The sound of percussion rang out at the Center City headquarters of the School District of Philadelphia as the youth drumline Mad Beatz Philly opened a celebratory press conference in early March. The Black-led, parent-driven organization Lift Every Voice Philly (LEV) was celebrating a major victory: after 18 months of advocacy by parents across the
More
On a balmy Friday afternoon in late February, the teens who work at Fab Fits, Fab Youth Philly’s new youth-run thrift store, are waiting for their first customers of the day. A chirp through a walkie-talkie alerts staff member Brianna Valente, 18, to head downstairs to the building’s ground floor. She greets a pair of
More
By Julia Lowe and Gabriel Donahue Nature lovers, mark your calendars for Love Your Park Week 2026. One hundred forty park friends groups care for the city’s parks year-round and are calling for volunteers to join the cleanup and beautification days hosted from May 9-17. “I think it’s a great way to be outside with
More
“The Price of Everything,” a novel by Philadelphian Jon McGoran, was longlisted for the second Climate Fiction Prize, alongside 11 others in the running for a $13,550 prize. The Climate Fiction Prize is awarded by the UK-based organization Climate Spring, which supports the integration of climate crisis-related storytelling in digital media. “The Price of Everything”
More
If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, the plan to renovate Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in South Philadelphia might have proceeded without significant opposition. Workplace lockdowns and virtual schooling drove people outdoors to get some exercise and socialize in the fresh air. In South Philadelphia, many of them found the park’s shuttered golf course and fell
More
State Rep. Chris Rabb, a five-term lawmaker for Pennsylvania’s 200th legislative district, is one of eight Democratic candidates running for the chance to take Congressman Dwight Evans’ vacant seat in the U.S. House of Representatives next year. Rabb has emerged as a progressive option in the lead-up to the Democratic primary in May, with positions
More
I would need to book a flight to Portland, Oregon, to see shad runs like Philadelphians once did. That might surprise Delaware Valley residents accustomed to hearing how scarce the once-abundant fish are. But while shad have long suffered in their home range, they have flourished out West. The sleek silver herring is a celebrity
More
When entering Cobbs Creek Park at Florence Avenue and Cobbs Creek Parkway, a mural on the sidewalk asks, “How far can you hop?” On an adjacent wooden display, a spinning wheel lists actions inspired by reptiles and amphibians in the creek — slither, crawl, jump — and challenges the player to cross a series of
More
Every Friday afternoon from May to October, Alex Correia and George Murkowicz meet for lunch. Correia, a senior horticulturist at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, and Murkowicz, executive chef at its on-site garden-to-table restaurant, 1906, taste-test dishes that result from the horticultural-culinary partnership at the center of it. Correia, Murkowicz and volunteers work together, balancing
More
It’s not easy to get to the Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School. The school sits on 17 acres at the northwest border of Philadelphia, a pocket of land not served by SEPTA, forcing the district to bus students to and from school. In exchange for the long ride, however, students learn in an expansive
More