Mulch, compost and wood chips are piled high on the concrete grounds of the Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center in West Fairmount Park. On a typical day at the center, city residents fill out the sign-in sheet and waiver form and collect whatever organic materials they need from the scattered piles with shovels and buckets
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Wei Chen grimaces and shakes his head when talking about how it’s been a hard year for many in Philly’s Asian community. “It’s at the point where many of our elders are afraid to go out,” says Chen, 30, civic engagement coordinator for Asian Americans United (AAU). Wei Chen of Asian Americans United under the
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On a walk along Cobbs Creek in West Philadelphia I inspected some old ruins. On the opposite side of the creek I could see the tall earth bank interrupted by a stone block wall, covered in some parts by crumbling concrete. I walked to the water and found I was standing on a matching surface.
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When my editor asked if I’d like to write a foraging article, I said I’d think about it. I have avoided writing about foraging for a while now. Foraging—looking for wild plants and fungi to consume—seems to be growing as a hobby, and it’s an obvious topic for a nature writer. But it has always
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There are a lot of laws and disclaimers regarding what bicyclists should do when riding on the road. But there isn’t much public information about what they should do if a crash happens. Of course, no one should go through the traumatic experience of a crash with a driver—especially, as has become more of the
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Portrait by James Boyle. It’s not rocket science, nor am I reinventing the wheel: “The Method” is a way you can ensure that you don’t miss anything and you give proper attention to the entirety of your home, one room at a time. Start at the door. Work top to bottom and systematically clean and
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Full disclosure: I am a business partner in Bennett Compost and have been for over 10 years. Like the guy who claimed he liked his electric shaver so much that he bought the company, so too was I drawn to this business from the get-go. It was just an irresistible idea. Tim Bennett, ever smiling
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Each of us is a maker. Whether you’re making connections, curating your style or physically making products, we all need that place to express our creativity. NextFab proudly helps support small, local handmade businesses by providing a shared community of professional resources, tools and support to go from making to selling, and from selling to
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In a former municipal building on Rising Sun Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia, cycling enthusiast Rudi Saldia is doing something he never imagined: working at a desk. It was a long and winding road—well, often a straight road on a grid—that led him to Bennett Compost’s Lawncrest headquarters. Before the days of DoorDash and Grubhub, he
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Living a sustainable lifestyle can be a daunting undertaking, especially if you don’t know where to begin. Welcome to the first edition of Philly Low-Waste Living. I’m Emily Rodia, the founder of Good Buy Supply—Philly’s one-stop-shop for sustainable home goods. We specialize in all areas of the home from kitchen, bathroom to laundry but
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