphia’s, forcing sewage overflows into waterways. For more than
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The Canadian high arctic is a great place to raise a family—if you’re a bird like the red knot. Bugs are everywhere, and the summer sun stays up pretty much all day, which means you can eat nonstop. Thanks to the long and brutal winter, there isn’t much competition from other sorts of insect-eating animals
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Over the last decade I have searched abandoned riverfront properties for skinks and black rat snakes, spooking deer and watching warblers, as I climbed over riprap shorelines and picked my way across the rotting timbers of overgrown piers. A city in decay offers the naturalist unlimited opportunities, while a city on the rise takes them
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On January 3, 2022, the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) told the Union League of Philadelphia that it had to wait to cut down 43 large, native trees at its golf club at Torresdale. The private member’s only club had sought to clear the trees in order to expand their golf course and
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Parks advocates led by the Philadelphia Parks Alliance gathered on the afternoon of April 21 for a “Rec It Philly” rally at City Hall. Mayor Jim Kenney’s 2023 budget proposal asks for a $2.5 million increase over 2022 funding for Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, less than the $8 million increase that the Parks Alliance says
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Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living is holding an Environmental Justice Day caravan and march on Saturday April 23 at 1 PM to protest the Covanta trash incinerator, the Delaware County city’s largest polluter. The group will convene at Chester City Hall parking lot, 1 E 4th St, Chester, PA 19013. Chester has a population
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Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is taking comments through April 27 about a proposed rule to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), sometimes called “forever chemicals,” in drinking water. The chemicals have been linked to a variety of human health problems, including reduced fertility, developmental problems in children, and some cancers. PFAS are a
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Looking to spruce up your garden while creating habitat for local wildlife? Skip the hostas and begonias and try some native plants instead! Lots of flowers can feed area pollinators, and birds will eat exotic berries, but many of our local bugs are finely adapted to the plants they evolved eating. Choosing native plants benefits
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At a recent community walk-through to review the deforestation executed by the Cobbs Creek Restoration and Community Foundation, a foundation representative said (as quoted in Grid’s coverage of the event) that the foundation had taken part in more than 100 community outreach meetings. “We had more than 100 meetings to tell the community about the
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On April 13, the Philadelphia Art Commission dealt a setback to the Cobbs Creek Foundation in its plans to renovate the Cobbs Creek and Karakung golf courses, voting to deny conceptual approval to two planned buildings. The Cobbs Creek Foundation has cleared about 100 acres of woods in its overhaul of the public golf courses
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