Jennifer Skirkanich updated her kitchen exhaust fan after an air quality monitor reminded her just how dangerous cooking can be. “You don’t ever think about it, but seeing the light turn red is like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s harmful,’” says Skirkanich, a biologist and West Philadelphia resident who teaches at Bryn Mawr College. Skirkanich’s air quality
MoreCurtis Jones, the City Council member whose district includes the Cobbs Creek golf courses that are being developed by the Cobbs Creek Foundation, has introduced legislation in Philadelphia City Council to exempt the golf course from restrictions on cutting trees on steep slopes, rules meant to protect water quality and prevent erosion. So far, over
MoreAfter being told three times to come back and try again, the Cobbs Creek Foundation had its plans for the driving range and educational center building for their controversial renovation of the Cobbs Creek and Karakung golf courses approved by the Philadelphia Art Commission. As Grid has reported, the City signed a $1, 30-year lease
MoreOn Thursday, Philadelphia City Council introduced legislation authorizing animal husbandry on what, until the fall of 2021, had been part of the Sedgley Woods disc golf course. As Grid reported, on October 11, 2021 (Indigenous Peoples Day) a worker in an excavator began clearing trees at part of the Sedgley Woods disc golf course in
MoreThe paintings vibrate with color — bold greens, golds and blues transport the viewers to a quiet space that flourished during the pandemic and was widely loved for its healing powers, magic and beauty: the South Philly Meadows in FDR Park. Kate Kern Mundie’s series in oil, REST, captures a moment that the Meadows gifted
MoreGrid was invited to attend and moderate a panel at the Mural Arts Institute Art and Environmental Justice Symposium on Sept. 14th. This event was part of a week long series exploring how art and environmental justice intersect throughout the US with Mural Arts Institute Partners. The below image is a reflection on the day’s
MoreThe Lower Merion School District plans to raze a wooded area — home to towering tulip poplars and red and white oaks — to build practice athletic fields for the nearby Black Rock Middle School. The grounds of Oakwell, an estate on County Line Road in Lower Merion, have greenery that includes high rhododendron bushes
MoreAt its September 14 meeting, the Philadelphia Art Commission again did not approve the first element of the Cobbs Creek Foundation’s renovation of the Cobbs Creek golf courses: the driving range and education center. This is the foundation’s third attempt to gain final approval for the driving range and the education center at the golf
MoreAfter twice being told to come back with more-detailed plans, the Cobbs Creek Foundation is again on the Philadelphia Art Commission’s calendar — for Wednesday, September 14, at 9:30 AM. At that time the foundation will present plans for buildings on the golf courses at Cobbs Creek, 350 acres of land the foundation has leased
MoreThe Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published a notice on September 3 in the Pennsylvania Register that it has approved the environmental assessment and the restoration plans for the Cobbs Creek golf courses — nine months after the Cobbs Creek Foundation began work on the project. Specifically, the approval is for the restoration of
MoreThe canopy of red oaks, sugar maples and tulip trees provided a respite from the 94-degree heat on a July visit to the Boy Scout Tract. The cooling provided by the trees was a reminder of the importance of preserving tree canopy as global warming raises the temperatures in Philadelphia. The calls of blue jays,
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