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#128 January 2020

#128 January 2020/All Topics/Environment/Urban Nature

Urban Naturalist: Good Will Hunting

By Bernard BrownA new program aims to control urban deer populations, get more Philly residents hunting–and feed the hungry.

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January 17, 2020
3 mins read
#128 January 2020/All Topics/Feminism

The Volta Way: Cleaning Up

By Lois VoltaDear Lois: Do you ever clean up after your friends, and do your friends ever clean up after you?

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January 17, 2020
3 mins read
#128 January 2020/All Topics/Circular Economy/Climate-Change/Culture/Editor's Notes/Fashion

Editor’s Notes: The Great Turning

By Alex Mulcahy

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January 17, 2020
2 mins read

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Ena hannigan wants to be at school — a fact that Ena hannigan wants to be at school — a fact that her mom, Erike De Veyra, is overjoyed about. Ena, who will enter the fourth grade at John Moffet Elementary School in September, is already an active student in her school. She’s a member of one of Moffet’s STEM clubs, Girls Who Code, and is interested in joining the podcast club in the upcoming year. Ena enjoys learning to code and even playing with robotics, two things that might not be possible if not for Moffet’s innovative staff and beloved makerspace. Run by Moffet’s digital literacy teacher, Michael DeMeno, the makerspace has provided nearly 300 students the opportunity to explore extracurricular learning in a uniquely creative way. DeMeno considers the space a necessity for the educational growth of his students. “It blends all subjects together, [and] our kids are learning better,” says DeMeno. Unsure what a makerspace is? Check out the full piece by Kiersten Adams on Gridphilly.com From left to right: Houda Ouldali, Frankie Zor, Ena Hannigan, Milan Tucker and Isabel Zor learn computer programming at the Moffet Elementary makerspace. Photo courtesy of Michael DeMeno. @designgym.co @erikedeveyra @johnmoffetelementary #moffetelementary
🥕 🎄 Veg + Holidays = ? 🍅 🎄 Grid is wo 🥕 🎄 Veg + Holidays = ? 🍅 🎄 Grid is working on an article about what vegan/vegetarian folks cook for typically meat-centered feasts and would LOVE to hear your ideas & recipes! Email us at: News@gridphilly.com and please tag a stellar vegan/veg chef in your life!! 💚 #phillyvegan #veganphilly #veganholidayrecipe #veganrecipes
Our new issue is live! Featuring our water-logged Our new issue is live! Featuring our water-logged cover story: #PlainSite 💧 Developers and politicians disregard the risk, but the water will come 🌊 📷: pictured - A man captures flooding in Manayunk in August 2020 Don't see our new issue in your mailbox? Subscribe! Subscriptions are available on a sliding scale for as low as $2.99/month!!! #GridMagazine #Gridphilly #floodingphilly #phillyflooding #floodingmanayunk #manayunkflooding
Have you taken traffic calming into your own hands Have you taken traffic calming into your own hands with DIY speedbumps or other measures? Grid wants to hear from you at news@gridphilly.com  #phillytraffic #phillydriving #bikephilly #phillytrafficcalming #trafficcalmingphilly #trafficcalming
🌊 Most of the big brother–little brother act 🌊 Most of the big brother–little brother act between New York City and Philadelphia is all in good fun. Eagles versus Giants, Mets versus Phillies, international metropolis versus city of neighborhoods — regardless of who wins, the sun still rises the next day. But start scratching around about the fact that these two cities share the same source of water in a rapidly warming world, and folks in the know start to get fidgety. New York City drinks from the top of the Delaware River, where reservoirs constructed in its headwaters in upstate New York funnel hundreds of millions of gallons a day to the city. The water that’s left turns into a proper river and heads south, where New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware take their cuts before the river empties into Delaware Bay. Read the full piece from Kyle Bagenstose at Gridphilly.com Photography by Chris Baker Evens. @chris_bakerevens #DelawareBay #WaterWars #phillywater #DelawareRiver
📖 The big library — the size of several class 📖 The big library — the size of several classrooms — in the Cook-Wissahickon School in Roxborough stands as a monument to activism. Closed for several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the library now serves pre-kindergarteners through middle schoolers with story hours and a robust lending program that enrich the lives of students. Sadly, the library is an exception. 📚 Philadelphia’s lack of school libraries is one of its best-kept, and most devastating, secrets. “When I talked with people about it at the May Fair in Clark Park, they were shocked,” says Katelin Beck, program manager of the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC), an organization that mobilizes volunteers to staff and reopen libraries in public schools. “They assume there’s a library because they grew up with them,” she says. The Philadelphia Alliance to Restore School Librarians (PARSL), a grassroots group pushing to restore school librarians, notes a startling statistic in its just-published report, “Ensuring Equity and Access to School Librarians and School Library Services in the School District of Philadelphia.” “Two out of three children in Philadelphia cannot read on grade level by fourth grade,” the report says, adding that such youngsters are “six times more likely to drop out of high school.” That damage can snowball. Read the full featured piece from Constance Garcia-Barrio at Gridphilly.com and be sure to follow @wepacreads Pictured: WePAC school team lead Gwen Hayes, executive director Jennifer Leith and program manager Katelin Beck get the Longstreth Elementary School library in order. Photography by Rachael Warriner. @rayephoto #libraries #schoollibraries #library #phillylibraries #phillylibrary #phillyreads #readphilly #phillyreaders #philadelphia #readingisfundamental #restoreschoollibraries
🚲 Do you walk, bike, or roll in Philadelphia? W 🚲 Do you walk, bike, or roll in Philadelphia? What is the WORST intersection for you get through?? On foot? Bicycle? Wheelchair? 🚲 Grid is working on an article about the worst intersections in the city, and we'd love to hear from you at: news@gridphilly.com #WorstIntersectionInPhilly #bikephilly #phillybicycles
👞 For Cassidy Boulan, the pandemic was a time t 👞 For Cassidy Boulan, the pandemic was a time to walk. Stuck inside for so long, she stepped outside each day to find some fresh air and make her way through Philadelphia on foot. Her walks began near Washington Square, one of the five public squares designed as cornerstones of the city. She would then wend her way north to dip into some of the green spaces behind Independence Hall, admiring the architecture and the relative quiet she found there. By the time she looped back home, she had experienced several of Philadelphia’s most cherished parks and gardens, along with key parts of its history, all in a matter of blocks. A few years later, she has maintained the routine. It reminds her that walkability is one of Philadelphia’s most charming traits. “I often think, where could I move where I would have the same level of convenience or ability to be carless — the ability to access so much,” says Boulan, associate manager of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s Office of Transit, Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning. The city’s walkability, she says, is “a rare gem, and I think there are lots of reasons to invest in it.” Read the full piece from Ben Seal at Gridphilly.com @cleanaircouncil @dvrpc @cityofphiladelphia @bicyclecoalition #philly #philadelphia #walkphilly #walkphiladelphia #bikephilly #phillywalkers #walkingphilly
🏹 Archers celebrated summer solstice with bows 🏹 Archers celebrated summer solstice with bows and arrows on the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum archery range this year. Instructors like Kelly Kemmerle, who leads the youth archery program, welcomed Philly residents onto the archery range for safety lessons and target practice. Many attendees were new to the sport, holding a bow and releasing arrows for the first time. Some, as Kemmerle shares, are returning archers who’ve taken a liking to the program and come back every chance they can get. “The most fulfilling aspect is seeing people come back time and time again and have fun, connect with the sport [and] build their skills, and being able to build that rapport with people,” Kemmerle says. The youth archery program has become a pillar for neighbors in the Southwest Philadelphia community interested in a free and accessible way to get outside. “[Archery is] a really approachable activity. Sometimes people feel intimidated by nature-based activities or feel like they don’t have the background knowledge, but archery can attract people that didn’t necessarily feel welcome,” Kemmerle says. Read the full piece from Kiersten Adams at Gridphilly.com Pictured: A new archer learns how to hit the target. Photograph by Rachael Warriner. @rayephoto #archer #archery #phillyarcher #phillyarchers #johnheinz #urbanarchery #urbanarcher #tinicumarcheryrange @usfws @johnheinznwr
🔥 Beat the heat with our new issue and get “T 🔥 Beat the heat with our new issue and get “The Low-Tech Lowdown” aka living sustainability without the ‘latest & greatest.’ Plus: ❄️ Tricks to keep your house COOL in August! 🏍 Old bicycles NEVER go out of style & 👞 Philly is very walkable - but it’s far from perfect. Plus, great coverage of: @usfws @Cleanaircouncil @DVRPC  @Cityofphiladelphia @bicyclecoalition  @WePACReads @kinfolkbride @thevoltaway @lungassociation @DrinkReveal @Drexelcnhp  @WeaversWay  @bicyclecoalition  @Anh_tailor @PhillyBikeSmith  @acehardware @scihistoryorg Don’t see GRID in your mailbox? Visit Gridphilly.com and SUBSCRIBE - Support the magazine you love, keep local independent journalism alive! #Gridphilly #Gridmagazine #lowtechlowdown
🌻 At Houston Meadow it’s easy to forget the c 🌻 At Houston Meadow it’s easy to forget the city. Grasses and wildflowers cover the hillside that slopes into the wooded ravine of the Wissahickon Creek below. Bees and butterflies dance across the flowers. Over at Three Springs Hollow in Pennypack Park hikers can walk beneath towering oak and tulip trees while wood thrushes serenade them. It all might look natural and wild, but in the forests, meadows and waterways of the Fairmount Park system, nature needs a hand. Philadelphia Parks & Recreation’s Natural Lands team works to restore and maintain habitats like these for human visitors and wild residents. Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park system was assembled by the City from the mid–1800s to the early 1900s. Workers mowed lawns and tended shade trees, but up until the end of the 20th century, the forests, meadows, marshes and streams were more or less on their own. Trees sprouted and raced for the sky across thousands of acres. In other areas, what had been meadows maintained by grazing livestock gradually shrank as the forest encroached on their borders. Read the full piece from @phillybillynature at Gridphilly.com @myphillypark @fowissahickon @philaparkandrec #FairmountPark #PhillyPark #PhillyParks #PennypackPark #HoustonMeadow
🌿 Across the street from one of the last remain 🌿 Across the street from one of the last remaining Catholic girls’ schools in the city, the Hunting Park Community Garden sits unattended behind a padlocked fence. Where nettle and knotweed grow in abundance and raised beds sit empty, the garden waits for the return of its loyal stewards. 🥕 Michael Wilcox has been involved with the garden and orchard since the beginning. Now serving as the garden coordinator, Wilcox sees another summer of potential in the 11,000-square-foot space for residents of all ages to get involved with the growing, planting and greening of their community. Having grown up planting and growing vegetables in his parents’ backyard, Wilcox is acutely aware of what grows best under shade or full sun and at what time. As a volunteer tree tender for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Wilcox became active in his community through tree plantings and later through community garden tending. Wanting to emulate his experience of growing up in the South and having access to fresh fruits and vegetables, Wilcox joined the Fairmount Park Conservancy’s efforts to bring a community garden to the North Philadelphia neighborhood adjacent to Hunting Park. Read the full piece from Kiersten Adams at Gridphilly.com @myphillypark @philaparkandrec @fisherholdingshp Pictured: Volunteers get their hands dirty at the Hunting Park Community Garden. Photography by Chris Baker Evens. #HuntingPark #PhillyParks #PhillyPark
🌞 Summer is here and so is our *new issue*!! 🌞 This month is the Park's Issue featuring our cover story: 😈 Devil's Bargain - The delights and dangers of the city’s most controversial fishing hole. Plus ☣️ The toxic plan for a liquid natural gas plant in Chester 🍃 After arson, Hunting Park Garden makes a comeback 🌼 Make your yard a mini national park! Plus so much more coverage including: @fowissahickon  @michael_penn_photography  @sarahkaufmanphoto @philaparkandrec  @myphillypark  @philaparkandrec  @fisherholdingshp  @myphillypark  @fowissahickon  @philaparkandrec  @phillymycoclub @myphillypark  @landhealthinstitute @philaparkandrec  @repcarolkazeem @Chester_ej @refugiadesign @myphillypark  @roxboroughmanayunkconservancy @philaparkandrec  @awburyarboretum  @laurelhillphl @natural.lands  @mountmoriahcemetery  @morrisarboretum @woodlandsphila @schuylkillcenter  @spiralq @philaparkandrec  @weaversway Pick up an issue from one of our partners or subscribe today! #Gridmagazine #Gridphilly
🐟 Don't mess with "Mama Atlantic Sturgeon!" Pic 🐟 Don't mess with "Mama Atlantic Sturgeon!" Pictured: Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, dressed up as "Mama Sturgeon!" 🐟 ➡️ Environmental advocates depicting “Mama Atlantic Sturgeon and her babies” “came ashore” to invite members of the public to attend the baby shower and sign a postcard to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), National Marines Fisheries Services (NMFS), and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging for critical protections needed to bring the genetically unique population of Atlantic sturgeon back from the brink of extinction. This was in an effort to spread the word that the Atlantic sturgeon of the Delaware River need greater protections now or risk extinction in our lifetime! Background: The Delaware River is home to a genetically unique population of Atlantic sturgeon found nowhere else in the world. The Atlantic sturgeon, listed as a federally protected endangered species since 2012, has a storied history in our Delaware River. Early American settlers have remarked that there were so many of the species that they could cross the River walking on their backs.  But today, there are less than 250 spawning adults left of the River’s genetically unique line. Advocates attest that resource managers and regulatory agencies have neglected their duties to protect the health, habitat, and safety of the sturgeon, and that soon it will be too late. @delawareriverkeeper #DelawareRiverKeepers #MamaSturgeon #Don'tMessWithMamaSturgeon
🌈 Brewerytown community garden (pictured) is cu 🌈 Brewerytown community garden (pictured) is currently second in Nature’s Path’s Gardens for Good competition, an online international contest that lifts up community gardens across North America! 🌼 The winner with the most votes will receive $7,500. Right now, @brewerytowngarden are the only competitive entry out of Philly and are trailing a Bronx garden by less than 120 votes! We can DO THIS, PHILLY! The Brewerytown community garden is neighborhood-run nonprofit focused on nutrition, well-being, education and a shared love of gardening. All of Brewerytown Garden’s activities are facilitated by volunteers within the garden community, and are funded by charitable donations and grants. Receiving a grant from Nature’s Path Gardens for Good program would ensure that they not only have funding for their current slate of programs, but can expand their offerings and reach. Brewerytown has only one grocery store and the need for affordable, healthy food for residents has increased. The contest ends Sunday, June 25, and we’re working hard to beat New York! Enter at the link below or in our stories! Here’s the link below for the grant contest. https://gardensforgood.naturespath.com/en-us/#brewerytown-garden #BrewerytownCommunityGarden #Brewerytown #communitygardens
🌎 At former PES refinery, pollution concerns pe 🌎 At former PES refinery, pollution concerns persist under the surface 🌎 In the 340 years since Philadelphia’s founding, the city’s landscape has constantly shifted, as waves of development and redevelopment shipped out with the old and in with the new. Unfortunately, on many occasions across the city, transitions went terribly wrong. Consider Logan Triangle, a 35-acre site in North Philadelphia where developers filled in a creek bed with ash and cinder in the 1920s, then built entire neighborhoods over it. Half a century later many were sinking, requiring the buy-out and demolition of nearly 1,000 homes and devastating the community. Miles away on the far southern end of the city lies Eastwick, a neighborhood where residents have battled for decades with dangers from the long-shuttered Clearview Landfill Superfund site, along with floodwaters from the adjacent Cobbs and Darby creeks. But recent years have brought Philadelphians face to face with its latest and largest redevelopment challenge: the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery, a 1,300-acre site hugging the banks of the Schuylkill River on the southern half of the city, where heavy industry has reigned since the 1860s. Read the full piece from Kyle Bagenstose at Gridphilly.com Pictured: Chemicals from more than a century of oil refining are likely seeping into the Schuylkill River from the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions site. Photography by Matthew Bender. #clearviewlandfill #eastwick #philadelphiaenergysolutions #cobbscreek #darbycreek #schuylkill #schuylkillriver
🖼 Grief hangs like a shroud. The memories from 🖼 Grief hangs like a shroud. The memories from so many years together come rushing back in a storm of emotions. There are phone calls to make, condolences to share and a funeral to plan. And in the midst of it all sits a houseful of things: the books, furniture, memorabilia and heirlooms that are the remains of a person’s life. The process of cleaning out a home after a friend or family member’s death is cumbersome and complicated, full of difficult decisions about what to keep and what to do with everything else. It’s a heavy lift in more ways than one. If it’s too much to handle without a helping hand, there’s an industry of supportive professionals ready to step in and carry some of the weight. Patrick McNichol, the owner of Havertown-based Main Line Junk Removal, works with families in the wake of a death to distinguish what should be kept, donated and discarded. He typically delivers the most desirable items to family members’ homes and then works with organizations like Goodwill Industries and Habitat for Humanity to find a second home for as many things as possible. The rest heads to a junkyard or landfill. The whole process takes two or three days — even less for a smaller home. Read the full piece from Ben Seal at Gridphilly.com Pictured: John Romani helps people process the belongings of their departed loved ones. Photography by Chris Baker Evens. @main_line_junk @chris_bakerevens #MainLineJunkRemoval #GridPhilly #GridMagazine
💚 If you want to go — ultimately, that is — 💚 If you want to go — ultimately, that is — the way of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu, better call (email, write to … ) your legislators. When the South African theologian and human rights activist died in December 2021, his remains underwent — per his request — alkaline hydrolysis. Alkaline hydrolysis (AH) combines water, alkaline chemicals such as potassium hydroxide, heat and sometimes pressure and agitation to decompose a body faster than would happen underground. The end product of the three- to 20-hour process is bone fragments, which can be pulverized and then placed in an urn or scattered, and a sterile liquid containing salts, sugars, peptides and amino acids. This effluent can be treated as wastewater or repurposed as fertilizer. 💧 : Read the full piece from Sophia D. Merow at Gridphilly.com Pictured: Laurel Hill’s Eric Ellerbe and Nancy Goldenberg // @laurelhillphl #GreenBurial #alkalinehydrolysis
🚲 Only Steel is real. Electric Schmelectric! 🚲 Only Steel is real. Electric Schmelectric! Do you get around on a beat up cruiser? A ten speed you picked up at a garage sale? Is your bicycle older than you are? Grid is working on a piece about cyclists devoted to their old bikes. Get in touch with news@gridphilly.com to tell your story. 🚴‍♂️ #bikephilly #Ibikephilly #phillybikes #phillybikers #bicyclists #bicycling #phillycycle #phillycyclers
🌬 How are you coping with Philly's smoky haze? 🌬 How are you coping with Philly's smoky haze? Tell us your stories here and at news@gridphilly.com 💨 Photo credit: @isotrailsphoto
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