It’s August and the full splendor of the CSA is upon us. For the uninitiated, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. (This acronym is somewhat obtuse. I would suggest replacing it with BFF, Buying From a Farmer.) The way it works is you sign up before the farmers’ harvest, usually in the late winter or
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Dig your toes in the sand at the Jersey shorePicture waves crashing, the smell of salt in the air and vitamin D nourishing your skin. Pack your beach bag for a day trip down the shore.
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The economy should be funby Paul Glover
Philadelphia’s greenest dreams can come true, with enough money. Parks and yards can overflow with fresh healthy food; our neighborhoods can become as beautiful as our kids’ smiles; each of us can be proudly employed rebuilding our city; every home can be secure.
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Unquenchable: America's Water Crisis and What to Do About Itby Robert GlennonIsland Press, $27.95Unquenchable begins with the story of one of the most obvious and ostentatious wastes of water in America: Las Vegas. A gleaming, neon-bedecked homage to decadence in the middle of the desert, Vegas is a testament to our ability to build what
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Wild Fermentationby Sandor Elix KatzChelsea Green, 2003; $25I’ve lost count of the number of times this book has been recommended or mentioned to me, and it deserves every one. Katz explores the world of fermentable foods, which includes some of the earliest prepared foods humans ate, not only to give you something great to eat,
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Weaver's Way helps start high school farmsby Andrew ThompsonOn a May afternoon at Martin Luther King High School in East Germantown, several students tilled compost onto one of the many mounds being readied for sowing. Along with their stewards from nearby Weaver’s Way Co-op and the Philadelphia Orchard Project, they had just finished harvesting some
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Mill Creek Farm sets a standard for sustainable farmingby Will DeanBat Cave #2. That’s the first thing you can easily make out about the main farm building at West Philly’s nonprofit Mill Creek Farm. It’s painted in yellow on a piece of metal that juts out of a low, glimmering building in the middle of
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The ultimate vision of an eco-friendly and educational urban oasisby Natalie Hope McDonaldThe sounds along Lancaster Ave. in West Philadelphia’s Overbrook neighborhood don’t usually include chirping. But on one overcast day in May, across the street from the U-Haul rental center and footsteps from a fruit and vegetable bodega, a small red-breasted bird whistled over
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Old factories and warehouses get a green retrofitby Christopher WinkFor five generations and 140 years, the Globe Dye Works dyed and wound yarn, and employed hundreds at its peak. In 2005, unable to continue fighting the globalization and outsourcing that moved other businesses, Globe closed, ending another vestige of Philadelphia’s past as the Workshop of
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Combining local foods with the realities of your pantryrecipes by Dynise BalcavageLike many people who are concerned about the environment, I dutifully seek out locally-grown produce. I try to patronize restaurants that lean heavily on local fare. I even make my own soy and coconut ice creams instead of purchasing my favorite West Coast-produced brand.
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