Compostable materials constitute approximately 23 percent of Philadelphia's waste composition. In the absence of a citywide food waste recycling program, all food waste is sent to the landfill. RecycleNOW Philadelphia says this is a missed opportunity because composting would help the city fulfill RecycleNOW’s zero waste vision and it could spur local, sustainable development. It’s a
MoreTwo years ago during a staff retreat, Tyler Holmberg and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania’s Netter Center for Community Partnership started brainstorming about transforming the southern portion of Bartram’s Garden into an operational farm. Since then, their vision has become a reality; last month, ground was officially broken for the Bartram’s Farm and
More1 min read
At the intersection of 11th and York streets sits a new farm run by North Philadelphia high school students and Temple University undergrads. The group has dubbed itself the Philadelphia Urban Creators (PUC), and is utilizing urban agriculture as a gateway to youth empowerment and community revitalization.
More1 min read
The farming collaboration between Marathon Grill and Emerald Street Urban Farm’s Patrick Dunn [Dec. 2010 Grid, Agriculture p.18] has come to fruition in Brewerytown. In March, Marathon Farm hosted five workdays that attracted more than 60 volunteers, who transformed a vacant lot into a promising agricultural haven. On March 21, Mayor Michael Nutter himself hosted
More1 min read
Emerald Street Urban Farm was once a vacant lot, home to piles of trash and an abandoned VW van. Now, thanks to Patrick Dunn and Elissa Ruse, five raised beds cradle a bounty of winter produce and 10 community garden plots offer an outlet for landless Kensington residents. The farm will serve as a model
More1 min read
A fight erupts over an urban farm project in Roxborough by Nic EspositoIs a local Philadelphia food system just a curiosity—something that looks good on grant applications—or can it sustain our city? Does it work by revitalizing a portion of the city’s vacant lots or do we rely on the surrounding rural counties to support
More1 min read
This South Philly gardener goes vertical by scott orwig
Sometimes it’s easy to forget the simplest way to go green: plants. But for city dwellers whose outdoor space consists of a tiny concrete slab or rooftop deck, a lush, outdoor garden seems out of the question. There are plenty of easy ways to green up even
1 min read
“Don’t write about me,” says Gina Humphreys with a laugh. The farmer behind Urban Girls Produce is a bit shy, but she gets excited when the focus shifts to her business, and the various vegetables she and her team are cultivating on four acres at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education.
More2 mins read
Urban farmer and MacArthur Grant recipient Will Allen on the importance of greens, worms and moreby Lee Stabert
Everything about Will Allen is big. The pro basketball player turned urban agriculture iconoclast has hands like baseball mitts, and arms like tree trunks. His normal uniform—jeans, baseball hat, hooded sweatshirt with the sleeves removed—only serves to emphasize
5 mins read
Prisoners and community gardeners help feed Philadelphia's hungry by Natalie Hope McDonald
Adjacent to a soccer field in fairmount park, in view of what’s left of the Delaware River’s wetlands, the Philadelphia Prison System operates eight correctional facilities for men and women along State Road.
6 mins read