Grid Magazine May 2015 [#074]

SUSTAI N A B L E PH ILA D ELPHI A

ON THE ROAD

Bike share has arrived!

FAILING GRADE

Swarthmore resists divesting from fossil fuels

e v o L PEACE PARK VS. PHA

Activists push back against the Philadelphia Housing Authority

LET

RULE

Stay sane while you say “I do”

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A Perfect Union Wedding our personal and societal values

Alex Mulcahy alex@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 102

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fter working on the most recent of Grid, covering heavy-duty topics— elections, the future of Philadelphia, pollution and, indirectly, global warming—it’s a relief to focus on weddings. Instead of scary infographics and dire warnings, we’ve immersed ourselves in celebrations of love.

To get out from under the cultural shadow of what can be an intensely wasteful and expensive day, we’ve featured weddings and best practices that include locally grown flowers, ethically sourced jewelry and local food options. We know that even if you methodically address issues such as these, odds are good you will have guests traveling to your wedding, some of them by plane. As Katherine Gajewski, director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, points out in her essay on page 46, “no amount of recycled Mason jars or compostable plates can offset the environmental impact of having friends and family travel to be there for your special day.”

But still, we hope you’ll drink in the beautiful pictures of delicious food and pretty flowers, and most of all we hope you enjoy the stories about couples who are, or will be, embarking upon the journey of marriage. All of them thought hard about who they are and who they want to be, and their weddings are a reflection of their values.

The purpose of this issue of Grid is to provide resources and ideas that will help you keep your sanity as you navigate your wedding planning. But I think there is a bigger question: If you care about sustainability, how do you keep your sanity at all? You are only one person, and no matter how deliberately you live your life, you are battling systems that have an extremely strong foothold. How can you change the world?

Lately I’ve changed my thinking in a subtle way that I’ve found helpful. Instead of trying to change the world, I think of myself as one of the 7 billion people shaping the world. It takes the pressure off.

But it isn’t an excuse for either nihilism or political apathy. What we do, and what we think, matters. First, as individuals, we need to decide what is important, and then we need to create structures in society that will help us support those values. Right now, our society puts the economy first, assuming that health and happiness will be the natural byproducts of a booming economy. That’s why the government will take extraordinary measures to save businesses, but will claim to be handcuffed when faced with social and environmental problems.

editor-in-chief

managing editor

Heather Shayne Blakeslee heather@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 107 associate editor

Claire Margheim claire@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 103 designer

Kathleen White kathleen@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 112 ad sales

Jesse Kerns jesse@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 100 distribution

Recently, in The New York Times there was an interview with Dale Jamieson, a professor of environmental studies and philosophy at New York University, and the author of Reason in a Dark Time: Why the Struggle to Stop Climate Change Failed—and What It Means for Our Future. In the interview he talks about the need for the cultivation of “green virtues,” ideals that will encourage people to live in a more environmentally friendly way while providing meaning to their lives. He lists those virtues as: cooperativeness, mindfulness, simplicity, temperance and respect for nature.

“They will not solve the problem of climate change on their own,” Jamieson says, “but they will help us to live with meaning and grace in the world that we are creating.”

In the grand scheme of things, planning a sustainable wedding might seem like a small gesture to make, but what could be more important than meaning and grace on your wedding day?

Megan Matuzak megan@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 106 copy editor

Andrew Bonazelli writers

Marilyn Anthony Katie Bohri Bernard Brown Nic Esposito Katherine Gajewski Brittany Thomas Danielle Wayda photographers

Chloe Berk Stephen Dyer Jared Gruenwald illustrators

Mike L. Perry published by

Red Flag Media 1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 215.625.9850 alex mulcahy, Editor-in-Chief alex@gridphilly.com

TRANSPORTATION

From left to right: Kathy Albanese, John McClung, Mayor Michael Nutter, Alison Cohen and Andrew Stober celebrate at the launch event for Indego on April 23

Getting Our Share

Years in the making, Philadelphia’s bike share is finally a reality by nic esposito

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n 2008, Grid’s prototype issue asked, “Will a bike share help Philadelphia?” Seven years later, we are final getting the answer.

Philly’s version of bike share, Indego, debuted on April 23rd to much fanfare, even prompting a jubilant City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson to dance in the streets at the Eakins Oval opening event.

Indego has launched with 70 stations around the city serviced by 700 bikes. The strategic business plan calls for the ultimate expansion of 180 stations and 1,800 bikes in the years to come. Though New York City (300 stations) and Chicago (400) are bigger, Philadelphia will begin with about the same number of stations as San Francisco and San Diego.

The program is a partnership between the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities (MOTU) that planned and manages the partnership with the city, and Philadelphia-based Bicycle Transit Systems, which manages all of the operational aspects, such as bike and station maintenance, marketing and customer service.

Cara Ferrentino, the Manager of Strategic Initiatives at MOTU, is thrilled with the opening week numbers: 8,000 rides logged and 2,400 registered members. As she explains, “Bike share is perfect for one-way trips because you don’t have to return a bike to where you be6

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gan. It’s also great for trips early in the morning or late at night when transit is running less frequently. We’ve also heard from parents who are excited to be able to walk with their children to school before heading to work on bike share.”

While the flexibility is appealing to many riders, Ariel Ben-Amos, a former MOTU employee, acknowledges that riding on a Indego Bike is different than riding his own. “It’s much heavier, slower, and I simply can’t be as bold and feckless with a bike share bike as I am with my personal one, which is also a way of saying, bike-share bikes force people to be more polite bikers.”

Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia Executive Director Alex Doty agrees with BenAmos that the slowness of the bikes may actually be a safeguard.

“We feel that the types of people who are using bike share tend to be a less aggressive rider than the current bikers that sometimes buzz by pedestrians and run red lights. Of course, not all riders who use Indego will behave correctly, but we feel that behavior will get better over the long term as more people start riding.”

MOTU Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Jeannette Brugger has goals for the program that balance hope with pragmatism.

“Indego will encourage more everyday folks

to use bikes in Philly, and I imagine that they will become more aware of the infrastructure needs. More awareness leads to more people asking for improvements. More improvements plus more awareness means better and safer

HOW IT WORKS Key information on renting and returning If you sign up for a monthly plan (see options on the next page), you’ll receive a key fob to lock and unlock Indego bikes, but you can also swipe a credit card to ride as you go.

Stations are located around the city. When a fob is waved or a credit card swiped, the locking mechanism unlocks the bike for the rider. When the bike is returned to a station, a rider is expected to push the bike firmly into the dock and wait for a green light to flash three times to register the return. Rides are “one way” in that you will return your bike to any bike share location. That can mean taking it back to your original station, or any one of 70 locations.

PHOTO BY DARREN BURTON

CHOOSE A PLAN

Indego bikes are available 24 hours a day and year round, rain or shine, with three membership options. Sign up online and you’ll receive a key fob that allows you to unlock a bike at any time.

 The Indego30

 IndegoFlex

 Walk-up

No credit card? Pay cash

Allows unlimited bike share trips lasting up to one hour for just $15 a month. Any trips lasting longer than one hour are $4 per hour.

Allows a rider to pay per trip at $4 per hour, in addition to a $10 yearly membership fee.

Allows occasional riders to use the system without the commitment of any upfront fees. Sign up online, and then dip a credit card at the station kiosk and you’ll be charged $4 for every 30 minutes.

Indego offers a unique “PayNearMe” plan that allows a member to pay cash at a local partner establishment such as a 7-Eleven or Family Dollar. Sign up online for either Indego30 or IndegoFlex and get your fob in the mail. The fob tracks usage, and you pay at the retail partner.

PHOTO BY LORA REEHLING

Indego racks are all over the city.

Go to rideindego.com/stations to find near J UNone E 20 15 you G R I DP HI LLY.COM

7

COMMUNITY community

Community activist Tommy Joshua leads a group of progressive activists looking to make radical change in Philly neighborhoods

Preserving the Peace Tommy Joshua leads a standoff to protect a North Philadelphia food and education hub by danielle wayda photo by stephen dyer

Community activist and educator Tommy Joshua is standing his HERO ground. As the executive director of North Philly Peace Park, an urban garden and education space in the Sharswood neighborhood, Joshua leads a group of passionate and progressive activists who want to see radical change come to Philly neighborhoods that need it most—through food and community. The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) had a different vision for the land where North Philly Peace Park is situated, and planned to build a mixed-income housing project there. Joshua’s tenacity might mean that the community’s needs for housing, fresh food and education are all addressed.

Sharswood, an enclave of north Philadelphia EVERYDAY

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just above Girard College and southwest of the Temple sprawl, is where Joshua, 35, was born and raised. Although a native North Philadelphian, he spent most summers as a kid being “shipped off” to his aunt and uncle’s farm in Greensboro, North Carolina. “I was a hometown boy, but all the kids called me ‘country’ because I spent so much time on their farm,” he says, noting that his relative’s farm is where he picked up a love for ecology, along with some southern slang.

“Food can heal, mentally and physically,” he says, and his work with the Peace Park is an expression of his commitment to helping heal some of the ills that urban development have inflicted on Sharswood. After a bout with leukemia that interrupted his sophomore year at

Temple and ended with a bone marrow transplant, Joshua says that changing the way he ate was a critical part of his recovery.

Founded in 2012, the Peace Park has since grown an impressive amount of food (nearly 3.5 tons of produce by the farmers’ estimation) and formed deep roots in the community. In its current location, the farm has a wide variety of vegetable plots, an orchard, playground and an education center, which was built in 2013. Community volunteers built an “earthship,” a structure made out of mostly recycled materials like tires and glass bottles, which became the Sala Nkrumah Schoolhouse, Joshua acts as the dean.

Classes and workshops held there—about anything from urban ecology to seed-saving to food-preserving—are an integral part of Joshua’s goal to fill a void of after-school activity options for local kids. In 2013, the nearby Roberts Vaux High School was shuttered two years ago due to budget cuts. (When he’s not organizing community events and work parties at the park or honing his skills as an “amateur arborist,” Joshua helps develop and implement after-school programs as an independent consultant.)

Around the same time, Joshua and the other park organizers began to hear rumblings that the PHA had plans to develop their lot into a multi-million dollar mixed-income housing project. In 2014, park leaders spent a lot of time attending community meetings and hearings with the PHA and the development company.

They lobbied at City Hall, and eventually won the support of Councilman Darrell Clarke, who announced that the council would support the Peace Park in their negotiations with the PHA. In January 2015, Joshua and some of his neighbors had a brief standoff with a company hired by the PHA to conduct soil testing in the park’s lot—a drilling exercise that would have disrupted vegetable plots. Soon after, the PHA fenced off the park, which prevented community members from picking food and using the space freely as they had always done.

As negotiations with the PHA continued, PHA proposed several relocation sites in the neighborhood for the park, but until recently had not committed anything in writing. Joshua and other community leaders are reviewing a contract with the help of Amy Laura Cahn and the Garden Justice Legal Initiative, an arm of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia.

The contract promises a much larger plot of land at 25th & Jefferson. As of now, the community has regained access to the original park, events continue to be held at the schoolhouse, and work parties still happen on Sundays to get the farm in shape for the growing season.

It’s been a bumpy ride with the PHA, but Joshua is optimistic about the outcome. “We hope that our experience can give a framework for how other communities can navigate this process with the PHA going forward,” he says.

“We want this whole thing to show the viability of what a community can do, how the people can affect proactive development and take ownership of our community’s future.”

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COMMUNITY community

Swarthmore students perform a sit-in on March 19 in Parrish Hall at the Finance and Investments Office

Moving Mountains Despite growing opposition and national trends, Swarthmore College managers refuse to divest endowment from fossil fuels by marilyn anthony

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warthmore Mountain Justice (SMJ), a student-led organization dedicated to convincing Swarthmore College’s Board of Managers to eliminate fossil fuel investments from their 1.9 billion dollar endowment, will continue to organize despite a recent setback.

The students delivered a pledge of support to the managers collected from over 2,000 Swarthmore faculty, students and alumni—including UN climate chief Christiana Figueres, class of ’79—and their organizing work merited an appearance by environmental activist and 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben. They also orchestrated a 32-day campus protest, which they halted April 20.

Just 10 days later, after meeting on May 1 and 2, Board of Managers board chair Gil Kemp released a statement declaring that the board “reached consensus not to divest from fossil fuels.” Kemp went on to justify this decision citing Swarthmore’s 1991 endowment investment policy that the “Investment Committee manages the endowment to yield the best long-term financial results, rather than to pursue other social objectives.”

When SMJ began four years ago, they researched successful social change strategies.

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Though some critics dismiss divestment as mere symbolism, SML chose to model their efforts on the international protests targeting apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s, protests their parents are likely to recall. The sell-off by large corporations of shares in South African companies is often credited with bringing about the end of apartheid. A 1999 study cited in a 2015 issue of the Harvard Political Review questioned the efficacy of divestment, suggesting that the stigmatization it causes may be more effective than the actual financial pressure.

According to GoFossilfree.org, 32 U.S. cities—a number of them college centers like Ithaca, NY and Madison, WI—20 colleges and universities, a long list of religious institutions and more than a handful of foundations, such as Ben & Jerry’s and the Sierra Club, have taken the divestment pledge. Most remarkable among the foundations eliminating fossil fuel from their portfolios is the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, whose vast wealth derives from John D. Rockefeller, co-founder of Standard Oil Company in the late 19th century, reputed to have been the wealthiest man in the world at that time.

Within this context of continued divestment, the students of SMJ plan to fight on. To insure

the sustainability of SMJ, according to sophomore and SMJ organizer Stephen O’Hanlon, “only two of the 10 core members will graduate. We’ve been intentional about recruiting and supporting underclassmen as leaders.”

Economics professor Mark Kuperberg, self-described as being “neutral” on divestment and unconvinced that the students will ever succeed, admits to being “a huge admirer of the kids, even though I don’t share their view … what they are doing is completely in line with what Swarthmore wants students to do with their lives.”

May Dong, a rising sophomore leader with SMJ, views naysayers at the school merely as bumps in the road. “I’ve come to realize older people don’t feel the same urgency as we do, since they’re not going to see the changes in their lifetime that we will see in ours … but we’ll have a new [college] president and new board chair next year, so we see a new opportunity to engage.”

In a February 2013 Rolling Stone article, Bill McKibben challenged Ralph Nader’s view that today’s college students seem “passive.” McKibben, on a national tour to raise awareness about climate change, observed, “it’s not perhaps a militant generation … militant sounds good, but ‘persistent,’ ‘organized’ and ‘committed’ are probably a deeper threat to the status quo.”

Christopher Malafronti, also a rising sophomore like Dong, echoes McKibben’s point. “We want the college to know that we’re still here, we’re still strong. We have three more years on this campus, so if they are hoping we’ll just dissappear, they are mistaken.”

PHOTO BY ANJALI CADAMBI

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COMMUNITY community

Art professor Daniel Tucker works to incorporate social justice into graduate student practice

Drawing From Life Daniel Tucker and “Social & Studio Practice” at Moore College of Art & Design by marilyn anthony photo by jared gruenwald

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disenfranchised immigrant community, a blighted neighborhood or a pattern of social injustice may not be inspiration for every artist, but Daniel Tucker hopes to guide graduate students at Moore College of Art & Design to engage with such real life issues when they’re making art. He’s been charged with leading Moore’s new Social & Studio Practice program, a decade in the making.

When Moore Academic Dean Dona Lantz moved to the city in 2001, she discovered an arts scene rich in artists and organizations, but lacking academic programs focusing on the intersection of art, community practice and social engagement. Lantz saw the opportunity for Moore to become an “academic partner,” collaborating with nonprofits, public entities, studio artists, museum professionals and civic leaders who all desired to improve their efforts at community outreach and engagement.

In September 2014, she hired Tucker as an assistant professor, who “began reaching out to his national network, making connections even before the semester began,” says Lantz. Tucker, a Kentucky native, holds art degrees from the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Illinois. He self-identifies as “an artist, in that I sometimes make things, but I’m also an organizer, a teacher and a writer whose work is mostly about facilitating other people’s voices.”

One of the voices Tucker recruited to help with the new program is Philly-based painter Shira Walinsky, a passionate practitioner of socially committed art. Tucker tapped Walinsky to co-teach a class at Moore with Jane Golden, founder of Mural Arts, the nation’s largest publicly funded art program. Walinsky, a Mural Arts staff member for 15 years, describes a project of hers that perfectly embodies the philosophy of the program. Southeast by Southeast, located in a storefront at 1927 South 7 Street, started as an arts space, but now provides a dynamic array of social services to the Nepalese, Bhutanese and Burmese refugee communities. Walinsky compares making art in the community to the studio practice of “drawing from life and getting constant feedback from the world around you.” At places like Southeast by Southeast, socially engaged art “creates 12

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moments, what would have been “happenings” in the ’60s, and makes spaces where people get together for a change of consciousness rather than creating an object.”

Tucker also recruited Sarah Schwartz, curator for public practice at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, to share from her successes there, which began with “Open Field.” She describes it as a “creative commons” that gave voice to and made visible the work and interests of artists and non-artists in the same space.

For Schwartz, “Social practice does what art does—it spurs our imagination, puts a different lens on an issue, sometimes it brings people together, and creates a space of possibility.” She views the new program at Moore as an amazing

opportunity, encouraging artists and activists to “practice the practice.” What the Moore program represents, she says, “is not just collaboration, but cooperation to make us work better, to make the world better. It is a little utopic. But I’m unapologetic about that.”

And so is Daniel Tucker. He senses in younger artists, “a yearning to change the image and practice of the isolated studio artist, dissatisfaction with art as usual and an almost utopian hopefulness about the things art can do.”

Moore College of Art & Design and the Mural Arts Program present In/Out: Time, Pacing and Perspective in Socially-Engaged Art, July 31 to August 1, moore.edu/calendar/summer-symposium

Torch Bearers

SPARC network ignites a passion for sustainability on regional campuses by Brittany Thomas

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aunching a student environmental group while in college is impressive, but 22-year-old University of Pennsylvania Environmental Studies senior Sara Allan’s SPARC project has caught fire far beyond the ivied walls of her campus.

In addition to her own university, Drexel, Temple and Villanova students are now all part of the year-old Sustainable Philadelphia Alliance of Regional Campuses (SPARC). The organization was formed with the help of a small group of peers and an advisory board, and it will soon become an independent nonprofit, led by students and guided by a board of professional sustainability leaders.

When it was established in January 2014, SPARC’s primary goal was to connect representatives from the regional universities so that they could compare notes on how to become most effective on their own campuses.

The vision quickly expanded, and the group’s activities are poised to help Philadelphia’s sustainable economy by connecting students to local businesses while they’re still in school, and

creating a pipeline of educated employees who want to stay in Philadelphia and drive its economy after they’ve graduated.

“There are over 215,000 college students in Philly,” says Allan, “so if we’re able to help companies get in touch with students, we really do want to help local sustainable businesses grow.”

One of the groups that SPARC has forged a relationship with is Sustainable Business Network; it also looked to national thought leaders at places like the Climate Reality Project and Oxfam America to headline its Green Allies Conference in February, which SPARC co-hosted with the SAVE Alliance Foundation.

“Personally, the proudest moments for me have been keeping the advisory board and student fellows engaged and really excited about the project,” says Allan, who gives equal credit for SPARC’s success to partner Nicole Koedyker, a Drexel University alumna and entrepreneur.

“Not only are we starting the conversation; we’re giving opportunities to students who are meeting people out of this and getting experience running a nonprofit from the inside,” says

Sara Allan introduces SPARC to 30 students and professionals participating in the first working group session at the City CoHo Philly Nexus space

Allan. “I’m getting that experience as well.”

The focus on integrating into the larger community is one of SPARC’s most successful organizing strategies. In April, it sponsored Sustainable Food Week and helped students collaborate with nonprofits and businesses to host events throughout the city. Activities included offering student discounts at sustainable restaurants, an Iron Chef competition, a work day at Bartram’s Garden and a tour of SHARE, a local food access and education program that encourages any community member in need to volunteer in exchange for healthy, local food.

They also encouraged students to attend the Stroehmann Walk & Run Against Hunger and Philly Farm and Food Fest, for which they negotiated student pricing.

Food, energy, waste, transportation, and publications and curriculum integration are all on the group’s radar for programming. Some of the larger events will become annual, destined to be led by new groups of students from both existing leadership and the incoming class of freshmen, there to help fan the flames.

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Feed the Burbs founding member Tom McGlynn stands in front of a newly-planted vegetable bed built to supplement Zachary’s BBQ’s produce

Parking or Plots?

A permaculture advocate aims to regenerate the suburbs article and photo by katie bohri

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ut in Norristown, along a road with strip mall after strip mall along it, Tom McGlynn turns over a pitchfork full of soil in a parking lot berm to reveal a white, webbed network of fungus. The fungus is mycelium, and it’s the sign of happy, healthy soil, he explains to a small crowd of workshop attendees. He’s a founding partner at Feed the Burbs, a business bent on bringing sustainable landscapes to the suburbs, even if the space he has to work with is no larger than a parked car.

It may seem odd that McGlynn—a 26-yearold with a degree in German and music—is doing this work in the suburbs when urban farming is the trending topic among ecologically-minded young people, but it was urban farming itself that inspired his focus on the suburbs.

“I was in Germany living in an urban environment and sustaining myself through farm-

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ing, largely,” he says. “I was asking myself if it was really feasible for everyone to live this way.”

Originally from the Norristown area, McGlynn decided to take the next step in his vision for a more sustainable planet in his own backyard.

In 2013, he and the other company co-founders of Feed the Burbs were just helping friends with their landscape projects. “After six months, we realized, ‘Whoa, there’s a lot of interest in permaculture design in the suburbs— who would have thought?’” After confirming there wasn’t anyone doing the work they were doing, they started Feed the Burbs as a business underpinned by permaculture. Its founding dictates are to care for the earth, care for people and return the surplus, and the name is a portmanteau of “permanent” and “agriculture.”

“People from cities love to talk about how much more sustainable cities are, but at the end of the day ‘more sustainable’ doesn’t actually

mean ‘sustainable,’” McGlynn explains in an interview with Grid. “What permaculture does is go beyond sustainability. It’s a regenerative enterprise, and I think there’s more potential for that in the suburbs than in the city in the long run—there’s a lot more people in the suburbs than in rural areas, and more land than in the city. It could be the best of both worlds.”

At this workshop, Feed the Burbs turned what was once an afterthought of greenery in a stripmall into an edible, permaculture landscape for Zachary’s BBQ. While the garden won’t make a significant dent in the restaurant’s needs, the harvest will find its way on to the menu. “When we say ‘feed the burbs,’” McGlynn says, “we don’t just mean suburban stomachs. We mean feeding the soil and feeding the soul of the suburbs.”

Which is why the soil, after being turned into a raised bed and planted, is warm to the touch despite the chilly day—it’s all the thriving microorganisms, ready to feed the landscape.

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The shortnose sturgeon, which can grow up to about five feet long, made its debut in the Schuylkill River

ENVIRONMENT

Old School

The appearance of a fish that dates to the days of the dinosaurs could mean a cleaner Schuylkill by Bernard Brown

F

or most Philadelphians, the Delaware River is simply what separates us from New Jersey. The Schuylkill is just the boundary for West Philly. Even if you look down at one of our rivers from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge or Spring Garden Street Bridge, all you can see is the green surface.

Of course, the river is both a home and a highway for creatures we can’t see. They only come into view at the end of a fishing line, and so a fisherman made the news last fall when he landed a young shortnose sturgeon below the Fairmount Dam on the Schuylkill.

The fish wasn’t huge—under two feet—but with rows of bony knobs down its sides and back, it looked nothing like the catfish, stripers or other species usually targeted in the Schuylkill. It looked like something from another era, and in a sense it is; sturgeon haven’t changed 16

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very much since the days of the dinosaurs.

“We searched the archives, and there’s not one sturgeon in the Schuylkill River in our archives,” said Joe Perillo, Aquatic Biologist Supervisor with the Philadelphia Water Department. Shortnose sturgeon are present, if not common, in the Delaware, said Perillo.

Shortnose sturgeon grow up to about five feet long—small for a sturgeon species. Their local cousins, the Atlantic sturgeon, can grow “upwards of 14 feet long and just under 900 pounds,” according to Dewayne Fox, Assistant Professor of Fisheries at Delaware State University. While the shortnose live their whole lives in our rivers and estuaries, the Atlantic breed locally, but then spend the rest of the year cruising from Nova Scotia down to Florida.

If your mind has wandered to caviar by now,

you’re not the first. Atlantic sturgeon were extremely abundant in the Delaware up until the late 1800s, when enterprising European immigrants introduced methods for preserving and shipping their eggs, kicking off a sturgeon fishing boom. It took about 10 years for the population to crash. Once, there were around 180,000 breeding adults; now, there are fewer than 1,000. Sturgeon take a long time to mature, and they breed only every few years, making them slow to bounce back.

Shortnose sturgeon were spared by the caviar industry thanks to their smaller size as well as legal protection in New Jersey, according to Fox, but they were still hit hard by industrial pollution.

That one small shortnose from the Schuylkill is a sign that the river is in the best shape it’s been in since we started keeping records.

“So, we’ve seen recovery in the shortnose,” says Fox, who is working with commercial fishers to make their gear safer for sturgeon. “We haven’t seen that recovery in the Atlantic, and that’s probably because when they leave our system and go elsewhere, they’re captured incidentally in commercial fishing nets and other things, and that’s some of the stuff we’re trying to work on. I think the future’s bright; it’s just going to take a little while.”

GREEN SCHOOLYARD, HEATHY KIDS A new guide to transforming concrete playgrounds into kid-friendly spaces by grid staff

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an a concrete schoolyard be transformed into an urban oasis? Community Design Collaborative and the Philadelphia Water Department have proof that it can. On May 4, the two partners released Transforming Philadelphia’s Schoolyards, a blueprint for advocates and schools who want to green their schoolyards; the suggested designs also help fulfill the goals of Philadelphia’s stormwater management plan, Green City, Clean Waters. Capturing excess stormwater helps to prevent flooding and keep our drinking water clean.

The best outcome of green schoolyards, however, may not be protecting the environment; it might be protecting our kids.

According to the guide, children in the United States are spending less and less time in unstructured outside play, to the detriment of their physical health, socialization skills and learning. Design guidelines include advice for creating gathering spaces and introducing learning tools. “We’re sharing a lot of the great ideas that came out of our collaborations with schools and communities,” says Beth Miller, executive director of the Collaborative. “They show the possibilities and how schools can use design to address important goals like nurturing social activities and supporting active play.”

The guide highlights three schoolyards— Henry Lea in West Philadelphia, Cook Wissahickon in Manayunk, and Albert Greenfield in Center City—that have had their outdoor space reimagined and redesigned.

The Community Design Collaborative has helped 18 different Philadelphia public schools create new visions and designs, and hopes that this guide will be a resource for other motivated schools—from initial organizing efforts to implementation and programming. To download the guide for free, visit: cdesignc.org/guides/schoolyards

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YOU FALL IN LOVE. YOU GET ENGAGED. IT’S A BEAUTIFUL THING. And then you step into the wedding industrial complex, intent on selling you things they insist are essential to your wedding. Your sustainability commitments—not to mention your financial sensibilities—feel under assault as everyone around you expresses their expectations.

Take a deep breath. Planning the wedding of your dreams can be daunting.

Even small, do-it-yourself affairs involve more discussions, lists and elbow grease than most people realize, and that’s before you add in the hard work of artful compromise: sidestepping or replacing traditions that don’t work for you, jettisoning practices that are wasteful or harmful, or gracefully disagreeing with your (well-intentioned) friends and relatives. In the midst of the maelstrom, it’s a comfort to stay grounded in the love that brought about a great celebration, and to know that your wedding reflects your values. Grid is pleased to present some options for couples who’d like a local focus and a light footprint when they take the big leap.

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Morgan Le Maitre and Ryan Brunton chose commitment diamond tattoos instead of rings to accommodate their rock climbing lifestyle

Bare Knuckled Brides The rules of engagement

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HE CLANDESTINE PLANS of Romeo and Juliet were exactly the kind of forbidden love that Pope Innocent III was trying to avoid when he decreed mandatory periods of engagement in 1215. To mark our betrothal to one another, we’ve used many kinds of symbols—including the sewing thimble that practical Purtians gave to their future wives—but rings have become the default.

It’s a relatively new tradition, however, to get engaged with a diamond ring. Simple bands and many kinds of stones, including pearls, were commonplace until a 20th century marketing genius convinced us that “a diamond is forever,” and therefore the only way to show our undying love.

The safest bet if you’re set on a diamond solitaire is a family heirloom, a trip to a vintage shop, or picking a jeweler who knows how problematic diamonds can be 20

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and has worked to source their stones ethically. According to a 2013 report in Foreign Policy, the “Kimberly Process,” certificates that attest to a diamond’s provenance are easily (and often) faked, and the diamond industry, centered in the Indian city of Surat, is rife with corruption and abuse. “Blood diamonds” or “conflict diamonds” are mined to fund wars around the world, and many others are often mined, cut and polished by enslaved or abused workers. Some jewelers, like Philadelphia’s Bario Neal, go beyond trying to ethically source diamonds and look at all of their materials; they are the only local jeweler who is a member of the nonprofit advocacy group Ethical Metalsmiths.

But take heart. The pendulum is swinging back to a place where couples are free to choose engagement and wedding jewelry that’s meaningful for them—or no jewelry at all. When rock climbing partners Morgan

Le Maitre and Ryan Brunton first met, they were on the ropes and focused on keeping one another alive. The immediate and complete trust that they felt led to an engagement just two weeks later. Knowing that rings were dangerous during climbs (and not a symbol they felt a strong connection to anyway), they decided to forgo an engagement ring and wedding bands entirely. Instead, they added to their collection of tattoos, choosing black commitment diamonds of ink for their ring fingers. They had an intimate celebration at local sustainable restaurant Southwark.

Rings are just one part of weddings that are up for consideration. As more and more gay couples are legally allowed to wed—the Supreme Court will rule in June whether marriage is a universal right—you can be sure that rules of engagement will continue to evolve, and new traditions will take hold.

Engaged couple Phoebe Isabelle Easmon and Christian Raphael Gael pose outside of Emmanuelle, the bar where they work Below: Christian gave Phoebe a pearl engagement necklace to match the one her father gave her

PHOEBE and CHRISTIAN Long road, simple wedding

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IXOLOGIST PAIR Phoebe Isabelle Easmon and Christian Raphael Gael are beloved for their creative cocktails and their personal style—Gael is the rare man who owns his own tuxedo. Their hands spend lots of time in soapy sinks, so wearing traditional rings is a non-starter. Phoebe’s pearl engagement necklace is a part of a long tradition of her own. “My dad got me my first pearl necklace when I was twelve,” she says.

Christian adds that his gift is also practical, and for him the pearls symbolize their relationship. “The oils in your skin are what keep them lustered, so it’s kind of a relationship in and of itself,” he says. “It made sense to kind of symbolize continued refreshment of a relationship between two people that needs her to keep it viable.”

Options for wedding bands include tough tungsten rings or tattoos.

A (NEARLY) STRESS-FREE WEDDING:

The couple plan to elope. “The wedding is for us,” says Phoebe. “It shouldn’t be for anybody else.” They’ll then have a series of celebrations with friends and family. They believe their long engagement has staved off any interference in how they might choose to celebrate.

Phoebe says her family is traditional (her father is both a jewelry maker and a minister), but at this point, “They mostly just want us go to go ahead and get married.”

With Phoebe giggling beside him, Christian wryly observes, “We’ve been engaged for quite a while now … actually going through with it and marrying is something that becomes ransomed a little bit. They’re much more excited to have it be done with than to give you much trouble about exactly how you go about it.”

CUTTING DOWN ON TRAVEL:

Being mindful of how their nuptials will affect their guests is at the top of their planning list. “You don’t want your wedding to be a hardship for your guests,” says Christian. “Some people are still doing destination weddings ... some of us are being more realistic.” They’ll travel to North Carolina where Phoebe’s family lives to avoid people traveling to them. A Sunday or Monday barbecue in Philadelphia will help ensure that their restaurant industry colleagues and friends will be able to raise a glass with them.

SIMPLE THREADS:

They enjoy dressing up, but don’t want people to go out and buy special clothes for their celebration. Phoebe is considering a nonwhite afternoon or tea dress that she can wear again. “We still have my grandmother’s dress. It’s preserved in a box ... I don’t see the point in doing that. And I don’t want to spend all my money on it. We’re all working so much harder to make less money ... spending a month’s wages on a dress I’m only going to wear once is not really a viable option.”

COCKTAILS AND FLOWERS:

The drink list will likely be local beer and a custom punch dreamed up by the couple; they’ll get minimal flowers grown locally, or use the orchids that Phoebe grows at home for decorations. Potted plants or herbs may serve as favors.

PHOTOS BY CHLOE BERK

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PHILADELPHIA FARMERS’ MARKETS

WEDNESDAY

N. 3rd St. Farmers’ Market Church St. (between American & 2nd Street Old City) Hours: 2pm - 7pm

WEDNESDAY

University Square Farmers’ Market 36th St. at Walnut St. Hours: 10am - 5pm

THURSDAY

Fairmount Farmers’ Market 26nd St. & Fairmount Ave. Hours: 3pm - 7pm

SATURDAY

Rittenhouse Square Farmers’ Market Walnut & 18th Streets Hours: 9am - 3pm

Swarthmore Farmers’ Market Town Center Parking Lot Hours: 9:30am - 1:30pm

SUNDAY

Headhouse Farmers’ Market 2nd & Lombard Streets Hours: 10am - 2pm

BEECHWOOD ORCHARDS

984 Carlisle Road • Biglerville, PA 17307 717-677-6536 • www.beechwoodorchards.com email: melissaallen23@gmailcom Melissa Allen – 717-752-8171 • Shawn Garretson – 717-977-7888

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photo by Maria Mack Photography

photo: Dennis Hwang

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Weddin� Lance Peterson and Katrina Cruz were married at Philadelphia’s ISSUES Magic Gardens on May 30, 2014

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PHOTO BY SHANNON COLLINS PHOTOGRAPHY

Location, Location, Location Planning an iconic Philadelphia wedding

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F YOU WANT A WEDDING, and wedding photos, that proudly announce their location in the City of Brotherly Love, there are many options. The Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation manages events at about a dozen facilities throughout the City, including Bartram’s Garden, the Barnes Foundation and Lemon Hill Mansion. Smaller and lesser-known—but just as beautiful—locations are also in their portfolio, like Cosmic Cafe on Boathouse Row, and there are other great options for those that want an intimate reception.

Sarah Keel and Thom Berg sit down with friends to a meal by Birchtree Catering at the Wyck House

VENUES: COSMIC CAFE ON BOATHOUSE ROW In addition to a lovey view, the in-house caterer here provides simple, locally and sustainably sourced food. Their business model includes a social component—hiring workers who have developmental disabilities—and their team will work with you to get as close to zero-waste as possible while you’re dancing by the river. cosmicfoods.com

THE ETHICAL HUMANIST SOCIETY ON RITTENHOUSE SQUARE Mid-block on the south side of Rittenhouse Square’s beautiful public park sits the home of the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia. The historic house has several rental options, and the main room features a full curtained stage and grand piano if you’re thinking about going with a “big band” sound. Capacity is 180, and while there are less expensive rental options for shorter celebrations, you can rent the whole building for the day for $1,200, and may use any caterer you wish. phillyethics.org

MAGIC GARDENS ON SOUTH STREET This wonderland created by celebrated Philadelphia mosaic artist Isaac Zager will ensure that your wedding photos are something to remember, and it helps support public art and education. During the peak season of March through October, rental rates on weekends are $400 per hour for a capacity crowd of 75, but thrifty couples who aren’t afraid of February (or winnowing their guest list) could throw a small three-hour party for less than $1,000. phillymagicgardens.org

PHILADELPHIA’S CITY HALL We’re not talking about a sign-and-dash at the wedding registrar. The stately Mayor’s Reception Room (capacity 180) and Conversation Hall (capacity 100) can be rented in fourhour blocks for $250 a piece, leaving you plenty of budget for the rest of the wedding. Couples can marry in either, but food and drink is allowed only in Conversation Hall. In order to check availability, you must call the Mayor’s Office, fill out a form, and they’ll respond with availability and approval. As long as your caterer is up to date on their city licenses, you can bring in your preferred vendor, but the Mayor’s Office can also provide a list from which to choose. The Mayor, unfortunately, is not included with the rental; you’ll need to bring your own officiant.

215-686-2163

City Hall

WYCK HOUSE IN GERMANTOWN If a smaller, outdoor affair is what you’re looking for, the beautiful grounds at the Wyck House will work for up to 75 people, and a tented option is available for an extra $300.

Rentals begin at $400 and range to $1,400 for longer or larger receptions. The site offers its own wedding photography service for $150 an hour. Your rental fees are helping to support their education programs as well as the Wyck Farm, which provides local produce to the Germantown community. wyck.org PHOTOS BY LOVE ME DO PHOTOGRAPHY, JEFFREY M. VINOCUR, ANTOINE TAVENEAUX

Boathouse Row

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The Love 'n Fresh flower farm blooms in Roxborough

Daisy Chain Sourcing your wedding’s flower power locally

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HILE YOU’RE LAYING DOWN ROOTS of your own, it doesn’t get more local or sustainable than a backdrop of flowering trees, shrubs or plants that still have roots in the ground. Consider picking an outdoor location for your wedding—like a park or arboretum—and a time of year where you’ll need little to supplement the native foliage and blooms.

Couples planning to use botanical bouquets and table arrangements can choose to source flowers locally and even organically. When you get your wedding flowers from local farms, you’re reducing environmental impact and helping the local economy to bloom. In places like Philadelphia where vacant land is a problem, there is a growing movement to use that space for flower production, as the owners of hyper-local Jig-Bee and Chicory have done.

The seeds of a local flower growers co-op are being sown by several local growers, including Kate Sparks from Doylestown’s Laughing Lady Flower Farm, former26

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ly Lilies and Lavender. Her three acres are in full production, she doesn’t want to expand, and she can’t meet current demand on her own; she’s intent on working collaboratively to grow business for others who farm locally. “There is so much business in Philadelphia right now,” says Sparks. “If there are more farmers, there will be more business, and people won’t have to go to New York to get their flowers.”

Currently, only 20 percent of cut flowers purchased in the United States are grown domestically. The rest are shipped from all over the world at a great cost to the environment, and to the freshness of the flowers.

Some shops, like Falls Flowers in East Falls, source both locally and beyond, especially when customers demand specific flowers; their speciality is English and French-style garden flowers.

Look for farms or other local producers and designers through the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers (ascfg.org), which has just launched the Flow-

er Bucket Challenge, a campaign to raise awareness about locally-grown flowers.

If a quick trip to City Hall with your two best friends is the extent of your ceremony, check out Market Blooms, just a few blocks away in Reading Terminal Market, where you can grab a bouquet that was locally grown using organic practices.

If you’re planning far enough ahead, do-it-yourself aficionados can enlist friends or relatives with yards or access to a community garden to each grow a little extra and then offer their harvested flowers as a wedding gift.

If you want to do your own arrangements and decorations, but would like to use a local provider, you can get bulk flowers from Jig Bee, Love’n Fresh Flowers or Laughing Lady Flower Farm.

If flowers aren’t a detail that you want to attend to yourself, Chicory and Falls Flowers, like most flower providers listed here, are happy to do all the design work for you.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LOVE 'N FRESH FLOWERS

Flower necklace of ranunculus, hyacinth, stock and pieris

Lisa and Michael Gail used the foliage along Ridley Creek for their wedding backdrop

LISA and MIKE Fistfuls of sugar, foliage and love A centerpiece of dogwood, hellebores, tulips, fritillaria and ranunculus

Boutonniere featuring celosia, gomphrena, strawflowers and viburnum berries

Should You DIY? Don’t wilt the week of the wedding!

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HILE YOU’RE MAKING a decision about which details should be do-it-yourself (DIY) projects, just remember that flowers aren’t something that can be attended to weeks in advance. Jennie Love, the sunny proprietress of Love ’n Fresh flowers, wants couples who are leaning toward doing the flowers themselves to be realistic. “Its seems like such a lovely, wonderful idea on the face of things, until the last week of the wedding, and there are five billion things to do and you’re trying to pick up the flowers, and decide how many you need, trying to make sure you have all your vases ... it’s just a lot of work.” Love says she’s watched too many otherwise spunky brides have a “sad and heartbreaking” meltdown the week of the wedding under the avalanche of emotion and logistics. Her advice?

“You can DIY your favors, you can DIY your jewelry, or gifts for your bridesmades. You can DIY those things and then pack them away. But DIY-ing the flowers is one of the most stressful things people can do.” She says you need to pick vendors you trust, and let them do their job once the final days are set in motion, and remember that you’re paying not just for the goods themselves, but for a long-term and ongoing relationship during wedding planning that means you get to relax and enjoy your big day.

FLOWERS: CHICORY Mantua-based Chicory is a small-scale urban flower farm and design studio that grows in West Philadelphia and Roxborough. chicoryflorals.com

FALLS FLOWERS This certified Benefit Corporation prides itself in being part of the East Falls community it calls home. They used reclaimed materials when outfitting their shop, and have whittled their waste stream to one kitchen bag of garbage a week. fallsflowers.com

LOVE ’N FRESH FLOWERS This two-in-one urban flower farm in Upper Roxborough and their Chestnut Hill floral design studio works exclusively with locally grown materials. During the peak season of June through September, they offer a “Bulk Botanicals” option. lovenfreshflowers.com

LAUGHING LADY FLOWER FARM (FORMERLY LILIES AND LAVENDER) Located on a farm in Doylestown, this grower offers full-service wedding arrangements, and DIY options. You can also rent their studio if you’d like a place to arrange what you’ve bought in bulk. laughingladyflowerfarm.com

JIG-BEE

MARKET BLOOMS

Nestled into a quarter-acre lot in Kensington, Jig-Bee farm is home grown option for smaller scale weddings that offers full-service design or bulk flowers purchases, and they’ve also started a flower CSA. jig-bee.com

Amid packed shops at Reading Terminal Market, you can find a flower oasis that gets its organic blooms just across the river in New Jersey. Great for grabbing a quick bouquet for bridal shower or ceremony. marketblooms.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF LISA SCHAFFER PHOTOGRAPHY (COUPLE)

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ISA WATSON GAIL and Michael Andrew Gail are co-leaders of the band A Fistful of Sugar.

When the Philly folkies decided to become married folks, they took their cue on timing from Mother Nature. “One of the first decisions that we made for our wedding was to hold it in mid-October, as we could rely on the foliage along Ridley Creek for most of our ceremony decorations, and we knew the outdoor temperature would be ideal,” says Mike.

Even though neither is Quaker, they borrowed from its traditions, which are so much a part of Philadelphia’s past and present. “We loved the idea of having a self-uniting marriage, and we tried to craft a secular wedding that was a combination of various traditions ... something that felt incredibly personal, not handed to us by some external authority.”

They chose minimalist invitations on recycled paper, went light on flowers, and used rose petals for splashes of color here and there.

Mike had given Lisa a platinum and diamond engagement ring, but knowing they were paying for things themselves and had to save money somewhere, they bought $10 wedding bands on the boardwalk. “He never wears it to play onstage,” says Lisa. “It interferes with his ability to play comfortably, but [he] usually pops it back on right after AFOS's set. At some point down the road, we may spring for nicer rings, but there's no rush.”

The couple used a recipe from Mike’s Hungarian grandmother to bake heart-shaped cookies and paired them with 20 gallons of homemade sangria.

Both the dessert and drinks were made with local ingredients.

The two have a daily reminder of their vows in the form of an artful document, decorated in the shapes and colors of fall foliage, signed by all of their guests. It was another idea that from Quaker traditions that they loved. Mike says, “It gave us a personal keepsake heirloom object to display in our home as a reminder of the event and the people who shared it with us.”

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Tara Beth Robertson, left, and Charlotte Ellis, right, enjoy a fall afternoon during a styled shoot with Shannon Collins Photography, Love n’ Fresh Flowers and Confetti & Co.

Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve Throw out tradition and wear clothes that mean something to you

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ERE’S A SECRET, brides-to-be: you don’t have to wear white. In fact, the tradition of wearing white started 175 years ago when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert. Before her, red was actually a very popular color for bridal wear. In an iconoclastic decision, Queen Victoria opted to wear white satin, and she changed the course of wedding fashion history forever—or at least until now.

However, the other choices she made for her gown were just as important—if not more so. The Queen chose only British-made materials, and to repurpose her gown, wearing it for her Diamond Jubilee 56 years later.

So, take a cue from the Widow of Windsor and don’t be afraid to break norms and think responsibly about your wedding day attire.

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PERSONALIZE: Choose a style, fabric and color that you could see yourself wearing again. This could be the most beautiful outfit you wear in your life, but that shouldn’t mean you only get to wear it once. Design with longevity in mind.

MADE WITH CARE: Support a local tailor and have creative control over fabrics and style by having your dress handmade. Philadelphia dressmaking company Dressigner is run by Malgo, a Polish expat who has been sewing for over 30 years and offers custom creations.

A FAMILY AFFAIR: Have a family gown altered to fit your taste. That way, you can reuse materials and honor a mother, aunt or grandmother at the same time.

Janice Martin, of Janice Martin Couture in Ardmore, has been designing clothing for private clients for over 25

years, and redesigns cherished family heirlooms.

RETRO WEAR: Buy a previously-worn or vintage dress. Mill Crest Vintage Boutique in Lambertville, New Jersey offers a curated collection of wedding wear from the 19th and 20th centuries. Another option, Sabrina Ann in Ardmore, sells affordable, once-worn wedding wear by well-known designers, and offers consignment services.

RECYCLE IT: Donate your gown after the big day.

One great option is Brides Against Breast Cancer. The organization puts on a traveling “Nationwide Tour of Gowns” bridal show, which generates revenue that makes it possible for them to deliver free educational programming to children and adults who are impacted by cancer.

PHOTO BY SHANNON COLLINS PHOTOGRAPHY

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JENNIFER and JONATHAN

For the Remsas’ wedding at Fernbrook Farms, Jennifer wore a gown from Mill Crest Vintage

Scripting the perfect wedding

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ENNIFER AND JONATHAN Remsa were married at the farm where they get their CSA. “I love that place,” says Jennifer of Fernbrook Farms in Chesterfield, New Jersey. “They have a bed and breakfast that holds weddings, but they also have a working CSA and an education center for kids,” Jennifer says.

The couple, who met at University of the Arts studying film and screenplay writing, has a love for words, so they chose used books as their wedding favors. “We bought them from book sales through the library, so our money went to them, and then when we had leftover books, we donated them back to the library to sell again,” explains Jennifer.

They also have a love for vintage items, using vintage bud vases as their centerpieces and choosing a mix of vintage and heirloom pieces for the bride’s wedding wear. Jennifer bought her gown, shoes and headpiece from Mill Crest Vintage Boutique, and wore her motherin-law’s veil.

"I've always loved vintage clothing," says Jennifer. "I fell in love with the idea of not only wearing a dress style that I liked, but also giving it a second life."

CLOTHING: BRIAR VINTAGE

HENRY DAVIDSEN

Vintage menswear store offering suits, jackets, trousers, formal wear and lounge wear from the 1800s through the 1960s. briarvintage.com

City store offers custom tailored clothing, accessories and consulting. henrydavidsen.com

DRESSIGNER

Clothing designer who produces custom wedding gowns for private clients and provides alterations on family gowns. janicemartin.net

THE SAMPLE RACK

MILL CREST VINTAGE

SAZZ VINTAGE

Philadelphia dressmaking and alterations studio that works with local bridal shops and offers custom sewing services for individual clients. dressigner.com

DUKE & WINSTON Men’s casual clothing store originating in Northern Liberties that now offers both bow ties and neckties inspired by the timeless style of Winston Churchill. duke-winston.com

FORAGE HABERDASHERY Vibrant neckwear for guys and gals created by local design team Something’s Hiding in Here using found vintage material. forage.bigcartel.com

JANICE MARTIN COUTURE

Vintage boutique offering one-of-a-kind wedding wear, plus an on-site seamstress who makes alterations using only vintage materials. millcrestvintage.com

NOSTALGIA This dynamic boutique offers a combination of vintage items and contemporary American-made clothing. Handpicked items are paired with clothing lines made by the three owners and other local designers. facebook.com/nostalgiaphilly

SABRINA ANN Affordable, once-worn wedding wear by well-known designers, as well as consignment service for those looking to recycle gowns. sabrinaann.com Designer wedding gown samples housed in an intimate, casual shop in South Philly. thesamplerackpa.com Old City vintage shop specializing in men’s clothing from the 1940s to the 1980s, including a colorful array of suits and tuxedos for the non-traditional groom. sazzvintage.com

THE WARDROBE BOUTIQUE Offers new and gently-used wedding dresses and accessories.

Proceeds from the donated clothing benefit community nonprofit the Career Wardrobe. wardrobeboutique.org

TYING the KNOT Founded by Philadelphia designers Shauna Alterio and Stephen Loidoit, FORAGE Haberdashery creates collections of small-batch cotton bow ties, neckties and handkerchiefs from found materials. The company is named for the couples’ love of hunting for vintage fabrics to use in their designs, and that organic inspiration shows through in their diverse line of vintage-inspired neckwear.

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PHOTOS BY KATCH SILVA

Jennifer Remsa chose to wear her mother-in-law’s veil, along with a vintage headpiece, shoes and dress

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Birchtree Catering house puff pastries with local heirloom tomatoes and pesto made with three Lancaster basils

Love: Always in Season Celebrate with delicious local food

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INCE ANTIQUITY, food has been an important part of weddings. Ancient Roman wedding ceremonies were finalized by breaking a cake of wheat or barley over the bride’s head as a symbol of good fortune. The married couple then ate a few crumbs in a custom known as confarreatio, or "eating together.”

Afterward, the wedding guests gathered up the crumbs as tokens of good luck. This tradition is thought to have become the cutting and handing out of cake.

Beyond cake, wedding fare differs drastically across cultures. In Iraq, marzipan is a traditional wedding sweet; in Germany, it’s a soup called Hochzeitssuppe. In South Korea, the bride and groom’s families toss chestnuts and dried dates, and in in France, many couples choose the croquembouche: cream puffs assembled into a tower and held together with sugar.

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eating seasonally and sustainably at your wedding.

Look for caterers and restaurants that are members of Fair Food Philly or the Sustainable Business Network. Don’t be afraid to ask your caterer where their food comes from. Alex Garfinkel of AG Catering lists his farms and vendors on his website, and partners with local suppliers like Philly Foodworks.

KEEP YOUR GUEST LIST SHORT: “We often choose not to cater events for more than 150 people to help protect the consistency and quality of product and experience,” says Garfinkel.

Don’t compromise your dietary needs and preferences. There are local caterers who can design delicious menus that align with your values.

GO VEGAN: Try Miss Rachel’s Pantry. This South Philly eatery caters events, weddings and private parties, serving homestyle vegan food.

KEEP IT KOSHER: After moving to Front & Palmer,

Feast Your Eyes Catering launched Essen Kosher Catering. Essen means “eat” in Yiddish. And that’s exactly what you’ll want to do when you see their menu.

BE AN ORGANIC FOODIE: JPM Catering and Birchtree Catering both offer organic and local menus.

SAVE MONEY AND DO A PICNIC: Have a potluck, asking the guests to bring a dish, or have your family chip in and cook the meal together. Depending on the size of your wedding, hosting it at a local restaurant is also another option. Southwark Restaurant & Bar sources their ingredients from local farmers and co-ops, and Fair Food member Fork hosts private events for up to 45 people.

DONATE YOUR EXTRA FOOD: Second Harvest in Allentown will send someone to pick up your leftover food from your wedding reception if you call in advance. They accept all food that has not been served or reheated.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BIRCHTREE CATERING, LLC

Strachiatella budino with blood orange syrup and burnt almond brittle

FOOD: 12TH STREET CATERING Company-wide commitment to waste reduction and recycling defines this company, whose menus include sustainable fish stations and highlight local purveyors and growers.

12thstreetcatering.com

Family-style dinner at Greensgrow Farms catered by Birchtree Catering

ALEX GARFINKEL CATERING Creator of seasonally inspired, locally sourced fine dining experiences, specializing in weddings and other large events, as well as cooking classes and private chef services. alexgarfinkelcatering.com

BIRCHTREE CATERING Female-owned company that offers seasonal menus made from local ingredients, as well as event-planning services and decoration. birchtreecatering.com

COSMIC CATERING Full-service catering company that sources locally grown and made products, with most ingredients coming from the Farm Fresh for Chefs farmers’ cooperative. cosmicfoods.com

Strawberry rhubarb panna cotta with rhubarb from Green Meadow Farms

Scallop crudo with smoked beets and pistachio oil

FEAST YOUR EYES CATERING Events at their Front and Palmer space and their off-premise events are fed with locally farmed foods. feastyoureyescatering.com

JOSHUA CATERING Boutique caterer who prepares foods using organic, natural ingredients, while promoting food selections based on seasonal, local fare. joshuasevents.com

JPM CATERING

Seared beef filet with local thyme and pepper corn

Thyme lavender shortbread with peaches from Linvilla Orchards and short rib from Lancaster County

Ardmore catering company composts food waste, uses biodegradable containers and cooks up custom menus of local, seasonal foods. jpmcateringandevents.com

MISS RACHEL’S PANTRY South Philly eatery caters weddings and private parties, serving homestyle vegan food. For a cocktail party atmosphere, their cafe accommodates 25 guests and for an intimate sit-down dinner, they have seating for 12. missrachelspantry.com JU NE 2 0 15

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Weddin� ISSUES

Philadelphia Brewing Company fans Levana Layendecker and Anthony Caroto chose Kenzinger for their reception libation.

Frecon makes cider from the apples grown on their family orchard

DRINK: FRECON’S CIDERY The farm’s cidery makes traditional cider using classic techniques and apples from the family orchard, which has been growing tree fruits since 1944. freconfarms.com/the-cidery

THE OTHER FARM BREWING COMPANY Nano-brewery that makes classic beers with locally grown hops. They also source their ciders, wines and meads from artisans in Southeastern Pennsylvania. theotherfarmbrewingcompany.com

PHILADELPHIA BREWING COMPANY Local brewery that adapts old world beer styles with modern brewing techniques. With more than a dozen different styles of ales and lagers brewed annually, they have a beer for every discerning palate. philadelphiabrewing.com

PHILADELPHIA DISTILLING They distill gin, vodka, whiskey and absinthe in small batches using natural and organic grains and botanicals, many of which are sourced locally, and are the first craft distillery founded in Pennsylvania since before Prohibition. philadelphiadistilling.com

POLLYODD Woman-owned distillery Naoj & Mot, Inc. makes a line of 18 water-based and cream-based Italian-American liqueurs and sells them at their South Philadelphia shop. pollyodd.com

LEVANA and ANTHONY Keeping it close to home

S

OUTH PHILLY RESIDENTS Levana Layendecker and Anthony Caroto kept their wedding close to home, holding their ceremony in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park and following it with a reception at the Mediterranean Banquet Hall on Passyunk Avenue. “Having our wedding locally focused and sustainable was an easy choice. We enjoy living in and exploring the city, and wanted to support as many small businesses as possible,” Anthony says. “We bought our rings from Sermania Jew34

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elry, rented our PA system from King's Music and bought wedding favor chocolates from John and Kira’s.”

They also took a unique approach to decorations.

“Our centerpieces on the tables were made from parts of other centerpieces donated to us by a few married friends” says Anthony. When it came to finding a beverage supplier, the couple looked to a local favorite. “Our beer of choice was Philadelphia Brewing Company's own Kenzinger,” Anthony says.

STONE & KEY CELLARS This winery and cidery makes hard ciders with apples sourced locally from Solebury Orchards in Bucks County. Their wines are produced locally in small batches. stoneandkeycellars.com

VICTORY BREWING COMPANY Committed to watershed conservation and community stewardship, this is one of only a few breweries in the country that uses whole flower hops. victorybeer.com

WYNDRIDGE FARM York County’s first and largest hard cidery. Crafts ciders and beers on their historic farm using fine ingredients. wyndridge.com

YARDS BREWING COMPANY Founded in 1994 as a garage-sized operation in Manayunk, this brewery makes distinctive English-inspired style brews in their 100 percent wind-powered brewery. yardsbrewing.com PHOTO BY AMIT GABAI

Cate Galbally and Dave Hoffman served a variety of Little Baby’s ice cream flavors and sandwiches at their locally-inspired celebration Fresh Berry Tartlets

DESSERT: AMARANTH GLUTEN FREE BAKERY Made in a gluten-free facility, Amaranth’s products include breads, cakes and granola bars. They have a retail location and deliver locally and through the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative. spiceoflifelancaster.com

THE BEESE KNEES

CATE and DAVE Supporting each other (and local businesses)

C

ATE GALBALLY AND DAVE HOFFMAN met through a mutual friend who thought they would be a good match. “We exchanged emails for about a month before going on our first date, and the rest is pretty much history,” Cate says.

The couple wanted a locally focused wedding. “Philadelphia is filled with amazingly talented people running really cool and unique businesses,” says Cate, naming Sullivan Owens, Posey Booth, Papery and Maggpie Vintage as local shops they patronize. She and Dave chose the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center as their wedding venue because a large portion of the venue fee goes to support Fairmount Park’s programming.

So, when it came to picking something sweet, they chose to do something both local and a little out of the ordinary. “We both love ice cream, so it was a no-brainer when we learned that our favorite shop, Little Baby's Ice Cream, was available for events,” Cate says.

The pair thought about creating their own custom flavor for the wedding, but changed their mind after a tasting. Sampling food was, “my favorite part of the wedding planning process,” she laughs. They were so happy with the options that Little Baby’s offered, they decided to just stick to the menu. With flavors like Peanut Butter Maple Tarragon and Vanilla Molasses Peanut Chew, we can’t fault them.

Artisan company launched in 2014 that whips up gourmet ice cream cakes from a rotating seasonal menu. thebeeseknees.com

BRULEE BAKERY Gluten-free French bakery that uses natural ingredients like organic sugar, rice flour, local eggs and fruit to make fruit tarts, macarons and other sweet treats. bruleebakery.com

CAKE LIFE BAKE SHOP This winner of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars does small-batch, traditional baking prepared with whole ingredients like seasonal fruit and locally sourced dairy. Their doughs, fillings and frostings are made in-house, and are free of shortening and artificial flavors. cakelifebakeshop.com

HEIRZOOM BAKERY Bakery specializing in fennomes, spiral-rolled, mini fruit-filled pastries originating from Hungary that are prepared with natural, kosher ingredients and come in four flavors: strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and apricot. fennome.com

LITTLE BABY’S ICE CREAM Kensington-based shop that specializes in Philadelphia-style dairy ice cream, as well as vegan ice creams in wacky flavors like cherry hibiscus and balsamic banana. littlebabysicecream.com

NATURALLYSWEET DESSERTS Dairy-free and low-sugar desserts made with fruits and herbs sourced from local Philadelphia farmers. Their menu changes with the season. naturallysweetdesserts.com

THE NIGHT KITCHEN This bakery uses 100 percent butter, local milk and cream, and sources ingredients from Lancaster Farm Fresh in addition to growing their own herbs. nightkitchenbakery.com

PAPA GANACHE Vegan bakery and social service agency that invites children with mental and physical disabilities to volunteer and work.

They use organic and fair trade ingredients, as well as recycled, compostable packaging. papaganache.com

SWEET FREEDOM BAKERY Gluten-free, vegan- and allergy-friendly, Sweet Freedom uses only natural sweeteners and unrefined sugars. sweetfreedombakery.com HoneyLavender Naked Cake

WECKERLY’S ICE CREAM Shortcake Cupcakes

PHOTO BY CARLEY K PHOTOGRAPHY (COUPLE) PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAKE LIFE BAKE SHOP

North Philadelphia “micro creamery” that manages a store for local pick-ups and delivery of ice cream, sandwiches and sorbets. weckerlys.squarespace.com JU NE 2 0 15

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Weddin� ISSUES

Bushkill Falls is known as the “Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania”

Happy Trails Honeymoon escapes without the long trip

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HY HAS THE TRADITION of the honeymoon trip become so fixated on expensive and farflung locations? Traveling after the wedding is a relatively new idea that began in England among upper class couples whose “wedding tour” involved making their way to family who couldn’t attend their nuptials. Since then, it’s become a wedding staple, and 36

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according to Facebook data, Las Vegas and Hawaii are among the most popular destinations. However, the company excluded couples in their survey who checked in from within 20 miles of their home locations.

When it comes to taking some time off together after the wedding, it may be just as relaxing to stay in the Philadelphia area and take advantage of its wealth

of natural beauty, history and adventure. There are trails, inns and expeditions all over the region that will decrease your travel time and increase your downtime.

Whether you’re leaving right after the reception ends, or a week later; whether you just got married, or you just need to get away, these options will help sate your wanderlust and safeguard your wallet.

PHOTO BY ANTHONY QUINTANO

GLASBERN INN This inn sits on a 130-acre 19th century farm, which supplies the inn’s kitchen with freshly grown ingredients. glasbern.com

HIGH POINT STATE PARK, SUSSEX, N.J. High Point Monument is 1,803 feet above sea level and offers spectacular panorama of three states. There are great trails for hikers and skiers and quiet spots for campers and anglers. www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/highpoint.html

LEHIGH GORGE CAMPGROUNDS, WHITE HAVEN, PA

Marlee Sheaffer and Greg Jehanian chose Awbury Arboretum for their nuptials

Hike through the 6,107 acres of vegetation, battle the white caps on the Lehigh River or brave the 22-mile gorge hike. If you need them, modern amenities are just a short walk away. lehighgorgecampground.com

MANAYUNK TERRACE BED & BREAKFAST On top of a hill overlooking the shops of Manayunk, this affordable bed and breakfast offers an ideal staycation. manayunkterrace.com

MUSSER HISTORIC COUNTRY SUITES

MARLEE and GREG In love with the great outdoors

M

ARLEE SHEAFFER and Greg Jehanian got married last year in November at an informal, but large wedding at Awbury Arboretum. “We chose Awbury because it’s an amazing natural resource in that area,” Marlee says. “We also have a nine-year-old daughter who goes to summer camp there. We wanted Awbury to have our money; I love what they do.”

The couple chose to have a non-traditional wedding with no decorations and no sit-down dinner. Instead, they served small bites from Armenian Delight, an Armenian grocery store in Broomall, beer from Sly Fox Brewery and tea service from Random Tea Room. Becky Goldschmidt from Random Tea also created a custom blend of lavender, lemongrass and damiana for the couple, and Marlee and Greg handed them out as wedding favors.

“It was really inexpensive to make and something

HONEYMOON:

people can reuse either as a tea bag or sachet,” says Marlee.

For their honeymoon, the newlyweds stayed close to home. “At that time of year, Pennsylvania is really beautiful. It just didn’t feel necessary to go far away,” Marlee explains. Their trail outlined the border of the Delaware State Forest.

“We found a really lovely, no-frills cabin-style campground in East Stroudsburg, and we went up there for three days,” says Marlee. They then traveled northeast along the Pennsylvania-New Jersey border, hiking for a day in Bushkill Falls and then stopping in Milford to peek into boutiques and local shops. They ended their trip in High Point, New Jersey, which is the highest elevation in the state and offers amazing vistas.

“It was really beautiful,” Marlee says. “We just wanted to be outside as much as possible.”

BATONA TRAIL, WOODLAND TOWNSHIP, N.J.

BUSHKILL FALLS, BUSHKILL, PA

The Pine Barren’s best-known trail, the 50-mile-long Batona Trail, begins its route at Brendan T. Byrne State Forest. Hike through stands of scrub oak, pitch pine and white mountain laurel before exploring the Cedar Swamp Natural Area. This trail offers sightings of deer, waterfowl and raptors. nynjtc.org

Known as the “Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania,” Bushkill Falls is open to the public during the spring, summer and fall. Nestled in the Pocono Mountains, this area boasts cascading waterfalls and the scenic hiking trails. visitbushkillfalls.com

FRENCH CREEK STATE PARK, ELVERSON, PA

BRANDYWINE VALLEY WINE TRAIL Seven wineries located in the hills of Chester County, one hour from downtown Philadelphia. Includes Paradocx Vineyard and Penns Woods Winery, which donates one dollar of every bottle sold to furthering wine and grape research in PA. bvwinetrail.com

Just an hour outside of Philadelphia, this park has 7,730 acres of winding trails. Stake out a campsite or reserve one of the park’s camping cottages, yurts or wood cabins. This park is open year-round. Activities include hiking, boating, swimming, horseback riding, sledding and cross country skiing. dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/frenchcreek

BUCKS COUNTY WINE TRAIL

GATEWAY LODGE COUNTRY INN RESORT & SPA

Nine wineries located just under an hour from Philadelphia, each features wines made exclusively with Pennsylvania-grown grapes. At Peace Valley Winery you can pick your own fruits and vegetables. buckscountywinetrail.com PHOTO BY JESSE MOORE

The Musser family started farming in Lancaster County in 1722.

They offer organic suites that boast only organic products, from detergents to cleaning and bath products. They also do not use chemicals on their gardens, flower beds or lawns. mussershistoriccountrysuites.com

NOCKAMIXON STATE PARK, QUAKERTOWN, PA Just over an hour drive from the city, in the heart of Bucks County, the 5,286-acre Nockamixon State Park surrounds the Nockamixon River. This park has activities like biking, hiking and horseback riding. dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/nockamixon

PARVIN STATE PARK, PITTSGROVE, N.J. Less than an hour away, this state park boasts over 2,000 acres of pine and hardwood forests, as well as two lakes, multiple campgrounds and 15 miles of hiking trails. Enjoy boating and fishing, or try the moderate five-mile trail, which crosses two wooden bridges and twists and turns through marshland and forest, ending at the waters of Muddy Run and Thundergust Brook. www.state.nj.us

RAYSTOWN LAKE, HUNTINGDON COUNTY, PA Enjoy mountain biking at this 8,000-acre man-made lake. Bike through three hilly loops for a total of 30 miles, and then camp out at the Seven Points Campground, which includes lakefront options. Raystown also offers 12 public access areas, picnic areas, beaches, boat launches and fishing. raystownlake.com

RICKETTS GLEN STATE PARK, BENTON, PA There are 26 miles of trails in this park, but the kicker is Falls Trail, a challenging 7.2-mile loop with sightings of two dozen waterfalls. Of the 120 in-park campsites, 26 face the 245-acre Lake Jean, which is open seasonly for boating and swimming. dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/rickettsglen

WHARTON STATE FOREST, HAMMONTON, N.J. Explore the Pine Barrens by canoeing these meandering waterways. Stop at the numerous traditional campgrounds on the waterway or rough it at the Mullica River or Lower Forge campgrounds, which are only accessible by water and cost $3 a night for state residents. www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/wharton.html

This luxury lodge in Pennsylvania’s Cook Forest. Provides “Farm to Forest” dining with selections of in-season foods creatively prepared and sustainably sourced. gatewaylodge.com

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Local | Farm-to-Table Fresh | Organic

CONTACT ChefPeg@cosmicfoods.com 610-324-5256 NOW for YOUR fresh menu!

WWW.SHANNONCOLLINS.COM

Hold your next event at the

Ethical Society

1906 S. Rittenhouse Sq. email: rentals@phillyethics.org

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Saturday, June 6th, 1 - 4 PM West Laurel Hill 215 Belmont Ave., Bala Cynwyd, PA Tour Nature’s Sanctuary Meet sustainability vendors Family-friendly activities View the Eco-Goats in action!

Learn Learn more more at at http://www.sbnphiladelphia.org/events http://www.sbnphiladelphia.org/events (Rain date is June 7th)

Helping creatively-driven businesses grow & succeed

bookkeeping • business plans • operations elysianfieldsphila.com

e finest sustainably raised fruits and specialty vegetables available at Headhouse Farmers Market (Sundays 10-2) and at like-minded stores and restaurants throughout the city.

FROM OUR FARM TO YOUR HOME 717.677.7186

R

www.threespringsfruitfarm.com

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LANSDOWNE Friends SCHOOL

Big ideas. Small school.

Pre-K through 6th grade, located 15 minutes from University City

610-623-2548

Event Florals

www.f loreatdesignstudio.com

we s

hip

nati

onw

Custom Cookies

Natural Wedding Photography Life is beautiful, we photograph it!

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inquire@lansdownefriendsschool.org

www.lansdownefriendsschool.org

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Booking for 2016 & 2017 *limited openings for 2015

ide!

JUNE

Headhouse Farmers Market

Come out every Sunday to the historic Society Hill neighborhood and browse the offerings of more than 40 vendors. One of The Food Trust’s largest farmers markets, Headhouse offers fresh produce, locally-prepared foods and goods such as soups, ice cream, coffee and wine. →→ Throughout the summer, Sun., 10 a.m. to 2

p.m. 2nd St. and Lombard St. thefoodtrust.org Headhouse farmers market in Old City opened on May 3 and will be open every Sunday throughout the summer

JUN

Future Sensations

Join the Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation for a never-before-seen global exhibition on its only U.S. tour stop. Future Sensations will have five distinct ephemeral pavilions that take visitors on a journey celebrating the past three-anda-half centuries. Visit the beer garden and local food trucks to purchase refreshments.

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→→ To Sat., June 6, 12 to 10 p.m. Free. The Oval, 2451

Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. theovalphl.org

JUN

Henry Got Crops Farmstand

Get produce from the Henry Got Crops farm at Saul High School in Philadelphia. You can also pick up your favorite staples from Weavers Way Co-op (including local eggs, meat, dairy, bread and fruit) at this twice-a-week farmers market. Open Tuesdays, 2 to 7 p.m., Fridays 2 to 6 p.m., through October.

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→→ Tues., June 2, 2 to 7 p.m. 7095 Henry Ave.

weaversway.coop/weavers-way-farms-produce

JUN

Meadow-Inspired Gardening

Learn how to create and maintain your own meadow-inspired garden and walk away with practical design ideas. Instructor Jonathan Wright will begin with a walk highlighting the various meadow areas of Chanticleer and then go into demonstrations for plant placement, ratios of plants, and connecting vision to installation.

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→→ Wed., June 3, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. $20 for

PHS members, $25 for non-members.

Chanticleer, 786 Church Rd., Wayne, Pa. www.pennhort.net/chanticleer

JUN

South Philly Green Drinks

Ask questions, network with professionals and have a drink with friends who share your commitment to living sustainably. All shades of green are welcome and encouraged to attend.

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→→ Wed., June 3, 6 to 8 p.m. Bridget Foy’s, 2nd St. and

South St. greenlimbs.com

JUN

Guests are welcome to bring in their damaged or inoperative possessions to have a capable volunteer fixer get them back to working condition. →→ Thurs., June 4, 6 to 8 p.m. Free. Shissler Recreation

Center, 1800 Blair St. phillyfixersguild.org/calendar

Join The Head & The Hand Press for the First Friday release of The Corn Belt Almanac. The Almanac features stories about food and farming from local and national authors. There will be farm tours, live music, food, literary readings and beer donated by Victory Brewing Company. →→ Fri, June 5, 7 to 11 p.m. Free. 2312 Emerald St.

facebook.com/TheHeadAndTheHandPress

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June Workshops for Registered Community Organizations (RCOs)

This workshop will walk you through the approvals process for Philadelphia construction projects and the roles of the Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Department of Licenses and Inspections, and RCOs. →→ Fri, June 5, 12:30 to 2 p.m. and Mon., June 8, 6 to

7:30 p.m.. 1515 Arch St., 18th Fl., Rm 18029.phila. gov/CityPlanning/projectreviews/Pages/ RegisteredCommunityOrganizations.aspx

PHOTO BY ALBERT YEE

Wyck’s farmers market runs from late May through November. At the market, you can find a variety of chemical-free fruits and vegetables harvested from the Home Farm just hours before the market, as well as Philly Foodworks’ local produce and baked goods.

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→→ Fri., June 5 through Nov. 20, 2 to 6 p.m. Wyck

JUN

2nd Annual Philly VegFest

Join in the celebration of a vegetarian lifestyle and enjoy a free day of live music, cooking demos, food and more. There will be speakers, a kids section and a dog section.

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→→ Sat., June 6, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. Headhouse

Market, 2nd St. and Lombard St. phillyvegfest.org

Book Release and Farm Party

5

JUN

Wyck Farmers Market

House, 6026 Germantown Ave. wyck.org/farm

Repair Fair #5

4

JUN

JUN

JUN 6

National Trails Day Hike at Crossways Preserve

Celebrate National Trails Day at Crossways Preserve, the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association’s most ecologically diverse tract of preserved land. Crossways offers an array of habitats, from restored meadows of native grasses and wildflowers to historic woodlands. →→ Sat., June 6, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Free. Registration

preferred; register at wvwa.org. Crossways Preserve, Plymouth Rd., Blue Bell, Pa.

JUN

Community eCycling Drop-off Event

Sustainable 19125 + 19134 will be collecting computer towers, keyboards, personal electronics, small appliances, laptops and cell phones for free. Batteries, computer screens and TVs can be recycled for a small donation.

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→→ Thurs. June, 6 to 8 p.m. Shissler Recreation Center,

1800 Blair St. sustainable19125and19134.org

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Weavers Way Community Programs is throwing its second hoedown at Awbury Arboretum

JUN

2nd Annual Hoedown

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Kick off the summer with a farmto-table hoedown. Tickets include dinner, drinks and a tax-deductible donation to benefit the farm, as well as nutrition education for children and families at Weavers Way Community Programs (WWCP). →→ Sat., June 13, 6 to 9 p.m. Register at

weaversway.coop/hoedown. Weavers Way Farm at Awbury Arboretum, 1011 E. Washington Ln. weaversway.coop

JUN

Garden Discovery Series

Did you know that most of the fresh food found in supermarkets comes from plants? Families are invited to come out to the discovery table and conduct a supermarket botany investigation.

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→→ Sat., June 6, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free. 100 E. North-

western Ave. morrisarboretum.org

JUN 9

Members’ Annual Spring Flower Show and Movie Showing

Join the Horticultural Society of South Jersey for a screening of NOVA’s First Flower, a detective story that looks into the origins of Earth’s most stunning plants, during their annual spring flower show judging. →→ Tues., June 9, 7 p.m. Carmen Tilelli Community

Center, 820 Mercer St., Cherry Hill, N.J. HSSJ.org

JUN

Summer Screenings on the Terrace

Visit the Institute of Contemporary Art for musical performances and a dream stenographer in the gallery, followed by outdoor screenings of short films that meditate on themes of home and community, selected by Maori Holmes, director of BlackStar Film Festival.

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→→ Wed., June 10, 6:30 to 10 p.m. Free. Institute of

Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, 118 S. 36th St. icaphila.org/programs

JUN 11

23rd Annual Haddonfield Crafts and Fine Art Festival

At this outdoor festival, you can enjoy a wide range of arts and crafts, including ceramics, jewelry, paintings, photography and wearable art. Area restaurants will set up outdoor cafés, and there will be musicians and face painters to entertain attendees. →→ Sat., July 11, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sun., July 12, 12 to

5 p.m. Free. Kings Highway and Tanner St., Haddonfield, N.J. downtownhaddonfield.com

JUN 12

Stardust! Natural Lands Trust’s Annual Summer Celebration

Gather under a combination of the constellation Bootes (the “Celestial Farmer”), Saturn and Venus for an evening of cocktails and local farm-to-table edibles at Natural Lands Trust’s Stroud Preserve in West Chester. The evening’s proceeds will be used to advance the Natural Lands Trust’s efforts. →→ Fri., June 12, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Register at

JUN 13

StrawBeary Surprise & Art in Nature Festival

Celebrate one of summer’s sweetest fruits and honor Camden Children’s Garden’s mascot on her eighth birthday. This event will include nature crafts and a planting activity. →→ Sat., June 13 and Sun., June 14, 1 to 4 p.m. Camden

Children’s Garden, 3 Riverside Dr., Camden, N.J. CamdenChildrensGarden.org

JUN 13

Raptor’s Delight with Hawk Mountain Sanctuary

Join the Director of Education at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary for an in-depth look at amazing birds of prey. She’ll explain the history of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and why raptors are so abundant there during migration. →→ Sat., June 13, 10 to 11:30 a.m.$6 for adult members,

$4 for children; $10 for adult non-members, $8 for children. Register by calling 215-862-2924. Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, 1635 River Rd. New Hope, Pa. bhwp.org

natlands.org/donate/summercelebration. Stroud Preserve, 454 N. Creek Rd., West Chester, Pa.

the pre-Finished Hardwood specialist since 1985 Environmentally-Friendly Wood Floors, Naturally Buy from a local Philly homeowner and SAVE!

(800) 363-6881 Materials

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installation

repairs

JUN

43rd Annual American Cancer Society Bike-a-thon

JUN

Artist Walk and Talk with Jae Ko

Be a part of this 65-mile bike ride that begins on the Ben Franklin Bridge, rides through the back roads of New Jersey and ends in Atlantic City. Riders raise more than $1 million each year for the American Cancer Society. Cancer survivors are honored with a blue ribbon cutting to start the event and a ceremony at the endpoint.

Join exhibiting artist Jae Ko for a Walk and Talk, presented by the Grounds for Sculpture in collaboration with the International Sculpture Center. She will discuss Force of Nature, her 80-foot-long sculptural relief created from 20,000 pounds of recycled Kraft paper in the East Gallery, as well as other works. A reception will follow.

→→ Sun., June 14, 6:30 a.m. $80 until June 1, $100

→→ Wed., June 17, 6 to 8:30 p.m. $15. Register

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after. Ben Franklin Bridge. acsbike.org

JUN

Fifth Annual Burger Brawl

Over 60 local restaurants will compete for this important honor: the best burger. The event raises funds to increase literacy through technology for Philadelphia children.

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→→ Sun., June 14, 3 to 6 p.m. $35 for general admission,

$100 for VIP. Register at phillyburgerbrawl.com.

XFINITY Live!, 1100 Pattison Ave.

JUN

Top 10 Wildflowers

Learn about 10 of the most durable and easy-to-grow perennials for your garden and take home a shopping list.

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→→ Wed., June 17, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. $15. Register

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at: sculpture.org/isconnects. Grounds For Sculpture, 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, N.J. groundsforsculpture.org

JUN

Dry Gardening

Lisa Roper will lead a walk exploring the many layers of the Gravel Garden at Chanticleer. The plants to be discussed are characterized by low and rapid growth, high drought tolerance and low maintenance. You will learn how a diversity of bloom times, flower color and seasonal interest is choreographed in the gravel bed. Bring a notebook and dress for the weather.

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→→ Wed., June 17, 6 to 8 p.m. $20 for PHS members,

JUN

Dirt! The Movie

GMO Free NJ kicks off their summer film festival with the award winning film Dirt! The Movie. Filmmakers Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow will introduce you to the fascinating history of the soil right beneath your feet.

There will also be a door prize and refreshments.

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→→ Thurs., June 18, 6:30 p.m. Free. Regis-

tration requested; register by emailing gmofreenj@gmail.com. Collingswood Library, 771 Haddon Ave., Collingswood, N.J. GMOFreeNJ.com

JUN

The Wonders of Water

Naturalist Mary Anne Borge and Education Coordinator Kelly Joslin team up to help you explore the flora and fauna of local aquatic habitats, including ponds and riparian and ephemeral pools. Compare and contrast who and what lives in each habitat. In the forest, search for ebony jewelwings, at the ponds, hunt for bogbean, iris and spatterdock.

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→→ Sat., June 20, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. $4 for members,

$6 for non-members. Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, 1635 River Rd., New Hope, Pa. bhwp.org

$25 for non-members. Chanticleer, 786 Church Rd., Wayne, Pa. www.pennhort.net/chanticleer

by emailing education@mtcubacenter.org. Mt. Cuba Center, 3120 Barley Mill Rd., Hockessin, Del. mtcubacenter.org

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Students will get the chance to make fruit sing during Hacktory Summer Camp

JUN

Hacktory Summer Camp

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In week one, students will learn to make instruments with a variety of objects, such as PVC pipe organs, cigar box electric guitars and garden hose clarinets. In week two, students get to make fruits sing and build mini solar greenhouses with temperature sensors. →→ Mon., June 22 to Fri., June 26 and Mon., June 29 to Fri., July 3, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Register at: thehacktory.

org/learn/summer-camp. 3711 Market St. thehacktory.org

JUN

Garden Water Feature Demo

Learn how to make your own water feature for your garden. Look at a few styles of water feature and learn how to construct your own from start to finish. Get tips on assembly, care and maintenance.

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→→ Sat., June 20, 12 to 2 p.m. Register: greensgrow.

org/event/garden-water-feature-demo. Greensgrow Farms, 2501 E. Cumberland St.

JUN

Festival de Aibonito, Puerto Rico

Enjoy the beauty of tropical plants inside the Plaza de Aibonito, Puerto Rico.

This colorful cultural celebration includes Hispanic arts and crafts, games and tropical fruit.

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→→ Sat., June 20, 12 to 4 p.m. Camden Chil-

dren’s Garden, 3 Riverside Dr., Camden, N.J. CamdenChildrensGarden.org

JUN

Creating a Container Garden

Design and mold your own hypertufa cement container using a method similar to the sculpture casting process. Participants will explore planting options that highlight the unique containers that are created. Soil, light and composition for your particular container will be discussed. Cost includes all materials.

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→→ Sat., June 20 and 27, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. $125 for

members, $145 for non-members. Grounds for Sculpture, 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, N.J. groundsforsculpture.org

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JUN

STEAMpunk Expo

Discover the alternative aesthetic of steampunk, where a reimagined past creates a fantastic future. Enjoy a day of scienceoriented events, fashion, music, food and fun.

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→→ Sun., June 21, 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Register at

morrisarboretum.ticketleap.com/admin/events/ steampunk-expo. 100 E. Northwestern Ave.

JUN 21

Shtetl Skills: Small-Scale Intensive Vegetable Production

Learn how to prepare beds for planting, when to plant different vegetables, and easy methods of improving soil fertility and controlling insect pressure with biodiversity. You will also learn to build and plant a vertical growing column. →→ Sun. June 21, 1 to 4 p.m. $10. Registration required;

register at jewishfarmschool.org/shtetl. 5020 Cedar Ave.

JUN

Firefly Magic

Come on a magical journey to learn about a whimsical creature: the firefly.

After a short discussion on firefly life history, you can decorate a catcher and then head out into the night to catch some twinkling bugs. Let this program bring out the kid in you.

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→→ Thurs., June 25, 7:30 to 9 p.m. $6 for adult mem-

bers, $4 for children; $8 for adult non-members, $6 for children. Register by calling 215-862-2924.

Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, 1635 River Rd., New Hope, Pa. bhwp.org

JUN

Wedding Tasting Event

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Engaged couples are welcome to join The Beese Knees for a complimentary tasting of some of their most popular ice cream cake flavors. They’ll be serving treats from their vintage ice cream cart, alongside some of their favorite local wedding vendors. Light snacks and refreshments will also be provided. →→ Sun., June 28. 1 to 4 p.m. Free. Registration required; register at thebeeseknees.eventbrite.com.

3701 Spring Garden St. thebeeseknees.com

JUN

Moths – The Silent Majority

Discover the mysterious creatures of the night that fly under the cover of darkness. Learn about the variety of moths and butterflies found in the Wissahickon Watershed.

Light refreshments will be provided.

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→→ Fri., June 26, 7 to 9 p.m. $5 for WVWA members,

$10 for non-members. Penllyn Woods Community Building, 1227 Township Line Rd., Penllyn, Pa. wvwa.org/calendar

JUN

Butterfly Walk

Join the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association to discover the varieties of butterflies that can be found on Willow Lake Farm. A brief talk about meadow ecology will be followed by a natural history tour.

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→→ Sat., June 27, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. $5 for WVWA mem-

bers, $10 for non-members.Willow Lake Farm, W. Butler Ave., Ambler, Pa. wvwa.org/calendar

JUN

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Schuylkill Center 50th Anniversary Picnic

Celebrate the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education’s 50th anniversary with a summer picnic. Enjoy an evening of crafts, live music, animal shows, nature hikes and more.

Play games, make a seed bomb and add your thoughts to a time capsule. →→ Sat., June 27, 5 to 8:30 p.m. $15. Register at:

50yearspicnic.bpt.me. Schuylkill Center, 8480 Hagy’s Mill Rd. schuylkillcenter.org

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BEESE KNEES

JUN

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Medicinal Herb Tinctures with HerbanMomma

Ever wanted to make your own herbal extracts? It’s easier than you think and now is the perfect time of year. HerbanMomma Kristin O’Malley will teach you how to make high-quality herbal tinctures using the herbs you can find all around you this summer. This class will cover the methodology of tincture making, including fresh and dry plant extracts and glycerites, and includes an in-depth discussion of the plants and their uses. →→ Sat., June 27, 12 to 2 p.m. Register:

greensgrow.org/event/medicinal-herbs. Greensgrow Community Kitchen, St. Michael’s Lutheran Church, 2139 E. Cumberland St.

JUN

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Co-ops and Social Justice Book Club Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe,

The Beese Knees makes gourmet ice cream cakes for local weddings

JUN

Raw Vegetarian Food with Atiya Ola

Atiya Ola’s Spirit First Foods is dedicated to assisting families to realign minds, bodies and spirits with the Divine through unprocessed foods. In a hands-on workshop, Atiya Ola will demonstrate and assist attendees in the simple preparation of raw vegetables, marinades, dressings, beverages and desserts.

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→→ Tues., June 30, 6 to 8 p.m. Free. RSVP

to education@mariposa.coop. Mariposa Food Coop, 4824 Baltimore Ave. mariposa.coop/events

tells two intertwining stories, both of which center on Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first traces Okonkwo’s fall from grace with his tribal world, and is a powerful fable about the conflict between the individual and society. The second story concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo’s world through the arrival of European missionaries.

Families are invited to discover how artists have been inspired by nature. The collection will come to life through gallery explorations, studio art creations and imaginative play for visitors of all ages. Museum admission for kids 12 and under is always free.

→→ Sun., June 28, 12 to 2 p.m. Free. RSVP to

→→ To Mon., Sept. 7, Tues. through Sun., 10 a.m.to

education@mariposa.coop. Mariposa Food Co-op, 4824 Baltimore Ave. mariposa.coop/events

JUN

Art Splash

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5 p.m., Wed. until 7 p.m. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. philamuseum.org/artsplash

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A Simple Affair Wedding planning, not the proposal, brought them to their knees.

But a commitment to simplicity and a Quaker ceremony helped their love rise above. by katherine gajewski

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n a summer day in Washington Square Park, I exchanged rings in a made-up co-proposal with my now-husband, Ben, and we began our wedding planning adventure.

Initially everything was on the table: a small ceremony followed by a family dinner; a weekend celebration at a beloved lake; a trip abroad; a party. Ultimately, we decided that we wanted our wedding to be an extension of our life together, so a Philly wedding it would be.

I can plan with the best of them. At work, I have conceived of and organized major events, including the City Hall Open House and the Philly Spring Cleanup. With that experience under my belt, I assured myself that a little evening thing for 130 would be no problem. Yet

somehow figuring out the logistics for 15,000 volunteers had paled in comparison to nailing down a single uncle’s hotel plans. We were “on top of it,” but there went another weekend spent in front of dueling laptops updating endless lists.

Why had I so quickly dismissed Ben’s pitch to elope to Gibraltar?! I won’t lie: there were times that wedding planning brought me to my knees.

In an effort to minimize the second-guessing and overthinking, we agreed to go with our first idea for each decision along the way. We more or less succeeded. Bartram’s Garden is a place we both love, and it was the first and only site we looked into. A Saturday in June was available.

Done. A thought to have a block party welcome dinner quickly turned into a more feasible version: pizza and beer under the Shambles at

Headhouse Square down the street. Don’t look back.

Making an effort at sustainability was important to us. Sadly, no amount of recycled Mason jars or compostable plates can offset the environmental impact of having friends and family travel to be there for your special day, but we did what we could, where we could. Finding vendors who were open to working with us made it all the easier. We composted at the Friday night dinner and Bennett Compost was kind enough to accept a larger-than-normal collection from our stoop the next week. We chose a caterer who already sourced locally as much as possible, so our guests enjoyed bread from Metropolitan Bakery, coffee from La Colombe, and Bassett’s ice cream on top of their fruit pie. Just like in our normal life, a little bit of forethought meant we were able to incorporate sustainability in make-sense ways. We figured that if we were going to spend a bunch of money, it might as well go to organizations and businesses we like and were happy to support. Thinking about it like that made the mass outward migration of dollars seem a little less stressful. We even found a Philly-made tie for Ben. Simplicity was key. I tried to limit my exposure to magazines and blogs so as not to get crazy ideas in my head for extra things to add on. “Keep it simple” was our mantra. (That and the less poetic, “No one cares!”) Keeping it simple also meant that there was just less stuff to buy and dispose of, and it kept us true to our own vision.

After all the local beer has been imbibed and the seasonal flowers have died, what you have left are your vows. Ben was raised Quaker and we had a Quaker wedding. The ceremony was far and away the part we enjoyed thinking about and experiencing the most. In the midst of all the planning, it was the most important part, and one that we couldn’t control at all. We sat in the silence of meeting for worship, surrounded by our friends and family, and meditated on who we are and the life we hope to build together. We committed ourselves to our community, to supporting each other in pursuing meaningful work, to contributing to the change we want to see.

We have our wedding certificate hung in our house, a daily reminder of that most special day —and a celebration of the fact that we never have to plan a wedding again! katherine gajewki is the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability in Philadelphia.

She lives in Queen Village with her husband Ben, a teacher at the Philadelphia School.

Each month, Dispatch features personal reflections on adventures in sustainability. Have a story you’d like to share? E-mail getinvolved@gridphilly.com 46

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The paTienT idealisT

An environmentalist is making big waves with small initiatives.

Julian Goresko Master of Environmental Studies ’14, University of Pennsylvania To read about how Julian is now transforming waste management and composting on Penn’s Campus, visit www.upenn.edu/grid

Julian Goresko (Master of Environmental Studies ’14) understands the importance of small wins. As Sustainability Outreach Manager at Penn, Julian is working to shift the behaviors of thousands of employees and students. To do so, he says, “It’s really important to put personal beliefs aside and look for where the institution is ready to grow.”

To better identify and take advantage of those opportunities, Julian completed his undergraduate work in environmental studies at Penn and then sought out an individualized MES concentration in business and sustainability. He studied consumer marketing at Wharton and nonprofit leadership at Fels, seeking to understand the psychology of institutional change.

Staff from Penn’s MES program are here to answer your questions face-to-face on the second Wednesday of each month.

Walk right in.

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His studies, Julian says, helped him to “to learn to apply idealism in a business context. I now know that small wins become big wins. If you’re in it for the long haul, you have the ability to make a huge impact.”

www.upenn.edu/grid

www.facebook.com/UPennEES

@PENN_EES