Vigil for Academy, Indigenous garden restoration & more

Catch up on the latest sustainability news:

Activists hold march and vigil for Academy of Natural Sciences. Drexel University students and science advocates held a march and candlelight vigil to mark one month since the abrupt closing of the Academy of Natural Sciences on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The vigil came just one day after City Council grilled Drexel representatives on the closure as well. Advocates say over 120,000 people have signed a petition to reopen the museum. Audacy and The Philadelphia Inquirer

Teens and community leaders push for better SEPTA student passes. Philadelphia students get free rides on SEPTA, but the passes are too restricted, say teens and community leaders. Currently, students can ride for free only under certain limitations: they must live farther than 1.5 miles from school, are allowed eight rides per day between 5:30 a.m. and 8 p.m., and can only use the pass while school is in session – so no free rides on weekends, holidays, or summer break. One student, Ciera Drayton, said, “I feel like we don’t stop being kids after 8 p.m. We don’t stop being students after Friday.” WHYY 

Gardening group restores land sovereignty. For the past six months, one gardening group dedicated to restoring native plants has transformed three vacant lots into native gardens. We Are the Seeds, a nonprofit organization that hosts and supports Indigenous programming in Philadelphia. The group hopes to plant more native gardens throughout the city to connect more people to the land. The Guardian  

Green stormwater management may not be enough. Philadelphia was one of the first large cities in the United States to embrace and scale green stormwater infrastructure. For cities with old systems like Philadelphia, however, green infrastructure may not be enough to combat major sewage overflow during storms. Climate change is also creating larger, more intense storms every year, straining an already overburdened system. Although green infrastructure has helped, the city is now considering building a more extensive tunnel network over the next decade. WHYY

Artists and musicians present multidisciplinary climate survival piece. Grammy Award-winning choir The Crossing is teaming up with artist Suzanne Bocanegra to present How to Survive, a multidisciplinary art installation on surviving extreme weather as the planet warms. The installation asks participants to truly enter into and experience what it would be like to survive a natural disaster through music, moving images, and gallery art. The piece will be on display from November 20 through January 3. 

Cover photo: Jessica Beebe from The Crossing, as part of art installation How to Survive. Photo by Linda Johnson.