A new Park Ambassador program from Philadelphia Parks & Recreation is focused on keeping park spaces clean while building stronger connections with the people who use them. Funded by the William Penn Foundation, the two-year pilot places ambassadors at Mifflin Square, Tacony Creek, Cobbs Creek and Fairmount parks with the goal of reducing illegal dumping
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In the year since Borski Park officially opened along the Delaware riverfront in Bridesburg, it has been home to an exciting slate of events, including a five-day beer pop-up hosted by Parks on Tap, a weekly “silver sneakers” exercise class designed for older adults, and a patriotic bicycle decorating contest celebrating July 4. But for
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When we went to print last month with “APOCALYPSE NOW” splashed across the cover in 138-point type above a raging Canadian wildfire, I wondered if people would think we were being alarmist. Little did I know that the cover would prove timely. It wasn’t just the smoky air from those Canadian fires haunting us. It
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We often think of nature as something untouched: a world apart from our city blocks and neighborhoods, where we go to escape the pace of daily life, take a walk, appreciate wildlife or simply find a moment of quiet. But the landscapes we cherish are rarely separate from us. In reality, behind every thriving park,
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When cinephile and Germantown resident Stephanye R. Watts entered the world of independent cinema, she discovered a troubling pattern. “I started to notice there were no other Black people in the theater, unless they were like 60-plus,” Watts says. “Black millennials are on the internet, talking about wanting to see more Black films, and …
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The Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) manages green energy projects for the City and raises the money to make investments that will save electricity in the long run. The PEA is celebrating its first 10 years and looking forward to the next energy wins. Katie Bartolotta, the PEA’s vice president of policy and strategic partnerships, spoke
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Cheltenham Township’s 48-acre Curtis Arboretum certainly looks like an arboretum. The park’s southern edge is dominated by a lush forest of sycamore, maple and ash that gradually opens onto a series of rolling hills featuring more than 50 tree species. Despite its name and expansive tree catalogue, Curtis is officially designated as a township park,
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Along the sandy banks of the New Jersey Pine Barrens’ meandering streams, a small grasslike plant with clusters of white, star-shaped flowers bloomed unnoticed for millennia until botanist and Temple University professor Sasha Eisenman made a surprising discovery. This rare and endangered plant, previously unknown to science, is found nowhere else in the world but
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The City of Philadelphia’s FY 2027 budget allocated $25 million for the Zero Fare program in Mayor Parker’s budget. The funding will allow the service to continue for 12 months, which means advocates will need to lobby again for the program in the next budget. “Transit riders should not have to balance paying for food,
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The 30% federal tax credit for going solar ended for homeowners in 2025, but it never ended for businesses. That’s the opening behind the Solar States Pre-Paid Lease. Here’s the idea. A qualified business owns the system long enough to claim the credit homeowners no longer can — and passes those savings into your price.
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