Philly

Need some fresh plants in your life? TreePhilly is back for 2013! Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, Fairmount Park Conservancy and Wells Fargo paired up for the Spring 2013 TreePhilly giveaway. Now through March 31st, any Philadelphia property owner can request a free yard tree on their private property. New additions to the 2013 giveaway include:

Who cares about what we throw away? Why does it matter? And have you ever, truly thought about it? The Taxonomy of Trash is determined to find out. Back in October 2011, a group of artists were at the Revolution Recovery recycling center right here in Philadelphia to participate in the Recycled Artist-in-Residency program. They realized there were jewels in the rubbish, or dare I say, that 'One man's trash is another man's treasure' . The Taxonomy of Trash is an analytical approach to stuff we throw away. They're building a

Mayor Michael Nutter has done a lot of cool stuff for Philly's sustainability scene. In 2009, he realized that the city needed to treat every street as a "Complete Street" to accommodate the different ways Philadelphians choose to travel - whether by bike, bus, car, train or strolling. Thus, the Complete Streets Policy was required to accommodation safety and convenience for all users and balance the needs of ALL users. (This is why the recent Bill 120532, which increases fines for improper parking AND bicycling behavior emphasized importance on multiple transit types.) The result? Check out the Complete Streets Handbook 2013 final version, which has been released for your eyes here. We reviewed the 163 page handbook for you. To save you time, here are some sustainable observations:

Riding SEPTA isn't just good for sustainability, our public transit system is  learning to save dollars too, according to Plan Philly! SEPTA is in its third year of its formal sustainability program. All of the initiatives are trying to add environmental, social and economic value.  But, SEPTA is finding that sustainability is an easy way to save money too! Last year, they tried creating energy in creative ways, including  braking trains (captured & reused at power stations) and turned unused real estate into a self-sustaining urban farm. Here are some examples of how dollar bills were accumulating in SEPTA's pockets:

Want to learn about blogging, marketing, SEO and networking in Philly's green scene? The blogging interns at Green Philly Blog are instrumental at increasing the content on our website, as well as participate in Social Media, SEO and other potential opportunities. We have a few open positions and can provide experience in a variety of areas, pending the intern’s interest/experience. For questions and a complete intern description, please email us at greenphillyblog@gmail.com.

Philadelphia gets more sustainable street cred, this time from the Mayors! The US Conference of Mayors recognized Philadelphia's public-private partnership with Recyclebank with an Outstanding Achievement Award. Last weekend, the Washington DC ceremony honored the city's Philadelphia Recycling Rewards program, based on criteria including:

Great news, friends. If you care about something and voice your opinion, people in power listen. Although I must admit, I used to be a bit skeptical of individual actions towards political change.  I was a political science major in college, and one of the main takeaways was "Corporations lobbyists rule government."  The internets were raging over the past few days, as City Council bill 120917 would hurt community gardens.

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission presented The Future is Now: Philadelphia 2035 Update at the Center for Architecture (1218 Arch Street) last evening. A packed room (half-standing) for the "sold out" event, attendees from younger to well aged  made an appearance - including a surprise speech from Mayor Michael Nutter. Sustainability was a main focus of the city plan, both with current progress and future goals. The Citizens Planning Institute, a Philadelphia City Planning Commission project involving official education and outreach recognized its volunteer graduates during the program. Philadelphia 2035 is the two-phase plan for the physical development of our city for 25 years (2011-2035) using the "new" zoning code. Last night's discussion began with highlights of Philadelphia's progress in 2012, which was formulated into a 12 month "report" calendar for participants. Much of the progress was due to the Greenworks sustainability initiatives: (Find out about the Philadelphia 2035 recap AND what Mayor Nutter had to say about plastic bags to us, after the jump!)

Happy New Year! As I stated on MNN, one of my new years resolution is to help pass Philadelphia reduce plastic bags. It's easy: we want common sense legislation to encourage reusable bags and discourage single bag use. How can you help and get involved to reduce plastic bags?