Hunting Park: Esperanza’s Gabriella Gabriel Paez Uses Trees To Connect Community
On the blacktop next to McClure Elementary School, Gabriella Gabriel Paez (above) stood in front of what looked like a forest-in-the-making — rows of short and sparse baby trees in planters. She gave them out, free of charge, to families as they left parent-teacher conference night at the school. Gabriel Paez organized the yard tree […]
Point Breeze: Urban Farmer Shares His Craft With Community
Twenty-seven-year-old Atiba Ellerby is a part-time barista and full-time urban farmer. When he’s not making coffee at The Pharmacy, a coffee shop in Point Breeze, he is tending to gardens throughout the city. Farming is a craft he learned 14 years ago through the Urban Nutrition Initiative. How do you feel you impact your community? […]
Environment: NonProfit Sustains Through Home Renovations
Over the past 30 years, Rebuilding Together Philadelphia has renovated neglected homes and assisted people earning low-incomes in specifically selected areas of the city. On June 1 and 2, volunteers, experts and neighbors reconditioned 10 homes on Dewey Street in the Haddington neighborhood looking to showcase their pride in this overlooked area of West Philadelphia. […]
Nicetown: Community Involvement is Key to Accomplishing Zero Waste and Litter
Philadelphia isn’t disparagingly called Filthadelphia for no reason: Cans, bottles, bags, take-out boxes and other types of trash are ubiquitous on the streets of Philly. But following on Mayor Jim Kenny’s executive order in 2016 creating the Zero Waste and Litter Cabinet, the city is beginning to discover some ways Philadelphia might eventually kick that […]
East Kensington: Neighbors Work To Preserve Letterly Green
Stephanie Koenig, 36, moved to the East Kensington area with her husband, Lewis Colburn, in 2009. The couple, both sculptors who found studio space in Philadelphia, bought a house across the street from Letterly Green, an empty plot of land that spans half a block long, two years later. Along with their next-door neighbors, Onais […]
Cobbs Creek: Environmental Center Educates The Community And Works Alongside The Philadelphia Water Dept.
The Cobbs Creek Environmental Center is part of the Alliance for Watershed Education of the Delaware River, one of many organizations in the area providing public education about the environment and our water supply. “One of the problems we have in this part of the city is our system is very old,” said the center’s […]
Spruce Hill: Greensgrow Urban Farm Talks Food Insecurity And Community
Greensgrow Farm was created to bring fresh, locally-grown produce to Philadelphia. Today, two locations and mobile markets (in Fishtown and West Philadelphia) provide fruits, vegetables, flowers and a sense of community across the city. The urban farm located at 5123 Baltimore Ave. seeks to raise awareness of the necessity of wholesome agricultural practices, as well […]
Tacony: Community Makes 7000 Block of Erdrick Street Beautiful
The 7000 block of Erdrick Street in Tacony is anxiously awaiting to find out if it will become the city’s Most Beautiful Block. And if you speak to any of the residents, they believe they’ve got a good chance of winning the citywide contest run by the Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee. Results will be announced in […]
Bridesburg: Plan For Refurbishing Brownfields Awaits Next Step
Much of the area in North Philadelphia that abuts the Delaware River has been in a decades-long transition stage from manufacturing hub as factories in the neighborhoods move, leaving behind their industrial footprint. The possibility of chemical contamination in now-vacant lots means these properties, dubbed “brownfields,” must be assessed and cleaned before the lots can […]
How To: Qualify To Receive Financial Assistance For A Water Bill
When Councilwoman Maria D. Quiñones-Sánchez saw her constituent’s water bills, she knew she needed to act. Despite a new assistance plan in place, there were still people who owed thousands of dollars in late and overdue payments. “This is crazy,” Quiñones-Sánchez said. “This is a government owned utility. How did people get into this debt?” […]