By Noah Raven and Francis Raven We filled our backpacks with over a dozen trees: chestnut oaks, black cherries and red mulberries, as well as two shovels, a pair of clippers, two pairs of gloves and several wooden stakes to label each of the seedlings. Our goal was to plant them in a degraded area
More
For the first time in its six decades operating Philadelphia’s public transit system, SEPTA is planning to overhaul its bus routes. After more than 30 in-person and online public meetings across the city’s neighborhoods this fall to detail and discuss the proposed changes, the message from residents and riders has been loud and clear: Go
More
On December 6 the City Council Committee on Rules discussed a bill to exempt the Cobbs Creek golf course development from zoning restrictions preventing clearing trees on steep slopes and limiting the height of fences and buildings. Ordinarily developers seeking exemptions from such zoning requirements have to seek approval from the City’s Zoning Board of
More
The sycamore leaves rustle as a tiger swallowtail flutters overhead and a Cooper’s hawk screeches from above. A ruby-throated hummingbird couple is nectaring at our feeder, a woodpecker tries (in vain) to peck holes in our stucco wall, a red fox chases a baby rabbit that was just feeding on clover in our grass and
More
The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education announced on December 7 that it has secured $3 million in funding from anonymous donors to preserve the Boy Scout Tract, the 24-acre parcel of land whose potential sale to developers over the summer caused a firestorm of community opposition. The center began exploring a sale after they received
More
Members of the public will have two chances to weigh in on legislation proposed by council member Curtis Jones to exempt the Cobbs Creek golf course from restrictions on cutting trees on steep slopes, rules meant to protect water quality and prevent erosion. On December 6th at 10am, the City Council Rules Committee will meet.
More
Homeowners whose properties back up to the Cobbs Creek golf courses could lose their decks or backyard sheds according to a letter sent from Philadelphia Parks & Recreation’s Kathryn Ott Lovell to Cobbs Creek Foundation founding CEO Christopher Lange. In the June 20, 2019 letter, obtained in response to a right-to-know request by Lawrence Szmulowicz,
More
Pennsylvania’s One Health Task Force has issued recommendations intended to reduce the risks to public health and to wildlife health posed by house cats. As the recommendations notes, “Pennsylvania has the highest number of rabid domestic cats among all states, and domestic cats disproportionately expose more people to rabies than other sources.” House cats also
More
On Wednesday, November 16, the Cobbs Creek Foundation held a town hall meeting at the Overbrook Educational Center, the first time that foundation representatives and elected officials faced the public in person to answer questions about the controversial golf course renovation, in which over 100 acres of trees have been cleared by the West Conshohocken-based
More
Councilmember Curtis Jones’ proposed ordinance, if passed, would subvert local environmental protections and violate the Overbrook community’s right to self-determination by giving the golf course developers free reign to cut trees on any steep slopes on the premises without going through the regular zoning process and without community approval. The developers originally applied for and
More
Curtis 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
More