Grid Magazine October 2014 [#066]

Susta i n abl e Ph i l a d elp hi a

Lip Service

Beeswax balm fit for a queen

Globetrotter

Why I walked across the United States

OCTOber 2014 / issue #66 gridphilly.com

Birdland The case for legalizing backyard chickens in Philadelphia (again)

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Track changes Make goals, and then go public

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t the behest of my 13-year-old niece, I recently downloaded a fitness app. Because she’s a swell kid, I spared her my usual rant about smartphones being the end of civilization and gave it a shot. Much to my surprise, I loved the app. Instantly, I could look at data from my workout: the length of the run, the speed (I use the term loosely) of each mile and an estimation of the calories burned. Satellites in the sky were finally put to good use by tracking the route of my run and then providing me with a map of it. Pretty slick.

The app also encourages setting goals. When I met the modest goal I set, it sent me a message of congratulations. Thank you, my faceless friend!

Perhaps more importantly, you can automatically share your goals and progress through social media. If you’ve ever made a public declaration of a commitment, you know how incredibly motivating that can be.

In 2009, Mayor Michael Nutter announced Greenworks, the city’s plan to become the greenest city in America by 2015. The document, updated annually, provides measurable targets for reducing the city’s energy usage, increasing local food production, planting more trees and improving stormwater management—to name just a few areas the comprehensive plan covers—and then timelines to achieve them. With data collected for 166 initiatives, you can think of this as the City’s sustainability app.

The city government wants to improve where we live—the reasons for that are obvious—and then wants the world to know about it. Why? So talented people want to stay here, or move here, and businesses think they can attract talented people by headquartering their businesses here.

Our cover story about the case for legalizing backyard chickens begins with a story about a couple. Bailey Hale and his husband Thomas McCurdy are the type of talented and entrepreneurial folks this city needs to thrive. Unfortunately, they were made to feel unwelcome because they kept chickens, which are illegal, and they left.

They have since founded a beautiful farm in Vermont to fully pursue their agrarian dreams.

Perhaps their ambitions would have led them to leave eventually, but maybe they would have

publisher

Alex Mulcahy alex@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 102 managing editor

Sara Schwartz sara@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 103 art director

Danni Sinisi danni@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 112 distribution / ad sales

Jesse Kerns jesse@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 100 Drew Brightbill drew@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 114 copy editor

Andrew Bonazelli junior designer

Corey Jameson interns

Jack Braunstein Frances Dumlao Sylvie Luzio writers

channeled their creativity and passion for local produce and handmade treats into a business here in Philadelphia.

Perhaps what we need is an app developed to measure all the ways backyard chickens benefit the city. The food miles saved, the waste reduced, the chemicals not needed for fertilizer, all metered out one day, one chicken, at a time. Or maybe that already exists. I’ll ask my niece.

Bernard Brown Samantha Drake Paul Glover Emily Kovach Emily Teel Lindsey Walker photographers

Jen Britton Sahar Coston-Hardy Megan Gray Dan Murphy Gene Smirnov Jasmine Tara illustrators

alex j. mulcahy, Publisher alex@gridphilly.com

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community

Engaging Personality

Bartram's Garden volunteer Mary Armstrong says the historic site has "something for everybody."

Mary Armstrong expands Bartram's Garden network

by Lindsey Walker Longtime Bartram’s Garden volunteer Mary Armstrong says she EVERYDAY HERO especially loves engaging visitors from the Southwest Philadelphia neighborhoods that surround the garden. “I like the fact that you can get people who just stumble in with their bikes, start talking to them, engaging them,” she says. “It’s a place of refuge. It’s important to keep it here—not just as a piece of history, but as a place for people to go.”

Since volunteering in 2009 at Bartram’s as a community ambassador, Armstrong has inspired many to become members of the 45-acre urban oasis and former home to one of America’s first botanists, John Bartram.

“Mary began by lending a hand at our monthly clean-ups, but she quickly came into her own as one of our most passionate and articulate community ambassadors,” emails Kim Massare, communications manager at Bartram’s Garden.

“She has a special knack for expanding our network of members and her dedication over the years has been a true gift.”

Armstrong, a former WXPN DJ, has written about music for the Philadelphia City Paper, and is also an active member of Philadelphia’s folk music scene and volunteers at several West Philadelphia nonprofits, including UC Green and The Woodlands.

Armstrong regularly volunteers during Bartram’s special events, urging visitors to support the garden by becoming members. She also

spurred Bartram’s to offer a volunteer-yourmembership option so visitors without money to spare could still be full members of the community. Bartram’s now offers volunteers who dedicate at least 10 hours of service per year a complimentary membership at the Gardener level, which includes free tours of the historic home, access to educational programs and membersonly events, a 10 percent discount to the plant and garden shops, and reciprocal admissions to other American Horticultural Society gardens.

Alison McDowell, Bartram’s membership coordinator, estimates that Armstrong has inspired dozens of new members to join. “She’s never met a stranger,” McDowell says. “Mary is very talented

in looking at people and telling what they might be interested in in the garden, and then catering the benefits [of membership] to that.”

After learning that one young visitor from Ohio had a special interest in archaeology, Armstrong shared that a recent archaeological dig on the site turned up remnants of a 5,000-year old village. She urged him to ask Joel Fry, Bartram’s curator, for a tour of the dig site, and sent him to check out the historic stone apple press set into the riverbank.

“We’ve got something for everybody,” she says. “There’s a lot of history that has been continuously bubbling up here. If you come around and do some work here, you can claim it, too. You help to make sure that it survives.”

SALUTES Southwest Water Pollution Control Plant Six different types of permeable pavers were installed this summer in the Southwest Water Pollution Control Plant’s employee parking lot, and will be monitored and tested to determine their role for future projects around the city, including porous asphalt, several forms of pervious concrete and permeable paver products. Funded by the Philadelphia Water Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, the project will help advance strategies under the city’s nationally renowned Green City, Clean Waters stormwater management plan.

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Parent-Infant Center

Parent-Infant Center recently earned national certification as a Nature Explore Classroom for its Magic Circle Nature Playground from Dimensions Educational Research Foundation and the Arbor Day Foundation. Parent-Infant Center joins a growing network of organizations that have created effective nature-based outdoor learning environments for children. Nature Explore Classrooms are part of the Nature Explore program, developed in response to the growing disconnect between children and the outdoors. The classrooms, which are being developed across the country, offer interactive elements such as musical instruments made of natural materials, garden or pathway areas, and natural materials for building and creating art.

TEC-CDC

This fall, the Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation (TEC-CDC) will launch a new pop-up restaurant incubator, Common Table. Common Table is part of TEC-CDC’s effort to develop a complete local food system in West Philadelphia, using food as a means to spur economic development, create jobs for local residents, and increase the consumption of healthy food in and around the Walnut Hill community. At Common Table, aspiring restaurateurs, creative chefs and local food pioneers can test their chops, backed by professional support, to get from concept to creation.

photo by Da n Murphy

IN · SIGHT Dilworth Park 6 AM - 1 AM

Broad & Market Streets ; West Side of City Hall

Park It After seven years, Dilworth Park (formerly Dilworth Plaza) reopened in September. Looking to reestablish William Penn’s original Center Square, the $55 million revamp features a fountain, café, large glass entrances to SEPTA transit and soon an expansive Great Lawn, public art installation and walkways to South Penn Square.

The project’s design team was led by Urban Engineers, and included architects from KieranTimberlake and landscape architects from OLIN, which planned the park to have a number of sustainable elements, including the 11,600-square-foot computer-programmable shallow fountain, which uses recycled rainwater and will be transformed into an ice rink in the winter.

The entire park was designed to allow stormwater to be collected, filtered and reused for irrigation, eliminating the need for potable water.

Seventy-six new trees were planted around the park, increasing the existing tree canopy by 26 percent, and the two 96-foot-long glass pavilions will allow daylight into the concourse level, reducing the need for artificial lighting. Approximately 12,000 square feet of granite pavement and 5,000 square feet of wall finish in the new concourse was reused from the old Dilworth Plaza. The park and concourse were also designed with the most effective passive heating and cooling strategies in mind.

Hungry visitors can enjoy Cuban fare at the Rosa Blanca café

by Jose Garces, and events and activities are planned throughout the year, including a beer garden for Oktoberfest. photos by sa h a r costo n- h a rdy fo r O LI N

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community

Oxford Mills, a residential and commercial development, is a renovated former dye works factory.

High Class

Educators receive discounts at Oxford Mills' mixed-use apartments in South Kensington by Samantha Drake

L

afeesah Waalee’s fell in love with the exposed brick of Oxford Mills apartments in South Kensington, but what sealed the deal for her was the opportunity to live among a community of educators—and at a discounted rate.

Oxford Mills, a residential and commercial development billed as “an urban oasis” for teachers and nonprofits, offers living and working space to educators and “progressive, culturally-minded Philadelphians.”

Waalee, 22, says the idea of living in a community of educators was a selling point. “I’m very excited about it because of all the resources that are right here,” she says. A graduate of John Bartram High School who earned a degree from Lincoln University earlier this year, Waalee just embarked on a two-year commitment with Teach for America (TFA) as a math specialist at the Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School.

She already knows at least four other TFA teachers living at Oxford Mills.

Philadelphia-based D3 Real Estate Development and Seawall Development Co. of Baltimore restored and renovated the former dye works factory, parts of which date to 1873. D3 Real Estate principal Gabe Canuso says they transformed one of the two brick buildings into 114 apartments, and the other into 36,000 square 10

gr idph il ly.co m o c to BE R 2014

feet of office space for nonprofit organizations and other tenants.

On the commercial side, Oxford Mills’ tenants include TFA, which moved its regional headquarters there over the summer, Education Design Studio, Artwell and Education Plus.

Also housed at Oxford Mills are Glory Yoga and Gryphon Coffee Co., which are open to the public as well as tenants. Communal amenities for commercial tenants include conference rooms, a kitchen, break room and a courtyard sitting area. Oxford Mills held its grand opening in July, and in August, residents began moving in. More than half of the apartments are earmarked for teachers, and those working in the Philadelphia region get a discount on their rent. The one-bedroom units rent for $1,295 per month, or $925 to $975 per month after the teacher discount. The two-bedroom units go for $1,995 a month, or $1,495 to $1,595 after the discount.

Residents have access to an on-site resource center, fitness center, parking and electric carcharging stations. A program of social events, and indoor and outdoor common areas, encourage after-hours interaction. The apartments’ industrial design of exposed ductwork, 14-foot ceilings, hardwood floors and plenty of light are a draw, too.

Ben Finkelstein, 30, who started teaching English at ASPIRA Olney Charter High School

this fall, says he found the community aspect of Oxford Mills very appealing. Living in an apartment building with teachers, “represents an opportunity to create a community dedicated to positive social change in a field that desperately needs rethinking,” he says.

The Philadelphia School District is supportive of Oxford Mills’ teacher-friendly policies and its potential to create a vibrant community of educators. Paul Kihn, Deputy Superintendent of the School District, says Oxford Mills’ education focus piqued his interest, prompting him to meet with the developers to learn more.

Oxford Mills’ supportive atmosphere for teachers is an example of what the school district would like to see established on a broader level to attract and retain talented educators, Kihn says.

“It fits squarely with what we believe needs to be happening in the city.”

To learn more about Oxford Mills, visit theoxfordmills.com .

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Green living

Sweet Cheeks

Rebourne’s upcycled and reusable diapers keep babies’ bums dry and reduce waste

by Emily Kovach

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few times each year, Marni Duffy spends the day digging through bins of old thrift store sweaters at a warehouse outside of New York City. She looks for just the right type of soft, untreated merino wool to haul back to Philadelphia. There, in the tiny basement workshop of her Fishtown rowhome, she’ll give new life to the sweaters by turning them into handsewn cloth diaper covers for Rebourne Clothing.

Wool is a great material to use, the mother of three says, because it can absorb up to one-third of its weight in moisture without feeling wet, is naturally antimicrobial and it neutralizes odors.

“Some wool is scratchy, but I only use organic fibers that are really nice, and breathable against the skin,” she says.

Changing diapers is often a messy, tedious job that, due to the prevalent usage of disposable diapers, also wreaks havoc on the planet.

Disposable diapers account for up to 30 percent of non-biodegradable waste in landfills and can take up to 450 years to break down, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Because of this, there is a growing community of parents and caretakers who are choosing reusable options.

Duffy, 31, is one such parent, who turned her passion for sustainability into a business. In 2009, she launched Rebourne Clothing. She makes and sells wool diaper covers she calls “Woolie Wraps,” wool pants and shorts that double as diaper covers; organic cloth diaper inserts; and other accessories for mama and baby made from new and upcycled materials. Duffy credits her sewing skills and do-it-yourself ethos to her late mother Laura, a seamstress who, “made things meant to last.”

Duffy had previously dabbled in Etsy, the popular online craft-focused marketplace, with some handmade cycling caps (her husband, Tray Duffy works at Trophy Bikes, a bike shop in Northern Liberties), but sales were slow. When she started adding her diapering items, that all changed. The Rebourne Etsy shop now boasts over 3,200 sales, 12

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Rebourne Clothing's Woolie Wrap will keep baby happy and dry while keeping diapers out of the landfill.

and 1,039 reviews with a five-star rating. Locally, Rebourne diapers are also available at the Nesting House (locations in Mt. Airy and Collingswood, N.J.) and Cloth, on East Passyunk Avenue in South Philadelphia. The Duffys, who are both avid cycling enthusiasts, also deliver Rebourne products via cargo bike to customers who live within a five-mile radius of their 19122 zip code.

Catherine Starnes, who works at Cloth as a babywearing expert, has been a Rebourne customer for three years. “I bought one Woolie Wrap, and then starting buying more and more, until my entire stash was Rebourne!” Starnes says. She likes Rebourne’s fit, that they are made

locally, and that they contain messes better than disposables. “[Duffy’s] really thought through the design and the craftsmanship.”

Deborah Wilkie, a mom in North Carolina, agrees that Duffy’s diapers are effective and easy to use on her one-year-old daughter. Sustainability and value are big motivation for her, as well. “I think of the thousands of diapers we‘ve gone through this year, and all I have to show for it is this little folded stack of wool diapers and cloth wipes.”

To learn more about Rebourne Clothing, visit etsy.com/shop/rebourne . photo by Mega n Gray

Long Live the Queen

Philadelphian uses her locally made lip balm to get the word out on the plight of bees

by Jack Braunstein

W

hen I first visited Barbara Gettes’ West Philadelphia apartment, her cramped kitchen seemed an unlikely space to make thousands of homemade beeswax U-Bee-Well lip balms. Since then, she’s moved to a larger space in Germantown, and stands as one of Philadelphia’s up-and-coming social entrepreneurs, with her sights set on the fragile state of this region’s network of pollinators.

Honeybee pollination contributes to more than $15 million of the U.S. economy, according to White House officials, and plays an integral role in the production of at least 90 commercial crops in America. But our nation’s honeybee populations have been steadily declining since the 1940s, with rates of colony loss higher than ever in the past decade.

Because of this, Gettes, who is also in the Philadelphia-band, the Spinning Leaves, was inspired to do something. After a formative monthlong stay on a New Hampshire farm, she cultivated a relationship with the Philadelphia

Barbara Gettes’ U-BeeWell balms use just five ingredients: beeswax, olive oil, lavender, tea tree oil and a dash of honey.

Bee Company, a local hub for beekeeping, apiary education and swarm removal, and learned more about the dire situation facing our native pollinators—and subsequently—our food system.

“It really lit a fire under [me],” Gettes says.

Her balms use just five ingredients: beeswax, olive oil, lavender, tea tree oil and a dash of honey.

Gettes’ homemade beeswax lip balms have been sold at Anthropologie and featured in this year's Emmy's gift bags, and this fall she’ll send 10,100 to the product sample subscription Birchbox. In June, she raised $3,746 through an Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign aimed at helping her make more than her usual quota of 100 balms per week. She’s working to raise her balm-making capacity to a level where she can start funneling 10 percent of all future accounts into a queen-rearing initiative led by the Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild. She adds that lip balm is a simple and accessible product through which customers can interact with a complex issue.

Although there is still a great deal of ambigu-

ity surrounding the disappearance of the bees, according to Don Shump, owner of the Philadelphia Bee Company, (which provides residents with locally produced bee products), and vice president of the Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild, one of the most troubling problems facing Pennsylvania bee colonies is the vicious cycle set off by the necessity to import queen bees from the South at a rate faster than they can acclimate to northern climates. Shump says that the queens’ longevity is directly related to the amount of time they have to lay eggs before getting shipped out to hives up north. The rapid die-off of these imported bees, though, means the demand stays high, and Southern beekeepers have no incentive to give the queens time to properly develop. “[U-Bee-Well’s dedication to the queen program] is a huge boon for us,” says Shump. He cites low funding as a persistent setback for apicultural researchers, but expresses optimism at the prospect of the federal Pollinator Health Task Force and a $50 million budget initiative to enhance research and protect American pollinator habitats, announced by the White House in June.

Gettes has spoken with the Department of Agriculture on how U-Bee-Well can become involved.

She says the federal funding initiative complements the growing popularity of market-based initiatives such as U-Bee-Well and BeeSweet, a family-owned wildflower honey and flaxseed lemonade company in Austin.

“Not everyone is going to have their own garden or maintain their own hive or talk to the beekeeper, but more and more products are going out on the market that actively support independent beekeepers,” Gettes says.

Visit u-bee-well.com to learn more.

photos by Jasmi ne ta ra

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Flatbreads are great for an easy dinner on—or off—the grill.

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Falling for Flatbreads Fire up the grill as autumn begins to chill

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story and photo by emily teel

lthough i enjoy soups, stews, root vegetables and roasts as much as the next locavore, I try to postpone that kind of coldweather cooking for as long as possible. These flatbreads are my compromise: a nod toward autumnal flavors cooked on a grill for one last warm weather hurrah.

The flatbread recipe yields six portions, enough for two each of the following flavors, one of which is vegan. Paired with a salad and something sweet, the full recipe will easily feed six. If the evening gets a little too chilly, throw your flatbreads back onto a warm grill to crisp up just before serving. emily teel is a food freelancer dedicated to sustainable, delicious food in Philadelphia.

See more of her work at emilyteel.com .

Flatbread Dough active time: 10 minutes to prep dough, 30 minutes to grill yields: six 8- to10-inch flatbreads 1 cup whole wheat flour (5 oz.)

4 cups all purpose flour (16 oz.)

2 teaspoons salt 1 cups water 1 teaspoon instant yeast ¼ cup olive oil plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided

In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, 1/4 cup olive oil, flours and salt and stir (or mix on low speed) to combine wet and dry ingredients into a rough dough.

Either continue to mix on low speed or turn dough out onto a clean surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, 5 to 8 minutes.

Using a pastry cutter, divide dough into six equal portions.

Spread a baking sheet with one teaspoon of olive oil and evenly space six portions of dough onto the sheet, turning to coat with oil.

Cover sheet with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to rise for at least 8 hours.

Remove tray from refrigerator an hour before grilling to allow dough to come to room temperature.

To grill: Preheat charcoal or gas grill.

Spread one teaspoon olive oil on a second baking sheet and, one at a time, gently press and stretch dough into an oblong shape.

With a swinging motion, place flatbread dough onto direct heat and cover your grill.

Cook 1 to 2 minutes, until underside shows light grill marks.

Flip flatbread onto indirect heat side of grill and top, spreading toppings evenly. Cover again and cook just until toppings have warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove flatbread, cut and serve.

Pumpkin, Caramelized Onion and Sage Flatbread active time: 30 minutes to prep toppings, 10 minutes to grill yields: two 8-10 inch flatbreads 2 portions flatbread dough 2 cups winter squash, peeled and cubed 1 cup Gruyere, or another alpine-style cheese, grated 1 large yellow onion, sliced into half-circles 2 Tablespoons pepitas 15 leaves fresh sage ½ teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg ¼ cup olive oil Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400º F. In a small saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high heat and fry sage leaves, 3 at a time, until crisp, 10 to 15 seconds. Place sage on a paper towel to drain. Reserve oil.

On a baking sheet, toss squash with nutmeg, a tablespoon of the remaining sage oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast squash until tender and beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

While squash roasts, heat one tablespoon remaining sage oil over medium heat and add onion, sugar and a heavy pinch of salt. Stir to coat and cook, without browning, until onions are thoroughly softened, 8 to 10 minutes.

On the grill: Top flatbread with caramelized onion, squash, cheese and pepitas. To serve, arrange fried sage leaves over top and drizzle with remaining sage oil.

Beet Green, Potato and Garlic Oil Flatbread (vegan) active time: 20 minutes to prepare toppings, 10 minutes to grill yields: two 8-10 inch flatbreads 2 portions flatbread dough 1 bunch beet greens stalks included (from 3 to 4 large beets), finely chopped 1 medium-sized gold potato, steamed until tender and sliced 3 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly ½ teaspoons chili flakes 2 Tablespoons olive oil 1 ½ Tablespoon balsamic vinegar, divided 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped roughly Salt and pepper

In a small saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high heat and fry garlic slices until their edges begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, reserving oil.

Heat one tablespoon garlic oil in a large frying pan over medium high and sauté beet greens with a pinch of salt and pepper until greens begin to wilt. Add chili flakes and one tablespoon balsamic and continue to cook until vinegar appears mostly evaporated.

On the grill: Top flatbread with slices of potato, arrange beet greens over top and scatter with rosemary. To serve, arrange fried garlic slices over top and drizzle with remaining garlic oil and 1/2 tablespoon vinegar.

Grape, Goat Cheese and Walnut Flatbread active time: 5-10 minutes to prep toppings, 10 minutes to grill yields: two 8-10 inch flatbreads 2 portions flatbread dough ¾ cup grapes, seeded if necessary, halved 4 oz. herbed fresh chèvre 2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts 1 Tablespoon honey 1 sprig parsley Pepper

On the grill: Spread flatbread with goat cheese, arrange grapes over top, and scatter with walnuts. To serve, arrange parsley over top, scatter with a pinch of black pepper and drizzle with honey. o cto B E R 20 14

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ENVIRONMENT

This Hoary Edge Skipper was one of many butterfly species that were documented during a July count around Bryn Mawr.

Butterflies Count Volunteer efforts across the region keep track of our fine fluttering friends by bernard brown • photo by jen britton

T

he flashy colors of butterflies are matched only by their names: red admirals, great spangled fritillaries, tiger swallowtails, painted ladies and summer azures. On July 10, 13 volunteers at the North American Butterfly Association (NABA)’s annual Fourth of July butterfly count spotted all these species in all their regalia. The volunteers, who identified 18 other species too, visited six sites in a 15-mile radius around Bryn Mawr, Pa., to document all the butterflies they could find. More than 400 teams (including one at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge) participated in NABA’s three seasonal counts to provide snapshots of butterfly populations.

Volunteers included butterfly enthusiasts and parents looking to connect their kids to nature.

Butterfly volunteer Jan Clark-Levenson says that walking through fields and forests to see what flutters by is “a child-friendly sort of thing.” Claire Morgan, community garden and volunteer coordinator for the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education—one of the stops for the Bryn Mawr team—says the butterfly census is an opportunity to engage non-scientists in important research. It is also a chance to promote butterfly-friendly practices. But if Philadelphians want to help, “the biggest thing they can do is plant native plants,” Morgan says. Natives not only offer flowers to adult butterflies but serve as hosts for their caterpillars.

interested in helping

butterflies?

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Not far from Philadelphia, the Cape May Bird Observatory’s volunteer-run Monarch Monitoring Project (MMP)’s observations have highlighted the importance of host plants in supporting wild butterfly populations.

Migrating monarch butterflies, just like migrating birds, like to stay over land as much as possible. The butterflies heading south from the Northeast along the Atlantic Coast end up down the Cape May Peninsula; at the end of which, they make the jump to Delaware, all on their way to the mountains of central Mexico. MMP communications director Mark Garland estimates that a million or so monarchs fly over the Cape every fall.

“In peak days, it’s overwhelming—like orange

confetti all over the place,” Garland says. There are too many to count directly, but from Sept.

1 to Oct. 31, the volunteers take a census, driving across Cape May Point. Twenty-one years of these counts have showed the monarch population of the Northeast to be pretty steady.

Elsewhere, monarch populations have been plummeting. Habitat destruction in Mexico and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are leading culprits. Monarch caterpillars live and feed on milkweed, a plant that up until recently has thrived on the edges of crop fields throughout the agricultural heart of North America. Widespread spraying of glyphosate (the herbicide in Roundup), enabled by the rise of soybeans, corn and other “Roundup Ready” crops modified to be resistant to glyphosate, has wiped out the weeds on the margin, including milkweed.

This kind of agriculture is less common in our region and in New England and Eastern Canada.

These are also densely gardened areas with plenty of flowers for adult monarchs to drink from and milkweed for caterpillars to grow on.

“We may have a lesson to give to the rest of the country. Maybe if every farmer has a butterfly garden, or every church or school has a garden with milkweed, perhaps this is a reversible trend,” Garland says. bernard brown is an amateur field herper and bureaucrat. He writes about urban natural history and sustainable eating.

Connect with a butterfly count through naba.org or the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, or purchase native plants for your butterfly garden from these shops. »» Bartram's Garden / bartramsgarden.org »» Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve / bhwp.org »» Greensgrow Farms / greensgrow.org

»» PHS Meadowbrook Farm / meadowbrookfarm.org »» Primex Garden Center / primexgardencenter.com »» Redbud Native Plant Nursery / redbudnativeplantnursery.com

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Pecking Order Backyard chickens have been illegal in Philadelphia since 2004.

It's time for that to change. story by sara schwartz • photos by albert yee

B

ailey hale and his (now) husband thomas mccurdy, a pastry chef, were happily tending to their flock of hens and chicks in South Philadelphia, an area they had lived in for 10 years. They owned their house and the lot next door where they kept a large garden, chickens and bees. “We could almost see City Hall from the bedroom, we were that close to downtown,” Hale says. “We were doing fine with it for quite a while.” But then, in 2011, a knock came at the door.

“It was someone claiming to be animal control saying he was there to take the chickens, and he had also called the news,” he says. “For a while, you could find the news coverage of our ‘big chicken raid.’ ” Hale says he thinks they were hoping to uncover a cock fighting ring, but when he emerged with “a couple dozen beautifully colored eggs … that took a little bit of thunder out of their news story.”

Hale isn’t sure whether the inquiry began with the City or if a disgruntled neighbor alerted the authorities, but he never received any further notification or even a fine. They were subsequently left alone, but Hale and McCurdy were spooked enough by the incident and the threat of further action that they no longer felt comfortable in Philadelphia. “[T]hat definitely started the discussion of moving somewhere we could have a local farm, or at least not have the pressure of doing it illegally,” Hale says. He and McCurdy

illustrat io n BY Lydia N ic ho ls

started looking at Bucks County, but couldn’t find “suitable places” within an hour of Philadelphia that were affordable.

After renting a few farms up the East Coast, Hale and McCurdy eventually purchased a farm in Irasburg, Vermont and named it Ardelia Farm & Co., in honor of Hale’s grandma.

The farm’s website, Instagram and Facebook pages document what appears to be a bucolic setting and a thriving business.

They sell baked goods, meat, eggs and cut flowers at two local farmers markets; and also sell mail-order heritage-breed baby chicks, turkeys, guinea fowl and eggs for hatching. And this Thanksgiving, Hale and McCurdy will deliver heritage turkeys to Philadelphia. “But yeah, it all kind of started because we got kicked out of Philadelphia,” Hale says, laughing. “So, I can’t say it’s been a bad thing. We’re happy with the course of events, but really the thing that got us looking to live somewhere else was the whole chicken debacle.” [>]

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Keeping chickens in Philadelphia became illegal in mid2004 a few months after Northeast Philadelphia Councilman Brian O’Neill introduced Ordinance 040566, which amended the city code to add chickens to the list of city-banned farm animals. This now includes: chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, goats, sheep, pigs and cows, “provided such other farm animal presents a public nuisance due to smell and/or noise.” The ordinance passed July 1, 2004. Since then, the only way a Philadelphian can legally have backyard chickens is to either own three acres of land, or run a nonprofit, educational institution, zoo or shelter.

Despite the illegality of backyard chickens, ownership is apparently on the rise. Anton Goldschneider, who manages the pet supply section at Weavers Way Co-op in Mt. Airy, says he’s noticed a significant uptick in chicken feed sales. In 2010, when the co-op started selling organic chicken feed (which costs about twice as much as conventional feed), they were averaging selling twenty 50-lb bags a month. Now they average 17 a week. Doing some napkin math, that means they are selling enough food to feed 600 chickens each month.

So, what is it about chickens that are compelling otherwise law-abiding citizens to willfully break the law?

Birds of a feather

After every workday, Maureen Breen pulls into the driveway of her Northeast Philadelphia home. As she emerges from her car, she hears her six hens clucking excitedly. Breen walks to her backyard over to a wire enclosure the size of a small shed and opens the gate. Out they strut, bobbing their heads and pecking at the ground, eating bugs. In the mornings, she gathers the eggs they lay, sometimes giving extras away to neighbors. One recent afternoon, she smiles as the hens wander around her fenced-in yard. “This is what I love to do. I sit in my yard and watch my chickens run around,” she says. It’s obvious the hens are well cared for. There is no scent indicative of an uncared animal, and aside from a low clucking, all is quiet.

In addition to her full-time job as an accountant, Breen offers educational workshops at Primex Garden Center and Weavers Way Co-op on how to care for backyard chickens.

She’s also one of the administrators for the Facebook group Philadelphia Backyard Chickens, which at press time had 369 members (including myself), and has seen an increase in numbers over the years, though many don’t join out of fear it will give Animal Care and Control (ACCT) an easy target.

Breen doesn’t own three acres of land, but because of the workshops she conducts, she tried to make her ownership legal by forming a educational institution. She filed for a Federal Employer Identification Number and city business license number, and worked with Amy Laura Cahn, a staff attorney at Garden Justice League Initiative, to register with the city. But Breen says the city was unclear as to what “educa-

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tional institution” exactly means, and although she and Cahn reached out to the Department of Health, Animal Control and Licensing and Inspections, no one could give a clear answer on the protocol. “There’s no official known process,” Cahn writes in an email. Breen was offered pro bono legal services from some organizations to push forward, but she had a better idea: “I said that’s really silly [to expend so much legal effort] for one person; why don’t we make the effort and talk to city council?” And she’s done just that, using her connections and the Philadelphia Backyard Chickens Facebook group to mobilize chicken-owners into voicing their demand to legalize chickens again.

It’s patriotic to have chickens

Although the companionship of the chickens is itself a reward, Breen became interested in keeping hens in her backyard four years ago because of her passion for local food. This summer, her backyard, which is about 30 feet wide by 40 feet long, boasted a bountiful garden with celery, zucchini and tomatoes.

Breen was inspired by a mandate from the federal government during World War II. All patriotic Americans were urged to grow 40 percent of their own food, and that included raising backyard chickens for their eggs. Posters from that time boldly instructed people to “Save kitchen scraps to feed hens,” and urged that, “Even the smallest yard has room for a flock large enough to supply the house with eggs.” According to the United Egg Producers’ 2010 Animal Husbandry Guidelines, as recently as the 1940s, “small backyard flocks of chickens made up the majority of the egg-producing industry.”

These days, the federal government is battling childhood obesity, and their efforts have been focused on consumption, specifically at school lunches. An argument can be made that

through raising hens, we can become reacquainted with an integral part of our food system and become more mindful eaters.

And the other positives of owning backyard chickens are plentiful. Like any other pet, chickens can provide an opportunity to teach children the responsibility of caring for an animal, and chickens require much less attention than a dog. Having fresh, organic eggs to give away to neighbors promotes a sense of community in a neighborhood. Chickens provide chemicalfree pest control and their droppings create all-natural fertilizer. In addition, chickens will eat your food scraps, which means less waste to be hauled away; and if you aren’t composting, a reduction of greenhouse gases produced by the landfill.

The arguments against

Opponents of backyard chickens often cite noise, odor, attraction of predators and health issues as reasons for keeping the ban on urban chickens.

How noisy are chickens? According to a 2005 report on backyard chickens done by the city of Pleasanton, California, hens make less noise than a dog, except for their egg-laying squawking, which lasts for a few minutes and has the decibel level of 63 when standing two feet away from the hen—the same decibel level as two people talking. When testing the noise from nine feet away, it couldn’t be detected.

Odor, as with any domesticated animal, is the responsibility of the owner. Keeping the coop clean and full of hay greatly reduces odor. When it comes to predators, having trees overhead and adequate fencing are enough of a deterrent.

The risk of salmonella is a legitimate health issue, especially for people who are very young or very old, or those who have compromised immune systems. Chicken owners should buy their chicks from reputable sources and wash their hands thoroughly after handling an animal. Many opponents of urban chickens cite avian influenza, or bird flu, as a concern, but the risk to backyard flocks—or to the people who tend to them—of contracting bird flu is extremely low. In fact, no one has ever contracted bird flu in North America.

Left: Maureen Breen Right: Anton Goldschneider from Weavers Way

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Tom Martella, Vincent Cuinn and Apollo Heidelmark take care of seven hens in East Germantown.

Unique models

In the spacious yard of his apartment in an historic home in East Germantown, Apollo Heidelmark, who works in the meat and fish department at Weavers Way Co-op, tends to seven hens. He’s been a tenant of the apartment home owned

by Weavers Way Co-op general manager Glenn Bergman for seven years, and has managed the chicken coop at the apartment for about a year. The spacious fenced-in area has a bench that the hens perch on; a small triangle-shaped, chicken wire tractor coop that can be moved around; and a larger, light green wooden coop built by a former tenant that looks like it belongs on the cover of a glossy backyard chickens magazine. The big trees in the yard provide plentiful shade and protection from flying predators. These chickens seem to have a pretty great life.

“They eat a lot of scraps. I bring home a five-pound bucket of scraps five days out of the week from Weavers Way,” Heidelmark says of the food he brings from the co-op’s prepared food department.

Heidelmark says the hens he cares for provide eggs for about 23 people, including 14 tenants and neighbors. “When you go to people’s houses, you bring eggs,” he says, laughing.

In addition to the tenants, the neighbors next door help care for the chickens. “They usually come over in the morning, let the chickens out and grab some eggs,” he says. “Everyone really appreciates it here.”

Bergman says that having chickens in the backyard has been a boon when it comes to renting the apartments. “That wasn’t part of the reason for [having chickens],” he says of his decision a few years ago to allow raising hens in the backyard.

“I never knew it would help to [rent] the apartment[s].”

And in addition, having fresh eggs right outside your door is attractive to the apartments’ hungry grad students, too.

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“Sometimes this is a last resort meal,” Heidelmark says. “There’s a ton of things you can do with eggs.”

Christina Moresi, education program manager at Wyck House, echoes that sentiment. The historic mansion, museum, garden, and home farm in Germantown is home to 15 legal chickens because of its status as an educational institution. “Realistically, I’m not on the socioeconomic level of spending $5, $6, $7 for a dozen eggs,” Moresi says. “So, I think it would be beneficial to myself and other low-income families if, you know, they were getting these healthy products that they were caring for and enjoying the pet aspect of it, as well as being able to have healthy, fresh food [where] you don’t have to worry about what’s in it or how the chicken was treated.”

The model for that kind of shared responsibility was taken one step further at an urban farm in Baltimore, where chickens were legalized (again) in 2007.

Hidden Harvest Farm in Baltimore sits on three-quarters of an acre in an arts district a few blocks away from Penn Station. There are 18 fruit trees, rows of shiitake mushrooms and 18 hens. The all-volunteer farm, managed by Tara Megos, features a chicken cooperative in which five volunteers take turns during shifts to feed, clean and collect eggs. There’s a whiteboard inside the coop where people write down the number of eggs they’ve collected and the number they’ve taken. Everyone chips in for the feed and other supplies and, in turn, gets eggs and the chance to learn about hens without

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The Wire

Baltimore's rules for keeping chickens In 2007, Baltimore, Maryland, legalized backyard chickens, but with very specific requirements, some of which are listed below:

→→ Chicken owners must have a permit, which can be obtained through the Baltimore City Health Department →→ No more than four chickens over the age of one month may be kept on lots less than 2,000 square feet →→ No coop or loft may be closer than 15 feet to any residence →→ Each coop or loft must be kept clean, free of all odors and materials that may attract rodents →→ Coops and lofts must allow a minimum of two square feet per hen →→ All chickens must be afforded veterinary care if they are known or suspected to be sick or injured

having to make the full-time chicken commitment.

“We all are volunteers and do it because we love it. [It] creates this space where people can learn and be together. People can have chickens even if they don’t have a yard,” Megos says.

The future

West Philadelphia resident and chicken owner Karen Heenan has found that her chicken ownership has made her even more keenly aware about how food waste can be used. “My office thinks I’m very strange,” Heenan says. “I cruise the lunchroom every day going, ‘You gonna throw that out?’ Like what, it’s bad enough you’re taking it home for your compost pile, now you’re stealing my fruit rinds for the chicken? And I’m like, Mmm hmm.”

The food scraps that Heenan gives to her hen could actually play a part in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Food Recovery Challenge, which was launched in 2011 and works with colleges, universities, grocery stores and sports venues to reduce as much of their food waste as possible. In turn, this saves money, helps communities and protects the environment, according to the EPA. The agency recommends the Food Recovery Hierarchy as a way to make the most out

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of excess food. It goes in this order: Source Reduction, Feed Hungry People, Feed Animals, Industrial Uses, Composting, Incineration or Landfill.

When asked how backyard chickens could help with the Food Recovery Challenge, Donna Heron, press officer for the EPA, wrote in an email that, “From the viewpoint of diverting organic waste away from landfills, feeding people or animals is far superior. Organic material decays in landfills and generates methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas.”

Heron says chickens, where allowed, are great examples of the Food Recovery Challenge in action. The national group Backyard Chickens endorses the program while working on surplus food management with the EPA and other endorsers and participants in West Philadelphia.

A large part of Philadelphia’s growing sustainability profile on a national level has been our city’s leadership. Mayor Michael Nutter’s Greenworks plan rightly focuses on food access and local food production. Breen thinks that having hens in the backyard is a perfect addition to Nutter’s Greenworks initiative. “We do think there’s room for a very reasonable solution,” she says. “There’s nothing more local than your backyard.” 

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sep

Go West! Craft Fest

University City’s West Philadelphia craft festival takes place on the Porch at 30th Street Station with local crafts, food trucks and live entertainment, rain or shine. Crafts will feature unique wares made in the Philadelphia region, including jewelry, clothing, paper goods, homeware and children’s items.

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→→ Sun., Sept. 14, 12 to 6 p.m. 2955 Market St.

gowestcraftfest.blogspot.com

sep 18

Annual Green Building Celebration 2014

The Delaware Valley Green Building Council celebrates the launch of the Groundbreaker Awards with a ceremony at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. The award ceremony is open to the public. →→ Thurs., Sept. 18, 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets for members:

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$135, non-members: $195, students: $35. 480 S. Broad St. dvgbc.org/celebrate2014

sep

Food for Thought: Eating in Season

Hosted by the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education and Weavers Way Co-op, this class will explore eating locally with—and sometimes in spite of—the seasons.

Local wine and appetizers will be offered while exploring seasonal eating.

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Magnificent Monarchs at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve Kids ages five and up can learn about the migration of the Monarch butterfly, its life cycle, why its numbers are declining, and what we can do to help. →→ Sat., Sept. 20, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. $8 for members, $10 for non-members. Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, 1635 River Rd., New Hope, PA 18938. bhwp.org/calendar.htm

Park(ing) Day

For Park(ing) Day, the annual worldwide event where artists, designers and citizens transform metered parking spots into temporary public parks, dozens of interactive parks will appear on city streets as people take over metered parking spots in an effort to promote green and pedestrian-friendly urban spaces.

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→→ Thurs., Sept. 18, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. $20. Schuylkill

Center for Environmental Education, 8480 Hagys Mill Rd. schuylkillcenter.org

sep

Best Native Trees and Shrubs

This workshop explores the process of growing trees and shrubs in the tough conditions of cities and suburbs, and how to improve neighborhoods with native flora.

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→→ Fri., Sept. 19, 1 to 3 p.m. $30. Mt. Cuba Center, 3120

Barley Mill Rd., Hockessin, Del. To register, call 302-239-8807.

PENCIL IT IN! To have your event considered for publication in Grid, email events@gridphilly.com. Submissions are due on the 19th of every month. For a full list of calendar events, visit gridphilly.com.

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sep

Chèvre and Ricotta Workshop

Greensgrow partners with Shady Apple Goat Farm to teach attendees how to make simple, delicious cheeses. The class will go over the basics of chèvre and how to make chèvre truffles, baked chèvre and ricotta salads. Everyone will take home a roll of seasoned chèvre, as well as the recipe used in the workshop for future cheese-making endeavors.

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→→ Fri., Sept. 19. 5 to 8 p.m. $10. Multiple areas

throughout Philadelphia; visit parkingdayphila. org/interactivemap. To purchase tickets, visit http://bit.ly/1tFnviD .

sep

Schuylkill River Trail Bike Ride

Explore the three national park sites on the Schuylkill River Trail on a two-day guided bike tour. Bicyclists will travel 30 miles to visit Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, Valley Forge National Historical Park and Independence National Historical Park. Registrants can choose to ride on either or both days. Price includes bike/passenger shuttle, breakfast, lunch, well-marked route, guided tours, programs and refreshments.

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→→ Sat., Sept. 20 to Sun., Sept. 21. $50 for one day,

$95 for both days. Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, 2 Mark Bird Ln., Elverson, Pa. To register, visit http://bit.ly/1pH5VTF .

→→ Sat., Sept. 20, 12 to 2 p.m. $35. Registration

required. Greensgrow Community Kitchen at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church. greensgrow.org .

sep

PHS Fall Festival

Hosted by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) and sponsored

by Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, this family-friendly event will feature a flea market, produce market, crafts and activities for the kids and Yards Brewing Company beer garden. PHS members and anyone who joins the PHS family at the festival will be given discounts throughout the event, including free plants at the Plant Dividend tent. Franklin Flea will be setting up their tables, offering vintage furnishings, upcycled objects, handmade items and gourmet food.

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→→ Sat., Sept. 20, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. The Navy Yard, 4747 S. Broad St. phsonline.org .

p h oto cou rt esy o f B ow m a n ’s H il l W il df low er Preserv e

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Weed Patrol at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve

Rick Fonda will lead volunteers in the Preserve’s efforts to control invasive plant species on the grounds. Volunteers will learn more about the species that are most problematic in the area, and the most effective and environmentally sound methods for removing them. Tools and supplies will be provided. →→ Sat., Sept 20, 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Free. Call 215-

862-2924 to register. Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve Visitor Center,1635 River Rd. (Rt. 32) New Hope, Pa. bhwp.org

sep

Inviting Wildlife Into the Garden

A two-part class to help you transform your landscape into a garden that attracts a wide array of wildlife such as birds, bees and butterflies. Participants will observe native bees in action and learn about the Mt. Cuba Center’s pollen and nectar research, discover the best plants for butterfly gardens, and become familiar with designing landscapes for birds and creating spaces that invite beneficial wildlife into any garden.

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→→ Sat., Sept. 20 and 27, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. $240. Mt.

Cuba Center, 3120 Barley Mill Rd., Hockessin, Del. To register, call 302-239-8807.

sep

Bike Fresh Bike Local This unique bike tour organized by 21 the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) takes you throughout the Chester County countryside to explore local foods and farms. About 900 cyclists of all levels will begin and end their journey from Victory Brewing Co. in Downingtown. The event will be followed by local food and a complimentary Victory beer. Registration closes Sept. 19. To volunteer, email Becca Logan at becca@pasafarming.org. →→ Sun., Sept. 21, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. $40 early

registration, $45 late registration. Victory Brewing Company, 420 Acrone Ln., Downingtown, Pa. pasafarming.org .

sep 21

Discovery Day at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve

Attendees will take a guided tour through the meadow at its end-of-summer best, with native perennials, grasses and butterflies. The event will feature presentations with live animals, hands-on educational exhibits, local music and refreshments. Kids can participate in the family discovery hunt, insect hunts, recycled paper-making, wildflower bingo and more. →→ Sun., Sept. 21, 1 to 4 p.m. Free. Bowman’s Hill

Wildflower Preserve, 1635 River Rd., New Hope, Pa. bhwp.org

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gridphilly.com

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sep

FLOW Festival Fairmount Water Works debuts this 21 FLOW (For the Love of Water) Festival, an outdoor showcase of interactive, family-friendly exhibits and activities offering a glimpse into the future of this historic site. Visitors can spend the day experimenting with water and technology, and kids will love making their own fish puppet while learning about the Water Works. →→ Sun., Sept. 21, 1 to 8 p.m. Free. Fairmount Water Works, 640 Water Works Dr. fairmountworks.

com/event/flow .

Pennypack’s Localicious Dinner Pennypack Farm is hosting a dinner 26 to honor PASA members Missy Barnhart and Mark and Judy Dornstreich for their outstanding work in sustainable living. →→ Fri., Sept. 26, 6 to 9:30 p.m. $55. Spring Mill

Country Club, 80 Jacksonville Rd., Ivyland, Pa. pennypackfarm.org .

Bulb Gardens Lecture

Who doesn’t love a garden of daffodils and tulips in the spring? Ron Kushner will teach how to plant various flowering bulbs this fall to create a vibrant display.

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→→ Sat., Sept. 27, 10 a.m. $10. Primex Garden Center,

450 W Glenside Ave., Glenside, Pa. To register, call 215-887-7500. primexgardencenter.com

sep

National Public Lands Day National Public Lands Day is a fee-free entrance day at many federal public lands, including national parks, offering an opportunity to help your local public land and spend the day relaxing on the land. With free admission, bring a friend or make it a family outing, and enjoy the outdoors. Volunteers who participate on National Public Lands Day will receive a fee-free coupon, which gives free one-day entry to any participating federal public land.

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Earthship Presentation

by Jonah Reynolds

This lecture will discuss sustainable housing with Jonah Reynolds, pioneering member of the Taos Earthship Community, a group that started the production of biodiesel within their community from waste cooking oil. All funds go toward materials for the Philadelphia Earthship HQ Workshop, which is being built Sept. 22 through Oct. 3. →→ Mon., Sept. 29, 6 to 9 p.m. $10. Ethical Humanist

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sep

Remarkable Farms Gala

This annual celebration of the region’s agricultural heritage and new generation of organic farmers takes place at the Ardrossan Estate, a 350-acre Main Line farm located in the midst of the suburbs of Villanova.

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→→ Sat., Sept. 27. Free. To register, visit publiclandsday.org/register-site

sep

Pour the Core Hard Cider Festival

A festival to showcase Philadelphia’s finest locally produced and internationally sourced cider, including local favorites Frecon’s Cidery and Commonwealth Ciders, as well as a variety of imported ciders.

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→→ Sat., Sept. 27, 1 to 5 p.m. $40. Marine Parade

Grounds, the Philadelphia Navy Yard, S. Broad St. pourthecore.com

sep

Garden Shed: Garden Swap and Sale

Get rid of your extra garden goodies at Greensgrow Farm’s first Garden Shed flea market. Swap, barter, trade or sell garden tools, plants, pots, seeds, bulbs and books.

Along with vendors, there will be live bands, food trucks and a farmstand. Tables must be reserved in advance. A donation table will be available for those who cannot participate in the event, but want to get rid of some gardening supplies.

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earthship.com/philadelphia

oct

Heritage Farm Fair

Hosted at the Heritage Farm’s Belmont Mansion property, this celebration of the seasonal bounty also serves as a fundraiser to support the ongoing operation of the farm.

Guests can enjoy stunning city views while sampling delicious bites made from local ingredients, prepared by a host of well-known Philadelphia area chefs.

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→→ Thurs., Oct. 2. 6 to 8:30 p.m. Free. 2000 Belmont Mansion Dr. heritagefarmphiladelphia.org/events

oct

04

Eating Seasonally With Farmers John and Larry

This pair of Longview farmers will give participants a short tour of the farm and discuss what it means to eat seasonally and locally. Visitors will harvest seasonal vegetables in the field (wear clothes and boots for the weather) and then learn how to make some tasty recipes. →→ Sat., Oct. 4, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. $12. Registration

→→ Sat., Sept. 27, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 2501 E. →→ Sat., Sept. 27, 6 to 11 p.m. 811 Newtown Rd., Villanova, Pa. greenerpartners.org/ remarkablefarms

Society of Philadelphia, 1906 Rittenhouse Sq.

Cumberland St. To reserve a table, visit

required. Longview Farm: 3215 Stump Hall Rd., Collegeville, Pa. greenerpartners.org/events

greensgrow.org

MILO K., Hermit Crab

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illust ration by Daniel Kaye

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O CTO b e r 20 14

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One Step At a Time

What a sustainability leader learned walking from Boston to San Diego by Paul Glover

C

onsidering a green career? You might research the field by hiking it. In 1978, I crossed the U.S. entirely on foot through forests and desert, along a maze of quiet dirt and gravel roads, by day and at night, in rain, hail and blasting sunshine. Measuring America with my body, I found it grander than any book, movie, statistic or voyage by car, train, plane or bicycle could reveal.

Intending to reinvent myself as an urban ecologist, I began walking from my home in Boston toward the Pacific Ocean via San Diego. After 199 days and 3,500 miles, I covered a distance greater than the diameter of the moon, or halfway to the center of the earth.

Where did it get me? To new places, exposed to people, animals and storms. To novel encounters daily. Through forests, fields, deserts, mountains and rivers. Having started with $20 and a slim backpack, I worked odd jobs to buy supplies: picked apples in a migrant camp, taught half a day of school, hauled lumber, mopped floors, joined a carnival and built a donkey shed.

I discovered that the whole world is a bed, finding shelter in apple orchards, barns, pastures, sheds, log cabins, wagons, abandoned homes, haystacks, churches, greenhouses, trailers, picnic tables, porches, gazebos, parks, stables, grandstands, sand dunes and yards. And I rediscovered that people are generous. I appeared from the

woods at their doors, shared meals, attended parties, reunions and ice cream socials, and learned much of enduring worth.

After several years organizing fights against highways and suburban sprawl, I sought a more powerful protest—to invent positive scenarios enabling cities to become beautiful blooms on the planet, rather than open sores. Cities that moved better without cars, cities that grew their own food and harvested their own water, where people would replenish what they’d consume.

After completing the hike in December 1978, I moved to Los Angeles. In 1983, after studying the metropolis, I started Citizen Planners, an organization dedicated to ecological urban design.

People joined upon reading my 1982 book, Los Angeles: A History of the Future, which describes how that car-crazy region can be rebuilt systematically over decades toward balance with nature. Not utopia floating beyond reach, but a practical agenda.

The gap between Los Angeles and sustainability is so gigantic that the transformations required to fill that gap are huge. My book described and designed vast gradual changes to actual fourblock and square-mile sections, where automobiles are gradually replaced by trolleys, bike paths and footpaths. Housing would be rebuilt as “ecolonies” that need no fossil fuels for heating and cooling. Water use would be cut in half by replacing flush toilets with waterless biodigesters.

Even streets would yield right-of-way to greenhouses and orchards.

Citizen Planners quickly grew. Talented professionals and forward-thinking neighbors quickly joined. The city that has rebuilt itself several times, from massive ranch to massive orchard to massive traffic jam, seemed ready for its next era. The group continues today as the Eco-Home Network, effectively modeling and promoting the policy changes required.

Clearly, we Americans have the talent and good will to build healthy futures. Whether urban or rural, we are everywhere very decent, magnificent and ignorant. We are tough and lovable; we hog the earth and devour its wealth. In every city and suburb, we will continue to learn, by intelligent transition or headlong catastrophe, to bind American lives to the resources of the land.

The journey will be long, but keep this in mind: Reaching any distant shore begins with our first steps today.

paul glover is founder of Green Jobs Philly, Philadelphia Orchard Project, Ithaca HOURS, Health Democracy and a dozen other environmental organizations. A former professor of urban studies at Temple University and author of six books on grassroots economies, he consults at GreenPlanners. paulglover.org

Each month, Dispatch features personal reflections on adventures in sustainability. Have a story you’d like to share? E-mail getinvolved@gridphilly.com 30

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illust ration by james boyle

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Tony Larson Master of Environmental Studies ‘12, University of Pennsylvania To learn how it took a two-year roadtrip for Tony to find his calling right at home, visit www.upenn.edu/grid

A cluster of strange green action figures scowls above the foyer in Tony Larson’s home. They look like the Hulk … but fuzzier. “It’s Moss Man,” Tony Larson (Master of Environmental Studies ’12) says cheerfully. “A rare He-Man character.

I started collecting them because I thought they were cool. Then I found out that Moss Man’s power is marshalling the forces of nature for good, so I had to keep going.”

Tony couldn’t have found a more fitting mascot. Since college, he’s led programs for young people teaching leadership, environmentalism and urban farming. He pursued Penn’s Master of Environmental Studies to help him create new career opportunities in the environmental justice field.

“The MES program provided me with key professional connections,” Tony says.

“It gave me an academic framework, broke down the ivory tower and brought in real decision makers to share their experiences.”

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.

www.upenn.edu/grid

Now, with his company WhaleBox LLC, Tony builds affordable green housing units and trains underserved young people in the best green building practices.

That might just be enough to make Moss Man crack a smile.

www.upenn.edu/grid

www.facebook.com/UPennEES

@PENN_EES