Green Philly Blog’s 2015 in Review

Happy almost-2016! Let’s hope that this year was great for you as it was for us!

Let’s reflect on 2015 for the blog.

January

We started off 2015 with a BANG during the Big Green Party. Over 200 of you attended our first big bash at City CoHo (co-hosted by the Sustainability Nexus) and ate, drank and partied with Philly Jesus.

February

My life was changed when after a 5-day yoga retreat in Tulum, Mexico. All stress disappeared for a few days while eating tacos, drinking margaritas, making new friends — and oh yeah, practicing yoga.  Seriously, how could you not want to try this divine getaway?

While I was vacationing in Mexico, Green Philly Blog’s Mom (AKA Barb) attended the 2015 Flower Show Press Preview. This year’s theme of “Celebrate the Movies” covered everything from Marilyn Monroe to Frozen.

March

One of my favorite events of the year, Delaware Valley Green Building Council ‘s Tri-State Symposium. I moderated a session on water, and Caitlin of My Milkcrate recapped her 3 biggest lessons from the day.

Although this conference is geared towards green building professionals, they had sessions about engaging millennials, how artists can help spread the sustainability conversation and more. I’d highly recommend putting this on your radar for 2016.

Another March favorite for GPB is the Brewer’s plate, which benefits Fair Food. A locavore’s dream of beers and food pairings, it’s one of my favorite food events of the year.

April

Election season rallied up Philadelphians for the Mayoral Race, including SBN’s Mayoral Forum, which we live tweeted and covered. Mayoral-Elect Jim Kenney gave a strong performance.

Philadelphia’s bike share system, Indego, officially kicked off in April, providing a low-cost solution to those who wanted to give biking a spin. (Get it?)

On a personal level…

On April 23rd (aka the day after Earth Day), I officially threw in the towel to give the whole consulting thing a whirl. As principal of Green Philly Company, I’ve been lucky to work with sustainably-minded businesses to help with their social media and marketing needs. A few highlights of post-corporate world include working the Philly Farm & Food Fest with Red Earth Farm and working for 6 months with the Park Champions of Fairmount Park Conservancy.

May

New GPB writer, Alisha Ebling, addressed the 5 things that drive Philadelphia bikers insane, from potholes to trolley tracks and other bikers.

We also found an interactive map that finds you FREE Philadelphia Recycling bins.

June

Our friends at Head and the Hand Press released the Corn Belt Almanac, and publisher Nic Esposito was kind enough to include one of our tales in the mix. We love that they believe in local writers to share their stories without heading to the big apple.

July

The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability released its final (2015) Greenworks report under Mayor Michael Nutter.

Our friends at the Food Trust introduced themselves as they took over our Instagram for a few days and taught us more insight about farmer’s markets.

August

Our friends at Climate & Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP) finally explained why our brain is literally wired to ignore climate change.

September

Someone who’s kind of a big deal came to Philly: The Pope. Even after all the hoopla and complaints, it ended up being a pretty sweet sustainable deal. And gave us a preview of what an #OpenStreetsPHL would look like. This was quite the relief after reports of assaults on the Schuylkill River Trail rocked the running & biking community.

October

We were kind of hooked on water in October. Philadelphia Water did a guest series on GPB, explaining how forward thinking the Green Cities, Clean Waters plan is for the city and nation. We then were curious about our water quality, so Alisha Ebling even investigated what’s actually in our Philly water – and told us.

November

We love chatting with our readers and community, so November was an appropriate time to debut everyday hero Skyler Willman-Cole in our first GPB video chat.

Love this weird warm Fall weather? We gave ideas of 14 hikes doable from Philly for you.

December

As we approach 2016, we only have days left in office with our Mayor Michael Nutter. We discovered Christine Knapp is taking over the reigns for current Director of Sustainability Katherine Gajewski, whom we couldn’t let leave office without a proper exit interview.

December also had a major milestone across the Atlantic: the Paris Climate Talks included 196 nations agreeing on a plan to adapt to climate change. Need an update? Alisha Ebling came to the rescue again and recapped it for us.

 

Readers, tell us your highlights and memories of 2015. What are you looking forward to in the new year?