Articles Written by Julie Hancher

Happy Arbor Day! This annual day (typically the last Friday in April) celebrates planting, caring for and loving trees. Although we love trees every day, we still honor our plants on this holiday.  Plus, there ain't a better place to celebrate everything trees than in Philadelphia, where any day is an excuse to drink locally and hang out with friends. Here's 7 Ways to Celebrate Arbor Day in Philly:

Let’s face it: our city has a notorious reputation for being dirty. Don’t believe me? Walk the streets of London for a few hours or ride the metro in DC. Return to Philly and compare. But when people talk about Philly being dirty, they’re often referring to our litter problem. Yet litter is such a large, debated topic. How do we combat litter? Do we concentrate efforts on educating people or cleanup efforts after the fact? Neighborhoods with litter tend to have higher crime rates, lower property values and less pride in the neighborhood. In order to get a more insight on Philly’s litter, I asked the City of Philadelphia, a few friends and associates about their experiences with trash in the city. Find out more about our city's litter epidemic, after the jump.

Feel guilty that you didn't have a chance to help out on Philly Spring Cleanup Day? You can clear your conscious by cleaning up West Philly's Clark Park this Saturday, April 19th. The best part? You can get free food & beer after your clean up, so you're receiving a little bonus on top of the feel-good volunteering. Check the details, after the jump!

The Philly Farm & Food Fest returned to the Philadelphia Convention Center on Sunday, April 13th. The collaboration between PASA & Fair Food expanded from the expo hall into the Atrium to showcase more vendors that ever before. Since this was my third time I've attended this annual affair, I decided to peruse the newest, local vendors. Find out about some of the newest vendors, after the jump!

We recently hosted a bookclub with Nic Esposito to discuss his first book, Seeds of Discent. A beautiful evening last week, we appropriately gathered at Head & the Hand Press headquarters over wine, with friends in a conversation that covered sustainability, urban farming and how it all began. Head & the Hand Press Beginnings Nic Esposito had a passion and noticed a problem. Authors with book deals aren't always necessarily better than those who didn't have big publishing companies behind them. Some of the best writers in Philly didn't have published works to their names. Local writers simply didn't have the accessibility of New York to make those essential connections to get their books published.   Yet Philadelphia is a city of sharers, entrepreneurs and people who support their community. Find out more about Seeds of Discent, Head & the Hand and our discussion on urban sustainability, after the jump!

The 7th annual Philly Spring Cleanup Day was on Saturday, April 5th. Over 14,000 volunteers helped pick up 970,900 lbs of trash and 29,940 lbs of recycled materials. Pretty awesome, right Philly? GPB has been hosting a park cleanup at the 8th & Poplar fields for the past 3 years, when anywhere from 7-25 volunteers arrive to pick up trash, dispose of empty 40's, and ultimately better our community. While the volunteers that show up are great, I've noticed the majority of faces helping out are community groups, sustainability professionals and personal friends. Read on for my observations, after the jump!

We're always so humbled to be featured on other publications! Our friends at Be Well Philly included us on their morning checkup for our recent Oil Pulling post. Also, I'm so honored that Philadelphia Neighborhoods included me in their 5 People Making Philly Greener post. Also featured were sustainability rockstars including

Philadelphia can brag about another top 10 list - this time, with energy efficient buildings. Philly is #9 of ENERGY STAR buildings! Philly has entered the top 10 list for the first time.

Ever wonder where you can recycle your TV? Look no further - we solve the problem for you in this week's Where Can I Wednesday column. Don't throw your TV in the trash. Pennsylvania State law, the Covered Device Recycling Act, prohibits you from throwing away electronics (like a TV) with your regular curbside garbage. Here's where to Recycle CRT & LCD Televisions in Philly: