Articles Written by Julie Hancher

This week Green Philly Blog is interviewing some of Philadelphia’s women sustainability leaders in honor of closing out March as International Women’s History Month. Some of the women are well-known in our city, and some are a little more under the radar. Today, we head over to Chestnut Hill College to talk with two religious women. Growing up Catholic, I didn't hear much about 'sustainability' or treasuring our Earth in Church lectures. But is God green? It was quite interesting to sit down with two sisters about their views on how sustainability and religion fit together. Sister Mary Elizabeth Clark was a GPB guest blogger, is Director of the Sisters of Saint Joseph Earth Center, and Special Assistant to the President of Chestnut Hill for Sustainability. Sister Miriam MacGillis is founder of Genesis farm, an organic earth literacy center in New Jersey.

This week Green Philly Blog is interviewing some of Philadelphia’s women sustainability leaders in honor of closing out March as International Women’s History Month. Some of the women are well-known in our city, and some are a little more under the radar. Our interview for today is with Executive Director of Tookany/Tacony-Frankford (TTF) Watershed, Julie Slavet! A Boston native, Julie Slavet has been involved in the sustainability scene for over 30 years. Designing her own undergraduate degree in environmental studies (since it didn't exist yet) at Smith College, she proceeded to get an energy independence internship with the National League of Cities and receive her grad degree at UMass. She's worked in a variety of places including work on local, sustainable initiatives in Washington and local governments in Massachusetts. Not one to settle for par, she left a Dallas Texas Suburban hell to raise her family in the more walkable Philadelphia community, Jenkintown. After working various local communication positions and learning about sustainable initiatives in Philly, she landed her role at the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed. Let's get to our interview with (the other) Julie!

This week Green Philly Blog is interviewing some of Philadelphia's women sustainability leaders in honor of closing out March as International Women's History Month. Some of the women are well-known in our city, and some are a little more under the radar. Our interview for today is with Drexel Senior and Drexel's (only environmental group) Sierra Club President, Nicole Koedyker! We first noticed Nicole Koedyker on our Facebook, Twitter & blog comments with her green wit & knowledge. When we attended a Sierra Club meeting at Drexel, we previewed first hand how she combined a mix of green 'lessons', local events and motivating eco-curious students to get involved in Meatless Monday, Earth week events & a clothing swap on campus. As a Drexel Senior majoring in international business & economics, this lady stays active in the college sustainability scene. Her missions include working student groups to divest from fossil fuels from the endowment, ban bottled water, and encouraging Drexel to complete the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's Sustainability Tracking and Assessment Rating System. On a personal level, she's very likable. Her cat Meowies would be Pounce DeLeon's BFF, and we love her bike & spin class teaching enthusiasm. Let's get to our interview with Nicole! (Check it out, after the jump!)

Oh, we've been a-waiting. Cedar Point Bar & Kitchen, the Fishtown follow-up to the No' Libs restaurant formally known as A Full Plate, finally opens this evening. We were able to take a sneak peek & sample some of the delicious treats of Cedar Point. As Chef Shannon Dougherty explained, the menu is 50/50 vegan and carnivore to satisfy all customers. And satisfied, we were. To make Jack Johnson proud, we took mental pretty pictures of the things we ate... (Find out more about the delicious fare, after the jump!)

This week Green Philly Blog is interviewing some of Philadelphia's women sustainability leaders in honor of closing out March as International Women's History Month. Some of the women are well-known in our city, and some have yet to break out from under the radar. We kick off our week's interviews with Katherine Gajewski!   As Director of Sustainability for Philadelphia, Katherine Gajewski has helped our city become greener since July of 2009. Prior to coming on board to head the sustainability front for Mayor Michael Mayor Nutter, she worked on the smoke-free legislation for Breathe Free Philadelphia Alliance and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Gajweski has lived everywhere from Montana, Vermont, Seattle and Chicago. We asked her a few questions to find out more about Mayor Nutter's sustainable lady-in-charge. (Jump on through to read the Q&A, & find out where in the world Katherine would magically transport herself if she could!)

Feel like you want to get out and meet new sustainably-minded people? You're not alone. During our recent plastic bag reduction happy hour, we met a few new Philadelphians who were interested in finding green events - but had no idea how. But the weather is getting warmer and Philadelphia is kicking up its sustainable activities. How can you get outside and active? Whether you’re brand spanking new to Philadelphia have accumulated many rosters of Phillies t-shirts, we have 8 ways to meet new Philadelphians:

Let’s face it: People in my life generally know about my sustainability addiction within a few days. It’s hard not to mention a project I’m working on, blogging about or the latest ‘eco’ event. I even laid out the extent of 5 of my dirty green habits for the world to see. Although people proudly inform me of their green habits and reusable bag usage, they also use me as their not-so-green confidant. I've heard “I used a plastic water bottle. Will you still be my friend?” more than a few times... It’s impossible to be completely green and you often have to pick the greenest solutions for you. For example, you may live in the suburbs where there isn't a train station in sight and choose a hybrid as a compromise. There's more un-green secrets we all keep locked up. Here's 5 of my guilty-green conscious secrets straight from the closet:

Happy Friday, Green Philly Friends! Hope you got a dose of spring with this warmer weather & the Philadelphia Flower Show last week! It's been a while since a good ol' sustainable link roundup, but there's so damn much going on in Philly & in green-land. Here's some of our favorite links & must-know tips.

St. Patrick’s Day is so close we can taste the green beer. After making your Irish holiday more sustainable, it's time to kick back and relax with a delicious treat. This vegan version of the shamrock smoothie will put those corn-syrup, ridiculously fat-packed shakes to shame. Shameless Shamrock Smoothie: