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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!)

Today is World Water Day 2013! In 1993 the United Nations General Assembly declared March 22 World Day for Water. Every year the UNGA focuses on a specific aspect of water conservation. This year the theme is water cooperation.  From the UNGA " (We) recognize that cooperation is essential to strike a balance between the different needs and priorities and share this precious resource equitably, using water as an instrument of peace. Promoting water cooperation implies an interdisciplinary approach bringing in cultural, educational and scientific factors, as well as religious, ethical, social, political, legal, institutional and economic dimensions." One important takeaway from this statement is that water is a shared resource. It is not ours to use as we please at anytime, and it shouldn't be taken for granted. There. is.not.an.endless.supply. By paying attention to our personal and family water usage all year we're taking small steps to help the cause. What can you do?

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:

While I love most things green it did take me a little while to jump on the green juice bandwagon.  Oddly enough my parents had a juicer back in the 90s (before juicing became trendy!) and I remember grimacing as a kid when they'd offer me a green concoction. I guess they were ahead of the times because now I have a juicer and kind of love the thing. Yep, I can be a slow adapter but now that I have experienced true green juice goodness there may be no turning back. We've discussed the juicing craze a bit before - including the benefits behind it and the pros and cons that come with the hype. Whether you're curious about juice or you're already hard-core this juice will become your new favorite green juice. It's refreshing and a little sweet. The apple is key to balancing out all the veggies! And, the lemon/lime combo add a hint of citrusy spring flavor. I especially recommend this recipe to those who have trouble with salad-like, pungent juices. I know a lot of people that juice first thing in the morning. I tend to enjoy my juice mid morning or for an afternoon snack.  (I still love my morning coffee, nut butter and occasional muffin...I'm human.) Either way this juice is a nice compliment to lunch or as a tasty stand-alone snack.

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:

Attention local food & brew lovers: we hope you made it to the one-of-a-kind the Brewer's Plate this year! The Brewer's Plate had a perfect balance of local noms, brewskies, liquors and dessert. Each exhibitor was enthusiastic about their tasty creation, and the pours were generous. As Ann Karlen, Executive Director, Fair Food stated, "The event benefitting Fair Food was a huge success in bringing together brewers, restaurants and consumers as a way to celebrate local foods and artisans – a very big part of our mission. We tried something new this year, as we featured Aimee Olexy in our VIP area where she led a guided tasting of cheese paired with beer. Everyone really found it interesting and enjoyed it". Let's take our tastebuds and revisit the Brewer's Plate 2013:

There once was a time when the now ubiquitous catchphrase "there's an app for that" elicited a cynical reaction in me. Perhaps it was because I held on to my blackberry for a little too long (I thought it was easier to type on.) Or, maybe it's because I tend to be a bit skeptical when it comes to the notion that technology can solve all our problems. Maybe I even thought "hey my grandparents and their parents and everyone before them did just fine without apps or iPhones so I can too." Whatever the reason... I got over my stubbornness and discovered a whole slew of apps that make my life easier. There's several eco apps that are particularly useful and interesting to me, and I think these free eco apps listed below might be helpful to you too. iRecycle:  Tells you how, where and when to recycle.  You can sort by categories such as automotive, electronics, glass, household, paper and more. The app will use your location, or you can input a specific location and it pulls up resources that'll help you decide where to take your stuff. Click through for more apps to help you stay green!