In 2023, Cheltenham-based artist Rebecca Schultz completed a yearslong art project, “Mapping Our Watershed,” by stitching together tree bark rubbings, monotypes, soil-water watercolors, leaf prints, drawings and other media to construct a map of Cheltenham and the Tacony watershed. In total, more than 60 people contributed 90 pieces of artwork to make up this textural,
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I parked my bike at nine in the morning on a heat-dome summer day and walked down the path into the University of Pennsylvania’s James G. Kaskey Memorial Park (better known as the BioPond). Under the tree canopy I immediately felt cooler after my sweaty bike ride. I paused to admire a stately American elm
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Red-eared sliders are turtles that make bad pets, but that doesn’t stop them from being sold to people who don’t know better. They start off as cute hatchlings, but they can live 40 years and grow as large as dinner plates, at that point needing way more space than the usual aquarium. Ill-prepared owners often
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In nature there is always something to discover. Maybe you’ll encounter a species living somewhere it has never been documented, perhaps an unexpected crayfish in a creek. What else could be swimming in there? You could find a chestnut tree growing strong where others are afflicted. Could that tree hold answers for how to overcome
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There are a lot of materials in our lives — from fabric to furniture to fire extinguishers — that can find continued usefulness outside of the waste stream. That’s the idea behind resourcePhilly (resourcephilly.org), a new website that helps residents figure out where to donate, repair and recycle unwanted items responsibly. Created by Circular Philadelphia,
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Fifty minutes before the first pitch at a Friday night Phillies game in early June, the line at Greens and Grains already wrapped around and down the concourse at Citizens Bank Park. Looking on, Kevin Tedesco, Aramark’s general manager at Citizens Bank Park, and Jason Firestone, Aramark’s senior director of concessions, shared the story of
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For a quarter of a century, PA Cyber alums have been making an impact in Pennsylvania and beyond. Graduates from every county in the commonwealth have chosen this cyber school as a foundation for their lifelong plans. We’ve had students like pop star Sabrina Carpenter, “Dance Moms” alum Nia Sioux, and country singer Gabby Barrett.
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In June 2023, I followed my friend Josh Ferguson from Keystone Permaculture past old, arching oaks and tall tulip poplars along a path in Carpenter’s Woods in Wissahickon Valley Park in search of a rare and intriguing pair of trees he had heard about. We eventually arrived at two initially normal-looking trees: a 45-foot tree
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The name Edible Alphabet might conjure images of sugary breakfast cereal or playful pasta shapes. That’s not what has drawn more than 1,000 adult learners to this innovative series of free, fun English language classes at the Culinary Literacy Center in the Free Library of Philadelphia since 2016. Lindsay Southworth, senior program manager, traces the
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At St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, a tantrum looms. Scalp bristling with electrodes, a three-year-old boy remains stubbornly unmoved by his parents’ pleas that he take his medication. Then his nurse proposes a deal. “Yeah,” the boy responds to her question, “I’ll take the pills if the clown comes to see me.” Within moments, Marilyn
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