FEBRUaRy 2013 / issUE 46 gridphilly.com

S u S ta i n a b l e p h i l a d e l p h i a

can a land bank help Solve our city’S vacant land problem?+

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isolated activity.

How do you grow a healthy child? With an engaging

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Join us: 7500 Germantown Ave | Mount AirySaturday, March 9 @ 10 am

this is also a great opportunity for communities to decide what their neighborhoods need, and how they should look. And that, ideally, would include recognition of the hundreds of communi-ty gardens, like Central Club and Norris Square Neighborhood Project, who have profoundly im-proved their neighborhoods. It’s time they get the respect, and the land, they deserve.

alex j. mulcahy, Publisheralex@gridphilly.com

Are you a good planner? It’s not my strong suit. I just don’t tend to look all that far into the future. Take our office,

for example, and its hodgepodge of office furni-ture. There’s what we call the Majestic Desk, a Staples version of an executive desk that, at 23, I thought would give my work a sense of impor-tance. Then there’s the cluster of decidedly less regal and more modern desks that were bought in a period of rapid growth, again from Staples. Through the years we added a few simple (cheap) workstations for interns and part-time employ-ees, and another desk here and there. And what are we left with? What Dolly Parton would call “a coat of many colors.”

If only I’d known from the get-go exactly how many people would be working in our office. I could have ordered a set of matching desks, hiring talented woodworkers like Bench Dog, Greensaw or Stable Tables to outfit our office with furniture made from salvaged wood.

So what does office furniture have to do with this month’s cover story (p. 18) on vacant land? Forgive me if it seems like a glib comparison, but I can see my office landscape as a miniature ver-sion of a city’s evolution. Decisions are made at different times, often by different people, under quickly changing conditions. What seems like a good idea today can seem ridiculous tomorrow.

Here in Philadelphia, we’ve seen excellent (and often energy efficient) housing stock aban-doned and neglected. Suburbanization and white flight conspired to turn once-vibrant sections of our city into shadows of themselves, leaving empty spaces where there shouldn’t be any.

The establishment of a land bank, which would make it easier to purchase abandoned real estate, gives the City a chance at something akin to a do-over, at least partially. Decisions can be made anew about how best to use the land, which amounts to 40,000 lots. Although the City is hungry for more businesses and tax dollars,

No VacancyA second chance at a well-planned city

publisherAlex Mulcahy

215.625.9850 ext. 102 alex@gridphilly.com

managing editorLiz Pacheco

liz@gridphilly.com

art directorJamie Leary

jamie@gridphilly.com

designerDanni Sinisi

danni@gridphilly.com

distributionJesse Kerns

215.625.9850 ext. 100 jesse@gridphilly.com

marketingMorgan Berman

morgan@gridphilly.com

copy editorAndrew Bonazelli

writersBernard Brown

Grace Dickinson Marisa McClellan Courtney Sexton Missy Steinberg

Leah Troiano Alex Zorach

photographers Neal Santos

Gene Smirnov Emily Wren Albert Yee

illustratorsJames Boyle

Melissa McFeeters

ad salesAlex Mulcahy

215.625.9850 ext. 102 alex@gridphilly.com

published byRed Flag Media

1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107

215.625.9850

g r i d p h i l ly . c o m

Cov e r i l lust r at i o n by m e l i ssa m C f e et e rs

Master ofINDUSTRIALDESIGN

What makes the

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Design is a catalyst for strategic creativity and organizational learning. The UArts MiD program prepares students to use designin powerful ways that create meaningful change.

UArts. Creativity Propelled.UArts.edu

UArts MID faculty members are exper ienced professionals work ing at the intersection of design, business, and social science who help prepare graduates to be leaders in design research and strategy, exper ience and service design,and organizational change.

Learn more at mid.uar ts.edu

n ov e m b e r 2 0 12 g r i d p h i l ly.co m 7

1. When the inside of your home feels like a cozy retreat.2. Making your home’s heating and cooling system work better than ever.

me feels like a cozy retreat.g and coolinger.

HVAC upgrade noun (āch vak up･grād)

Schedule your Comprehensive Home Energy Assessment today. It's your first step towards saving money, saving energy and living more comfortably. Get started now for just $150.

215-609-1052EnergyWorks is a program of the Metropolitan Caucus of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery

and Philadelphia counties, and is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Reading TeRminal maRkeTMON–SAT 8–6 & SUN 9–5 • $4 PARKING • 12Th & ARch STReeTS • 215-922-2317 www.readingterminalmarket.org

Kauffman’s

Iovine ’s

OK Produce

Fair Food

rtmGRID4.5x4.75_Layout 1 8/31/12 3:24 PM Page 1

fact Last year, 3.9 million vinyl records were sold in the U.S., the highest amount since 1991.

problem With vinyl records making a resurgence, you might be thinking twice about toss-ing those old 45s. But if you do trash them, the landfill is not the best place. Most old-school vinyl records are made with Polyvinyl chloride (PVC). When buried, PVC can leak dioxin, a toxic chemical that can contaminate groundwater. Since dioxins are fat-soluble, they concentrate in human tissue. Addi-tionally, chlorine production for new vinyl manufacturing releases more than 200,000 pounds of mercury into our air, water and soil each year. Recycling vinyl bypasses that chlorine use.

solutionFirst, take your unwanted records to local record stores. If they have any value, you may walk away with a few dol-lars. If not, recycling is a challenge since the options are limited. Philadelphia-based Vinylux (vinylux.net) has been recycling re-cords into bowls, coasters and clocks (among other things) for 10 years, and is committed to working in Philadelphia. Vinylux accept donations of clean (no mold, please!) size 33 or 45 records. Arrange for drop-off by con-tacting them at records@vinylux.net. Here in Philadelphia, eForce Compliance (3114 Gray’s Ferry Ave., eforcecompliance.com) accepts vinyl records. And another option, although not in Philadelphia, is Recy-cling Services, Inc., in Pottstown (365 Elm St., Pottstown, recyclingservices.org).

They accept records, but it costs $8 per car to enter the facil-ity. However, they also accept other miscellaneous re-cyclables, such as Tyvek envelopes, candles and bat-teries, making a trip there potentially more worthwhile.

by samantha wittchen

Vinyl RecoRds

Everyday HeroWhenever the opportunity for sustainable

improvements arises, Marine tends to step in. Whether it’s on his drive to his job teach-ing science at Buerger Early Learning Center in Center City or to his part-time gig at Sweet Greens—where he helps to compost 90 per-cent of the business’ food waste—Marine is constantly skimming the streets for recyclable litter.

It’s a tendency Marine developed at a young age growing up in Erdenheim, where his father and grandfather practiced composting in their own gardens. Soon after his son and daughter were born, Marine began teaching science to young children. In 1995, he turned his back-yard garden into a classroom for neighborhood youth and offered “KinderGarden”, 10 weekly summer sessions on organic gardening. Since then, Marine has taught science classes at vari-ous schools and summer camps throughout Pennsylvania—even starting his own youth program, “Science with Nature Jack”—earn-ing his nickname along the way.

In his teaching and all his sustainable prac-tices Marine is always looking to protect the en-vironment. “If we don’t become stewards of the earth,” he says, “how are we going to change this planet for the better?” – Missy Steinberg Know an everyday hero in the sustainability community that should be recognized? Please send nominations (for yourself or someone else) to getinvolved@gridphilly.com.

My husband and I were moving recently and as “Green Novices” our first instinct was to just pitch things the old fashion way. But one night with no cable, no internet, in a room full of empty moving boxes, I picked up a back issue of Grid and behold! There was a short section with information on how to donate vinyl and other items locally. My husband bookmarked the website that contained the addresses and took our unwanted items off to be reused. It was a great feeling knowing that they would be used to make something great! Grid is so much more than your average magazine! —lawanda horton

Even in december, “Nature” Jack Marine’s Bala Cynwyd home is sur-rounded by dozens of pumpkins.

These former jack-o-lanterns, some of which are as large as 200 pounds, rest in Marine’s seven compost bins, undergoing a natural, three-month metamorphosis. Over time the pumpkins will become organic soil that Marine will use in his home garden to grow tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and yes, more pumpkins.

Marine has been collecting his neighbors’

unwanted jack-o-lanterns for the past 10 years—not a glamorous task, but one he feels compelled to do since there is no formal com-posting center nearby.

“I was already composting so much and I noticed that people were throwing out pump-kins. I think something inside of me clicked and I said, ‘I’m going to take some of these pumpkins home and put them in my garden,’” explains Marine, who began by going door-to-door gathering gourds.

Dear GriD,

Meet “Nature” Jack Marine, Bala Cynwyd’s relentless composter

On the Record

1. Staying in and getting lost in a good book.

2. The number-one goal for homeowners who want to use less energy and save on utility bills.

energy efficiency noun (en•er• gē ē •fish • en • sē)ē)

EnergyWorks is a program of the Metropolitan Caucus of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, and is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Schedule your Comprehensive Home Energy Assessment today. It's your first step towards saving money, saving energy and living more comfortably. Get started now for just $150.

215-609-1052

PHILADELPHIAUNIVERSITY

MASTER OFSCIENCE IN

SUSTAINABLEDESIGN

ONLINE GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN

SUSTAINABLEPRACTICES

A COLLABORATIVE,MULTIDISCIPLINARY

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

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about the world, encouraging us to improve the way we

design, build and live in the 21st century”

— Rob Fleming,Program Director

Become proficient in Green Building Materials,

Energy Efficiency, Construction Systems and

Sustainable Design

VISITwww.PhilaU.edu/greengridChestnut Hill

8424 Germantown Ave.Mt. Airy

559 Carpenter LaneAcross the Way610 Carpenter Lane

Wheat Freedom

PLEASE JOIN US

• Local vendors sampling gluten-free products

• Weavers Way wheat-free housemade products

• Chestnut Hill hot bar will feature wheat-free items

• The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness will be here to answer questions and give out information.

• Raffle baskets of gluten-free goodies to benefit the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness

GLUTEN-FREE DAYSaturday, January 26, Noon to 4 pm

at all of our Weavers Way locations

n ov e m b e r 2 0 12 g r i d p h i l ly.co m 7

1. When the inside of your home feels like a cozy retreat.2. Making your home’s heating and cooling system work better than ever.

me feels like a cozy retreat.g and coolinger.

HVAC upgrade noun (āch vak up･grād)

Schedule your Comprehensive Home Energy Assessment today. It's your first step towards saving money, saving energy and living more comfortably. Get started now for just $150.

215-609-1052EnergyWorks is a program of the Metropolitan Caucus of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery

and Philadelphia counties, and is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Reading TeRminal maRkeTMON–SAT 8–6 & SUN 9–5 • $4 PARKING • 12Th & ARch STReeTS • 215-922-2317 www.readingterminalmarket.org

Kauffman’s

Iovine ’s

OK Produce

Fair Food

rtmGRID4.5x4.75_Layout 1 8/31/12 3:24 PM Page 1

fact Last year, 3.9 million vinyl records were sold in the U.S., the highest amount since 1991.

problem With vinyl records making a resurgence, you might be thinking twice about toss-ing those old 45s. But if you do trash them, the landfill is not the best place. Most old-school vinyl records are made with Polyvinyl chloride (PVC). When buried, PVC can leak dioxin, a toxic chemical that can contaminate groundwater. Since dioxins are fat-soluble, they concentrate in human tissue. Addi-tionally, chlorine production for new vinyl manufacturing releases more than 200,000 pounds of mercury into our air, water and soil each year. Recycling vinyl bypasses that chlorine use.

solutionFirst, take your unwanted records to local record stores. If they have any value, you may walk away with a few dol-lars. If not, recycling is a challenge since the options are limited. Philadelphia-based Vinylux (vinylux.net) has been recycling re-cords into bowls, coasters and clocks (among other things) for 10 years, and is committed to working in Philadelphia. Vinylux accept donations of clean (no mold, please!) size 33 or 45 records. Arrange for drop-off by con-tacting them at records@vinylux.net. Here in Philadelphia, eForce Compliance (3114 Gray’s Ferry Ave., eforcecompliance.com) accepts vinyl records. And another option, although not in Philadelphia, is Recy-cling Services, Inc., in Pottstown (365 Elm St., Pottstown, recyclingservices.org).

They accept records, but it costs $8 per car to enter the facil-ity. However, they also accept other miscellaneous re-cyclables, such as Tyvek envelopes, candles and bat-teries, making a trip there potentially more worthwhile.

by samantha wittchen

Vinyl RecoRds

EnErgy

The average person throws away 1600 pounds of garbage each year. The average Bennett Compost customer throws away less than half that. Our weekly pick-up of food scraps and other compostable material helps you reduce your impact. Simply place our bucket outside your home or apartment, and we’ll take care of the rest.

Don’t throw it all away!

$15 / month! for residential customers

Business owners: call 215.520.2406 for a

customized quote

BENNETT COMPOST www.bennettcompost.com | 215.520.2406

Gone with the Wind

PECO WIND is defunct, but you can still buy local, renewable energy

Since 2004, the PECO Wind program has allowed customers to purchase renewable electricity that supported wind projects in

Pennsylvania. But as of December 31, the PECO Wind program ended, leaving 20,000 customers without service.

The good news for these 20,000 customers--as well as anyone interested in buying renewables--is that there are plenty of affordable options. Be careful though, not all alternative energy pro-grams are created equal. Just because a utility company operates locally doesn't mean their electricity suppliers are local. It's not uncommon for wind and solar energy to come from outside the state, even the other side of the country.

Here are five green energy suppliers operating in Pennsylvania:

» Clean Currents, cleancurrents.com

» Community Energy, communityenergyinc.com

» Energy Co-op, theenergy.coop

» Green Energy Collaborative, citizenpower.com/GEC

» Washington Gas Energy Services, wges.com

For more information, check out PennFu-ture’s Energy Center (pennfuture.org). There you can find out how to buy clean, renewable energy and browse a list of green energy sup-pliers in Pennsylvania. Another helpful re-source is ChoosePAWind (choosepawind.com). — Liz Pacheco

Are you ready to take the next step in making your home more energy efficient?

Let Grid and EnergyWorks help you get started. Each month we’re giving away one free energy audit. A $400 value!

To enter, visit gridphilly.com

EnErgy Audit ContEst

8 G r i d p h i l ly.Co m F E b ruA ry 2 0 1 3

EnErgy Audit ContEst

Metropolitan

Flour

Beiler’s Market Bakery Famous 4th Street

Reading TeRminal maRkeTMON–SAT 8–6 & SUN 9–5 • $4 PARKING • 12Th & ARch STReeTS • 215-922-2317

www.readingterminalmarket.org

Flying MonkeyTermini Bros.

rtmGRID4.5x4.75_Layout 1 8/31/12 3:27 PM Page 4

You buy your food locally, but what about energy?

SWITCH TO

ENERGYNOW

The Energy Co-op offers

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generated right here in Pennsylvania

215 413 2122Call today, with your energy bill in hand,

or visit us at TheEnergy.Coop, and join the clean energy

movement.

LOCAL CLEAN

F e b r ua ry 2 0 1 3 g r i d p h i l ly.co m 9

When you think of local food, fruits, veg-etables, dairy and meat probably come to mind first. But what about the family-run,

small scale packaged food businesses that call Phila-delphia home? For 25 years, The Pennsylvania General Store at the Reading Terminal Market has been the one-stop shop for buying these regional treats.

Store founder Mike Holahan’s foray into selling lo-cal foods was inspired by a family picnic. “I was head-ing to a football game with my father and I had packed two box lunches using food from different vendors around the market,” says Holahan. “That was when the idea was born to deliver box lunches to offices in the area.”

In June 1987, he hand-delivered his first box lunch to a law firm. The lunches were made with foodstuffs from various market vendors. “We were really doing locally produced lunches before we even thought of it as that,” he says. “I was just using the resources that were here.”

That Christmas, with the help of his then-girlfriend Julie (now wife and business partner), Holahan added gift baskets filled with local specialty items, like jams and honey, to his box lunch operation. “That was when we came up with the idea to sell local products,” he says. “This was the 80s, and no one really had a sense

of what that meant [to source locally].” Soon, Holahan was spending Sundays visiting

small farmers markets and independent grocery stores to find locally made products. Eventually, the gift basket and mail order business grew so large that Holahan sold the boxed lunch venture and opened a retail outlet at the Reading Terminal.

Twenty-five years later, the store is still a go-to source for goods made in the Philadelphia region. The store sells well-known treats like Tastycakes and Peanut Chews, but their shelves also stock Pennsyl-vania Dutch delicacies and an impressive variety of local handmade and bar chocolates. While the Internet has given people better access to these products, Hola-han, who’s also a two-time president of the merchant’s board at the Reading Terminal, says that the store’s location has been critical to the business’ success.

“We survived because of the people who supported us,” he says. “At the end of the day, it’s always about relationships. A place where you feel like you’re in re-lationships with people is where you want to be. And that’s why Reading Terminal Market is different. This is the life I’ve chosen.”

Pennsylvania General Store, 51 N. 12th St. (inside the Reading Terminal Market), pageneralstore.com

Cope’s Dried Sweet CornBaked, stewed or creamed,

this Pennsylvania Dutch classic delivers a toasted

sweet corn flavor. 7.5 oz., $5.25

Burnt Cabin Pancake MixA three-grain pancake mix

from Western, Pa.16 oz., $6.29

Neuchatel Truffles Made in Oxford, Pa. by fourth generation Swiss chocolatier

Albert Lauber. 2-piece box, $3; 4-piece box, $5

Asher’s Dark Chocolate Pretzel

Salty, sweet and crunchy, a perennial favorite.

4 oz., $3.50; 8 oz., $7; 16 oz. $13.99

Caramel- and cookie-covered Granny

Smith ApplesMade in-house,

apples are dipped in caramel and rolled in

crushed Sweetzel’s Spiced Wafer Cookies.

$3.99

70 YEARS

25YEARS

5YEARS

cornerstonescornerstonesMust-Haves froM tHe Pennsylvania General store

70 YEARS

25YEARS

5YEARS

cornerstonescornerstones

70 YEARS

25YEARS

5YEARS

cornerstonescornerstones

Basket Case

BUSINESS

Local food products' longstanding champion by courtney sexton

Cornerstone business changes with the community

P H OTOs by A L b E RT y E E

Mike Holahan founded the Pennsylvania General Store in 1987.

1 0 G r i D P h i l ly.Co M F E b RuA Ry 2 0 1 3

Neighborhood pride is alive and well in West Philadelphia thanks to VIX Emporium. Their “West Philly is the best Philly” logo, designed by local tattoo artist Justin Turkus, has devel-oped a following, appearing on sweatshirts, t-shirts, notebooks and even aprons. The West Philly logo products are just one example of the unique, handmade items sold at VIX, which was opened five years ago by husband-wife team Emily and Sean Dorn.

Before VIX opened, the building at 5009 Bal-timore Avenue was abandoned, although the space had a rich retail history. In the 1930s, the Grumbine sisters from Lewiston, Pa. opened a millinery there; the custom-built wooden display cabinets and printed hatboxes still remain. The Dorns initially started VIX as a consignment shop, but transitioned into retail as more crafters asked to sell their work there. Today, the store sells items from more than 100 different artists and craftspeople.

“[VIX is] a great resource for local artists and for neighbors to find gifts,” says Emily, an artist herself. “I called it an emporium, not a boutique, not a gallery… but a gift store of all descriptions.” Now celebrating their fifth an-niversary, VIX continues supporting local mer-chants, selling gift items like jewelry, pottery, handmade soaps and stationery. They host small workshops and artist launch parties, and help organize the “GO WEST! Craft Fest” annually at the Rotunda, which features local handmade wares. This February look for a new Valentine's craft market VIX is hosting at 30th Street Station. —Courtney Sexton VIX Emporium, Tues-Sat., 5009 Baltimore Ave., 215-471-7700, vixemporium.com

“We’ve changed with the area,” says Green, acknowledging Glenside’s pro-gression into a densely populated sub-urb. In the mid-80s, the Greens built a greenhouse where a corrugated shed once stood. They purchased more property, added parking and, in 1995, built a second greenhouse. “[We have taken] little steps and larger steps to accommodate cus-tomers,” says Green, “moving away from farming equipment and in the direction of gardening and nursery.”

No longer a rural feed mill operation, Primex now serves backyard gardeners. They stock rare gardening supplies and employ horticultural experts. The center offers seasonal workshops, like fall veg-etable planting and terrarium building and supports local organizations, such as Seeds for Learning, the Lancaster Farm

Fresh Cooperative and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Green City Teach-ers. Their summer “Share the Harvest” program invites customers to donate excess produce to Philabundance, a food bank and hunger relief organization.While Primex continues to expand, they’ve taken special effort to support the growing number of customers committed to organic gardening. Green sees this as a continuation of the work that Primex has been doing all along. “I’ve been doing this for 40 years,” says Green, “people need to garden. That’s why we still exist. There’s something about gardening, something about it that’s in us that makes us want to do it.” —Courtney Sexton

Primex Garden Center, 435 W. Glenside Ave. primexgardencenter.com

West Philly Local

Garden CityCornerstone business changes with the community

When Bill Green started Primex Garden Center in 1943, his busi-ness was predominantly a wholesale agricultural distributor, serv-ing farmers in then-rural Glenside, Pa. Seventy years later, Green’s grandson, David, his wife Joan, and their son-in-law Danny are run-ning a different kind of business at Primex, but one that’s proven to be as equally important to the community.

An emporium of locally made giftsThe Primex Garden Center family from left to right: Danny Ginsberg (manager), Katelyn Green (greenhouse staff consultant), David Green (co-owner) and Joan Lagan (co-owner).

Emily Dorn founded VIX Emporium with her husband Sean five years ago.

F e b r ua ry 2 0 1 3 g r i d p h i l ly.co m 1 1

Green livinG

Shiny furniture without the fumes by leah r. troiano

Against the Grain

When the time came to purchase a dining room table, I fell in love with a piece made from stunning, richly

grained mango wood. The table was an extrava-gant purchase, so I listened very carefully while the salesperson recited care instructions. Then I dutifully purchased the recommended furniture polish.

As soon as the table was delivered, I lovingly polished it from top to bottom. However, the pol-ish had a lingering smell. After the job was fin-ished, I decided to read the ingredients.

The ingredients weren’t listed; instead, there was a warning: “Vapor harmful: Use only with adequate ventilation.” Then, at the bottom of the can: “Contains solvents which can cause perma-

nent brain and nervous system damage.” (Insert heavy sigh.)

As I walked around my house, opening win-dows to vent the fumes, I decided to find a way to safely remove the polish and still keep the surface protected.

Luckily, a quick search provided an easy and inexpensive alternative. The best part: I had all the ingredients in my house and you probably do, too!

leah r. troiano, a certified cancer support educator, works with people who have cancer or would like to prevent cancer. Videos on how to make the products featured in this column can be found at cancerhealthandwellness.com. Contact Leah at Leah@CancerHealthandWellness.com.

¼ cup white vinegar

1 Tbsp olive oil

7 to 10 drops lemon or pine essential oil (optional)

Clean spray bottle

Clean cotton cloth

(an old cotton T-shirt works

well)

make YOUR OWN FURNITURe POLISH

HOW TO

→ Add vinegar, olive oil and essential oils to the spray bottle.

→ Shake well. → Wipe the surface free of any large bits of food or heavy dust.

→ Spray mixture on a small surface area. → Rub mixture into the furniture, working your way over the entire surface.

* The vinegar cleans and the olive oil moisturizes. Strained lemon juice can be substituted for the vinegar, but leftovers should be tossed after each use (the olive oil can go rancid). When using this or any new product, always test a small inconspicuous area for adverse reaction before using.

Going green can put the green back

in your wallet. Households that use

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save on average more

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foodfood

What to look for Choose potatoes that are firm to the touch. Steer clear of soft, wrinkly skin, and avoid discolored spots, though a few eyes—or small, circular crevices—per potato are okay. Just be sure the eyes aren’t sprouting or taking over the surface. Also, don’t worry about dirt; it’s simply a remnant of the potato’s former home.

for The gardener While Idaho wins the award for growing the

most Russets, the crop can fare rather well in Philadelphia, too. Sally McCabe, a project manager for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, says the key is acidic soil. “When the soil’s acidic, you get less scab,” she says, referring to the black spots Russets are inclined to develop. “They really like a 6 to a 6.5 pH level.” McCabe, who has been gardening for 50 years, uses pine needles to increase acidity in her raised beds. But there are other options. “What I see a lot of people do is to add coffee grounds to acidify the soil. People will say add peat moss, but peat moss is a nonrenewable resource, so I don’t recommend that.”

Once harvested, potatoes should be stored at 50 to 60 degrees. “The root cellar would be the ideal place,” says McCabe. “If not, you should choose a location to store them that’s somewhere between hot and cold so they don’t get soft or sprout prematurely.”Favorite way to eat: “Baked in the oven… with butter. The potato was invented [as] a vehicle for butter.”

from The Farm Mary Butler, farm manager of Blue Elephant Farm in Kennett

Square, Pa., says potatoes are one of the most reliable crops to grow. “The biggest factor is the soil,” says Butler. “You need a moist soil, but not too wet or soggy. If the soil’s waterlogged, we just won’t plant right away.”

Potatoes prefer cool weather, so once spring arrives it’s best to get them into the ground as soon as possible. Generally, Butler will plant potatoes by St. Patrick’s Day, but if it’s a cold and wet spring, she’ll wait a bit longer. Russets need 80 to 115 days before harvesting, depending upon how hot and wet the summer’s been. “The time to pull them out is late August or early September,” says Butler. “When the vine above the ground starts to die, that’s typically the sign that the Russets are ready to be dug.”Favorite way to eat: “After they’re just dug. I like to boil them that night and serve with mint and butter.”

The Russet is our country’s favorite potato. Roasted, fried, boiled, baked, there’s really no cooking method that doesn’t yield a tasty result. In America, we find Russets as potato chips and French

fries. They arrive mashed with milk and butter at our holiday tables, and foil-wrapped as a dinnertime classic finished with a generous dollop of sour cream.

The word “Russet” translates to “rough”—a name undoubtedly indica-tive of its skin, not taste. Their muddy, sandpapery surface is a stark con-trast to the starchy, white flesh hidden inside. As this month’s chef Mitch Prensky of Supper points out, Russets can be used for more than classic com-fort foods. His Italian-inspired recipe takes advantage of the potato’s natural flavor, enhancing it with anchovies and leeks. But whether you’re adding some unusual ingredients, or simply butter and salt, this hardy vegetable can lend warmth all winter long.

grace dickinson is a food blogger, photo enthusiast and recipe creator. These passions are brought together on FoodFitnessFreshAir.com, where she chronicles her experiments in the kitchen.

This spud’s for youstory and photos by

grace dickinson

The Whole food

Russet Potatoes

Nutrition 101 Russets have a drier flesh than other potato varieties, a result of their comparably high starch to low sugar ratio. They’re an excellent source of vitamin B6 and vitamin C—each potato has roughly 35 to 50 percent of the recommended daily value. Russets also have four grams of fiber (more than a quarter of your daily value), and a decent amount of protein for a vegetable (five grams). For optimal nutritional value, be sure to eat the skin, which holds most of the nutrients.

14 g r i d p h i l ly.co m F e B RuA Ry 2 0 1 3

�� For the potatoes: Preheat oven to 425° F. Rub Russets with olive oil to coat, and season with salt, pepper and smoked paprika.�� Transfer potatoes to a lightly

greased baking sheet. Place in oven and roast 12 to 18 minutes, or until fork tender. Remove from oven and set aside in a mixing bowl.�� For the Leeks: Cut the leeks in

half, then into 4-inch pieces. Wash thoroughly in a bowl of water. Season leeks with salt, pepper and olive oil. Grill leeks on a hot grill or grill pan until slightly charred and tender. Cut into 2-inch lengths and add to potatoes.�� For the Bagna Cauda: In a

saucepot, add 1 cup of olive oil, garlic, anchovies, lemon zest, pepper and a pinch of salt. Place on low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not let garlic brown.�� To Finish: Toss potatoes with

liquid smoke and then, leeks. Add warm Bagna Cauda dressing. Place in a serving bowl and top with fresh herbs (such as sage) and lemon slices, if desired. Serve warm as an accom-paniment to grilled steak, chicken or dish of your choice.

3 large Russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 cup olive oil, plus more to coat

2 tsp smoked paprika1 tsp liquid smoke1 bunch (4 medium)

leeks6 garlic cloves, chopped1 lemon, zested8 anchovies, chopped1 Tbsp ground black

pepper Salt Fresh herbs, optional

Smoky Roasted Russet Potatoes with Bagna Cauda and Grilled Leeks(Serves 4)

for The kitchen Chef Mitch Pren-sky opened Sup-

per with his wife, Jennifer, in 2007. Not long after, the res-taurant partnered with the owners of Blue Elephant Farm (see page 9), to deliver a true farm-to-table experience. Prensky now gets 85 to 90 percent of his produce, includ-ing a quarter-acre worth of potatoes, from Blue Elephant. While Prensky sometimes features fingerlings, reds and other potato varieties, the Russet rarely leaves his menu.

“The good thing about the Russet is that it’s hardier,” he says. “It stands up to that slow cooking we do with duck fat to make our fries.” Duck fat fries are a signature staple on the Supper menu.

For Prensky, Russets are his go-to potato. “It’s one of those working-man ingredients, almost like having car-rots, or celery or onion,” he says. “People kind of overlook [the Russet] because it’s everywhere, but without it, there are a lot of things that couldn’t happen. For a potato, it’s a terrific starting point because it’s a canvas that also has a great flavor to it on its own.”

For the following recipe, the potato canvas is enhanced with Bagna Cauda, an anchovy and olive oil-based dip. Traditionally, Bagna Cauda, which means “warm bath” in Italian, is a dipping sauce for vegetables, but Prensky loves its rich flavor and uses it for marinating everything from potatoes to chicken or steak.

Supper, 926 South St., supperphilly.

com

for The pantryPotatoes are an

absolute boon to home gardeners and food preservers. They can be stored straight from the soil, frozen for easy use or pressure canned for an instant mash. �� Russets like a cool, dark place with just a little

bit of air circulation. Try tucking an apple into the bag with the potatoes to help prevent age-related wrinkling. �� For ready-to-use potatoes, peel, chop, then par-

boil for 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and pack into bags. Squeeze out air and freeze for up to one year. 

To can, blanch potatoes, pack into jars, and process in a pressure canner (see the National Center for Home Food Preservation, nchfp.uga.edu, for more details).  —Marisa McClellan

Learn more about food preservation at McClellan's blog foodinjars.com

from the kitchen of Mitch prensky

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The value of that land is not having the

City hold it. The value of the land is that [it]

gets redeveloped and put back to active

use for the City.

Can a proposed land bank stir development in Philadelphia’s

40,000 vacant lots while respecting community needs?

Blight’s Out

story by Liz Pacheco illustration by Melissa McFeeters

“They began to use that lot for youth ac-tivities, vacation Bible school and community meetings,” explains Mabel’s son Stanley Wil-son, pointing to a grassy lot across the street from Central Club headquarters, which was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1947. Under Mabel’s care, the empty lots became an unof-ficial community center. She offered classes in skills like typing and sewing, hosted pic-nics, and organized arts and crafts for neigh-borhood kids. She also planted gardens and taught how to grow vegetables, fruits and flowers, creating an edible urban oasis.

Mabel passed away in 2010 and since then Stanley has run the nonprofit. But now, due to Philadelphia’s laws on vacant land owner-ship, Mabel’s work and legacy are in jeopardy. According to the City, the lots Central Club uses are still vacant, and the organization must own the land to continue their work. Unfortunately, gaining ownership is a com-plicated process. In 2010, Central Club suc-ceeded in acquiring eight privately owned lots, which also came with decades of tax debt. If the debt isn’t paid, the organization could lose title to the land and see the parcels go to sheriff’s sale.

Central Club’s story has become all too fa-miliar in Philadelphia. There are currently 40,000 vacant lots in the city. They plague every neighborhood, encouraging blight and crime, and draining City funds. However, with so many lots ownership is difficult to track and the purchasing process so com-plex that people wait years, even decades to acquire rights; sometimes they don’t get them at all.

But there is good news. Philadel-phia has found a potential solution. This past Octo-ber, Pennsylvania passed a bill that allows cities to create a land bank—a single entity that would organize, track and sell City-owned vacant property. The land bank would also be able to take ownership of privately owned, tax-delinquent property, like the lots Central Club uses, without a sher-iff ’s sale. Proponents of the bill are excited; a land bank could bring order, efficiency and transparency to the process. However, granting power to a single entity could po-tentially exclude important stakeholders, like urban gardeners and local nonprofits, from discussions on how vacant property should be used. In the meantime, the current system remains in place and the future of Philadel-phia’s neighborhoods hangs in the balance.

Clean lots, safe CommunitiesWhile vacant lots are spread throughout the city, 75 percent are concentrated in the second, third, fifth and seventh districts, which are largely in North and Southwest Philadelphia. Of these 40,000 lots, 10,000 are publicly owned, mostly by four City de-partments: the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, Philadelphia Housing Authority, the Department of Public Property and the Philadelphia Housing Development Corpora-tion. Each agency has its own rules and poli-cies for selling land parcels. The remaining

When mabel wilson and her mother moved to Gray’s Ferry in 1929, her cul-de-sac block was lined with rowhomes. Soon though,

many homes were abandoned and the City tore them down, leaving behind a block of empty lots. Looking at these new eyesores, Mabel decided to do something.

OF VACANT LOTS Are

CONCeNTrATed iN

NOrTh ANd

SOuThWeST

PhiLAdeLPhiA

75 %

the value of that land is not having the

City hold it. the value of the land is that [it]

gets redeveloped and put back to active

use for the City.

“

“

Above & Below: Inside the community gardens of the Norris Square Neighborhood Project. The nonprofit, which was founded in 1974, is still struggling to gain ownership of the vacant lots they've been gardening on and using as public community space for the past 25 years.

Anne FAdullon

F E B R UA RY 2 0 1 3 gridphilly.com 1 9

30,000 lots are privately owned. Each year, va-cancies cost the City at least $2 million in uncol-lected property taxes and more than $20 million in maintenance fees. If developed, it’s estimated the lots could generate more than $180 million in economic activity and $35 million in new tax revenue.

Economics aside, managing vacant proper-ties could mean a lot more for communities. Dr. Charles Branas, an epidemiologist at the Univer-sity of Pennsylvania, has been studying the ef-fects of vacant properties by tracking the work of Philadelphia LandCare—a City-funded program run by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS). The program works on a piecemeal level, cleaning and greening individual lots that have violated City codes. In studying almost eight mil-lion square feet of vacant properties transformed by LandCare, Dr. Branas found that in some ar-eas residents were less stressed and exercised more. More significantly though, he found that in all neighborhoods where the program had operated gun violence decreased.

“If you’re walking down the block and five of these [lots] have been done, it’s a pretty big vi-sual shift,” says Dr. Branas, who notes that these aesthetic changes provide fewer places for illegal guns to be hidden. “We think that really has a shift in the opportunity for gun violence in the surrounding space.”

In the LandCare program, PHS chooses lots in neighborhoods with a poor or declining real estate market that show promise because of their relationships with community organizations or

local institutions. “The way that we view our program is that it’s not a clean-up program, but a community development program that will expand the opportunities for investment in the neighborhoods of Philadelphia,” explains Bob Grossman, director and co-creator of the pro-gram. PHS also operates a Community Land-Care program in which community organiza-tions enter into a contract with the City to enlist neighborhood residents in cleaning and maintaining vacant lots. Over the pro-gram’s 12 years, more than 10 million square feet have been cleaned.

While the PHS pro-gram is making progress in cleaning up vacant lots, there’s another, less formal movement to revi-talize these spaces: urban gardening.

“We have used our gar-dening as a way of manag-ing vacant land within the community,” says Reed Davaz McGowan, execu-tive director for the Nor-ris Square Neighborhood Project (NSNP). The nonprofit, located in a primarily Puerto Rican neighborhood in North Philadelphia, was found-ed in 1974 with a mission to provide community members with a space to grow produce and cel-ebrate their culture, but also to clean up vacant

lots, reduce crime and develop a more positive public space for residents.

“When people wouldn’t go into Kensington,” says McGowan, “we made something beautiful.” Today, NSNP has six culturally themed gardens that attract visitors from all over the world. Their largest garden, Las Parcelas, was built on 21 row-home lots formerly used by drug dealers as an open air market. Las Parcelas now hosts gar-

dens, a fully functioning kitchen, a chicken coop and various community spaces, including La Casi-ta, a small home that rep-resents life in Puerto Rico in the early 20th century.

NSNP has been using the Las Parcelas lots for more than 25 years, yet doesn’t have full owner-ship of the land. “In every-thing but the deed they’re ours,” says McGowan. “[For] more than 10 years we’ve been working on these lots the City consid-ers us responsible for, but hasn’t passed on the title

to yet.” In fact, the City administration fully sup-ports NSNP’s work; Mayor Nutter has visited multiple times and recognized the gardens as models for other communities in Philadelphia. The delay is a result of the vacant lands owner-ship process.

$$$

UNCOLLECTED PROPERTY TAXES

$2 MILLION

40,000VACANT LOTS

$180 MILLION$20 MILLION +

MAiNTENANCE FEES

POTENTiAL ECONOMiC ACTiViTY

$35 MILLIONPOTENTiAL TAX REVENUE

PRIVATELY OWNED30,000

PUBLICLY OWNED10,000

$$$$$

I think it’s a game changer, similar to

what tax abatement was at a time when we needed to stir

development.

“

“COUNCiLwOMAN MARíA

QUiñONES-SáNChEz

2 0 gRIDPhILLY.COm F E B RUA RY 2 0 1 3

STRUGGLES WITHIN THE SYSTEMIf a lot is privately owned, applicants must first find the owner. This alone can be very time-consuming because ownership records are often missing or inaccurate. Applicants can then file what is known as an expression of interest and wait to see what happens; there’s no timeline for processing lot ownership requests.

This summer, purchasing publicly owned land did get a little easier thanks to the Rede-velopment Authority’s new “Front Door” policy. Under this policy, individuals can make a single application for purchase. The policy includes a new online map (phila.gov/pra) that shows what properties are available for purchase, and reinstated the side yards program, which allows residents to purchase adjacent lots for one dollar, plus transfer expenses. Despite these improve-ments, applicants must still deal with individual agencies once through the “front door.”

“There’s not a plan for [vacant land redevel-opment] at the city level, it’s being created as it’s going along,” says McGowan. “We may be in-forming process at the same time as we’re strug-gling with the process. And I think it’s just hard because people don’t know what to do.”

Central Club has found itself in a similar, al-though perhaps more dire, situation. Despite decades of work, the nonprofit is being asked to pay backdated taxes or rescind their rights to the land. “Without Central Club [the lots] would’ve been blighted. They would’ve been seized for short dumping or drug activity, or they wouldn’t have even been demolished,” says Amy Laura Cahn, a lawyer at the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia who specializes in defending the interests of community gardeners.

In the 80-plus years Central Club has been operating, there has been no violence on the block. “We still have youth activity going on here because is there is absolutely nothing in this community,” says Wilson. “There is no recreation center. There is actually no senior citizens center.” Even newly formed community organizations ask to use the Central Club lots for youth activities, says Wilson.

Despite the positive and long-standing rela-tionship the organization has maintained with the community, they’re now struggling to keep ownership of the land. Since Central Club has been a nonprofit since 1947, they’ve had some success in gaining retroactive exemption for the taxes they inherited. However, the lots are still at risk of going to sheriff’s sale.

Cahn works with both NSNP and Central Club. Part of her job is to make sure these or-ganizations maintain the rights to land they’ve occupied for decades. In Philadelphia, gardeners have done work that would have cost the city mil-lions. They’ve cleaned and greened vacant lots, providing positive community spaces, educa-tional opportunities and affordable food access. Yet, explains Cahn, gardens are still considered an “interim use” for vacant lots, eventually to be

replaced with a commercial property or housing development.

“The City hasn’t recognized gardening as something that needs to continue,” she says, not-ing that buildings are still considered the best use of land. There are currently 350 known gar-dens in the city on 750 vacant parcels. Of those 350 gardens, 70 are in jeopardy of losing their land. With a land bank, gardeners could more quickly and easily obtain the rights to land, pro-tecting their efforts for the long-term; no more sheriff’s sales or developer threats.

DEvELopER WaNTS aND coMMUNITY NEEDSAlthough discussions began in 2008, Phila-delphia’s land bank bill was first proposed in February 2012 by Councilwoman María Qui-ñones-Sánchez and Councilman Bill Green. Si-multaneously, a bill was presented on the state level by Rep. Paul Taylor (R-Phila.) that would provide authorization for city-level land banks.

“I think it’s a game changer, similar to what tax abatement was at a time when we needed to stir development,” says Quiñones-Sánchez. “Land is the biggest asset or tool we can bring to a redevelopment strategy, and so the ability to manage what we have and proactively create

pipeline projects and the ability to get a hold of these 30,000 privately held vacant and blighted structures, is huge for a city like ours.”

Under this legislation, the Philadelphia Re-development Authority and the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation would transfer their properties to the land bank, and the City could take ownership of tax-delinquent, privately owned properties. An overall govern-ing agency hasn’t been chosen, but there would be a board that hopefully includes development experts and community representatives. The

There’s not a plan for [vacant land

redevelopment] at the city level, it’s being created as it’s going along.

Publicly owned vacant land is mostly held by four City departments: the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA), the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA), the Department of Public Property (DPP) and the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC). This summer, the RDA implemented a new “Front Door” policy that allows individuals to make a single application for purchasing publicly owned vacant land. While this has improved the process, once through the “front door” applicants still need to follow the policies of the individual agency that owns the land.

“

BUILDING A FRONT

DOOR TO VACANT LAND

PHDC

PHA

DPP

PRA

“Reed davaz McGowan

F E B R UA RY 2 0 1 3 gridPhilly.Com 2 1

land bank promises the organization and effi-ciency that has so long eluded the vacant land process—a change that could give the 40,000 vacant lots real potential.

It’s not just urban gardeners welcoming the possibility of a land bank; the development com-munity has shown their support as well. “The value of that land is not having the City hold it,” says Anne Fadullon, vice president of the Phil-adelphia Business Industry Association. “The value of the land is that [it] gets re-developed and put back to active use for the City.” The association, whose mem-bers include builders, de-velopers, materials compa-nies and real estate agents, among others, is frustrated with the current system’s ability to stymie new devel-opment.

“Our key goals [for] the land bank,” says Fadullon, “are to make sure that it’s transparent and predict-able.” They hope the land bank will clearly define who’s involved in reviewing an ownership request and put a specific timeline on the process, allowing development projects to be approved and built more quickly.

However stakeholders outside the private sec-tor have other concerns. “Some people feel very, very strongly that affordability and accessibility [should] be built in the legislation,” says Quiño-nes-Sánchez. “If in fact the City wants to create a sustainable city for everyone, then we have some realities—poverty. And we want to ensure that everyone, rich or poor, can live in any part of the city.” She believes the land bank should create a planning process that ensures affordability and accessibility everywhere.

A hearing for Philadelphia’s bill is tentatively set for February 5, and there is optimism that it will pass. But while City Council is necessary to pass this bill, they could also be the biggest ob-stacle to its success. If individual Council mem-bers hold too much power in making land bank decisions, there would be little opportunity for other stakeholders, like those in urban agricul-ture or nonprofits, to be heard.

“It could work. I’m hopeful,” says Cahn. “But I think it’s a question of priority setting… We need things that are community driven. We need things that provide green space and food. We need affordable [housing]. We need all of these things. So there needs to be a vision of not just how we get the land sold, but how we want our city to look.”

Without Central Club [the lots] would’ve been blighted. They would’ve

been seized for short dumping or drug activity,

or they wouldn’t have even been demolished

“

2008

LAND BANK BiLL pAsseD on state level.

phiLADeLphiA

LAND BANK BiLLtenative hearing date scheduled.

2013FEBRUARY

begins land bank discussions.

COUNCiLWOMANQUiNONes-sANCheZ~

implemented by Redevelopment Authority. Includes online map and dollar side yard policy.

“FRONT DOOR” pOLiCY

proposed on state and city levels.

LAND BANK BiLL

2012MAY

2012OCTOBER

“

2012FEBRUARY

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I took this as a personal shortcoming. No one was stopping me from picking up my guidebook and a magnifying glass and getting to work. Year after year I was too lazy to teach myself. So when I recently learned I’d made friends with a botany nut, I resolved to convince her to teach me.

Awbury Arboretum was a perfect place to start. The property was originally owned by the shipper Henry Cope in the 1800s. Cope was the uncle of herpetologist/paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope, enforcing my conviction that this was the place for a herper like me to learn about trees.

Trees are everywhere at Awbury, of course, and many were labeled! My friend Ali and I sat with our guidebooks (I brought one; she brought four) and Ali’s magnifying loupe, a handheld magnifying lens [figure 1]. We made guesses at tree species then, checked our work against the tree labels.

When trying to name trees, leaf shape can be helpful, but it can also be a crutch. You can get pretty far with the branching and leafing

by bernard brownurban naturalist

Awbury Aboretum A perfect place to sharpen your tree recognition skills

For at least 10 years I’ve been trying to learn more about trees. Back when I lived in Atlanta, I resolved to identify the trees growing in a large wooded park

near my home. I bought a Peterson field guide and got to work. I did okay with the big differences between, for ex-ample, the oaks and the ashes, the maples and the magnolias, but I had had little patience for the finer points. Was that an iron wood or a hornbeam? If it meant I had to count the scales on their itty-bitty buds, it was too much effort for a reptile and amphibian guy (herper) like me.

EXPLORE

Figure 1 Figure 2

24 g r i d p h i l ly.co m F E B Rua Ry 2 0 1 3

R E S O U R C E S

Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North Americaby Michael D. Williams [stackpole Books, 416 pp., $29.95, March 2007]

An easy-to-use-guide that’ll help you know what you’re hugging, even in winter.

A Field Guide to Eastern Trees (Peterson Field Guides)by George a. petrides [houGhton Mifflin harcourt, 448 pp., $20, July 1998]

More detailed, but also more technical and less accessible.

Leafsnap: An Electronic Field Guide, free for iPhone and iPadA mobile app that uses visual recognition software to identify leaves. Also has games that sharpen your tree-identification skills.

U p CO m i n g E v E n t S

JANUARY 21

Secret Garden Volunteer DayHelp clear and clean Awbury’s Secret Garden for the 18th Annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Free

To register, email volunteer@aw-bury.org, or call 215-849-2855 x25

FEbRUARY 9

Lecture: African American Heritage Plants Chris Bolden-Newsom, community organizer, food justice and food system educator, will talk about traditional African and African American plants that have impacted the national and global food system. 1-3 p.m. $5

For more information and to register, visit awbury.org or call 215-849-2855

FEbRUARY 9

Beekeeping for FamiliesLearn how your family can become backyard beekeepers! Select a hive style, choose your breed of bees, and discover other tips to raising a successful colony. Additional dates: Feb. 16, 23 and Mar. 2, 9, 10 a.m-12 p.m. $90 adults/$75 children 10+

For more information or to reg-ister, visit awbury.org or call 215-849-2855

*All events are held at Awbury Arboretum, 1 Awbury Rd.

patterns—are the leaves (or where they’re at-tached) set opposite each other, or do they alter-nate? Bark can also reveal a lot, as can the buds that will unfurl into next year’s leaves, even in autumn. 

However, those buds can be painfully tiny. At about a quarter inch we needed a magnify-ing loupe to tell the black cherries (pointed bud scales) from choke cherries (rounded bud scales).

For differentiating black and red oaks, the leaves are similar, but bark is different—ridges on the red oak’s bark [figure 2] sort of run together.

Birches make it a little easier. Here’s a river birch [figure 3] with its beige bark peeling in

obvious, ruffling curls.During winter months, tree identification can

focus on the micro scale, but visitors to Awbury can also take in the macro in these months. The arboretum boasts grand old lindens and beeches, the second largest river birch in Pennsylvania, and landscapes ranging from wetlands and meadows to forests and English parkland.

bernard brown is an amateur field herper, bureaucrat and founder of the PB&J Campaign (pbjcampaign.org), a movement focused on the benefits of eating lower on the food chain.

Figure 3

p h otos By J e n B r i t to n

For more on Awbury Aboretum, visit awbury.org

f e B r ua ry 2 0 1 3 G r i D P H i L Ly.co m 2 5

JAN12

Lush Landscapes for Small SpacesLearn to design even the smallest out-door spaces at this presentation by Dr.

Mary McKnight, Montgomery County Extension master gardener.

→ Sat., Jan. 12, 9:30-11 a.m., $10, Fairmount Park Horticultural Center, N. Horticultural Drive and Montgomery Avenue. For more information, call 215-471-2200 x100

JAN13

Winter Tree IdentificationEmbark on a winter hike to learn how to indentify common Pennsylvania

trees without their leaves. Light refreshments provided. Dress for the cold weather.

→ Sun., Jan. 13, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., $5 members/$10 nonmembers, Bucktoe Creek Preserve, 432 Sharp Rd., Avondale. To register, visit tlcforscc.org

JAN14 15 16 17

Farming Association’s Standards for Organic Land Care.

→ Mon., Jan. 14-Thurs., Jan. 17, $550, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 100 N. 20th St., 5th Floor. For more information, visit organiclandcare.net/education/accreditation-course

JAN15

Sandra Steingraber: Our Water, Our Health: Are We in Danger? Sandra Steingraber, environmentalist,

author and cancer survivor, will explore the links between human health and environmen-tal toxins, especially those found in our water.

→ Tues., Jan. 15, 6-8:30 p.m., $10 members/$15 nonmembers/Drexel students free with ID, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. To register, visit sandrasteingraber.eventbrite.com

2013 Delaware Estuary Science & Environmental SummitDiscover and share environmental projects and cutting-edge research affecting the Delaware River and Bay at this three-day event on “Weath-ering Change – Shifting Environments, Shifting Policies, Shifting Needs.” Hosted by Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.

→ Sun., Jan. 27-Wed., Jan. 30, The Grand Hotel, 1045 Beach Ave., Cape May, NJ. For more information and to register, visit delawareestuary.org

JAN27-30

JAN16

A Discussion on GMOs and High Fructose Corn SyrupPeace Warden, master herbalist, will

talk about GMOs, how they were first engineered and what to look for at the local supermarket.

→ Wed., Jan. 16, 6-8:45 p.m., free, Essene Market and Cafe, 719 S. 4th St. For more information, visit essenemarket.com

JAN21

Secret Garden Volunteer DayHelp clear and clean Awbury’s Secret Garden for the 18th Annual Greater

Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service.

→ Mon., Jan. 21, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., free, Awbury Arbore-tum, 1 Awbury Rd. To register, email volunteer@awbury.org, or call 215-849-2855 x25

2013 Accreditation Course in Organic Land CareA 30-hour course for land care profes-sionals and environmental educators on organic land care principles, prac-tices, design and maintenance. Curricu-lum based on the Northeast Organic

JAN24

Homestead Series Part 1: Basics of BeekeepingJoin Lower Merion Conservancy’s bee-

keepers to learn the basics of beekeeping and why bees are important pollinators. Supplies information and rules for beekeeping in Mont-gomery County will be covered.

→ Thurs., Jan. 24, 7-8:30 p.m., $10 members/$20 nonmembers (pre-registration required), Rolling Hill Park, 1301 Rose Glen Rd., Gladwyne. To register, visit lmconservancy.org

JAN27

Wildlife in Winter Series: Part 1This three-part series will discuss the changes an animal must make to ensure

survival during winter months. Part 1 will focus on hibernation.

→ Sun., Jan. 27, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., $5 members/$10 nonmembers, Bucktoe Creek Preserve; 432 Sharp Rd., Avondale. To register, visit tlcforscc.org

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jan31

Homestead Series Part 2: Planning a Vegetable Garden Local award-winning gardener Peter

Grove will teach how to create a simple, but highly effective, purely organic, low-cost veg-etable/flower garden.

→ Thurs., Jan. 31, 7-8:30 p.m., $10 members/$20 nonmembers (pre-registration required), St. Paul’s Lutheran, 415 East Athens Ave., Ardmore. To regis-ter, visit lmconservancy.org

feb6

Green DrinksJoin South Philadelphia Green Drinks, a chapter of Delaware Valley Green

Drinks, the first Wednesday of each month for an evening of networking with sustainably minded individuals from the community.

→ Wed., Feb. 6, 6-8 p.m., Bridget Foy’s, 200 South St. For more information, visit greendrinks.org

feb7

Homestead Series Part 3: An Egg-cellent Way to Eat Local Eggs: Raising your Own Chickens

Learn the basics of backyard chicken keeping, like housing, feeding, cleaning and predator management, as well as rules for keeping chick-ens/laying hens in Lower Merion Township.

→ Thurs., Feb. 7, 7-8:30 p.m. $10 members/$20 non-members (pre-registration required), Ludington Library, 5. S. Bryn Mawr Ave., Bryn Mawr. To regis-ter, visit lmconservancy.org

feb9

Native Plants for Urban SpacesKristen Lacey, a Philadelphia Extension master gardener, will show how to im-

prove a garden’s ecosystem by planting native trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials.

→ Sat., Feb. 9, 9:30-11 a.m., $10, Fairmount Park Horticultural Center, N. Horticultural Drive and Montgomery Avenue. For more information, call 215- 471-2200 Ext 100

feb10

2nd Annual West Philly Homebrew CompetitionDock Street Brewing Co. and Univer-

sity City District host the ultimate celebration in “drinking local.” Sample West Philadelphia homebrews, enjoy light snacks from Dock Street, and vote for the “People’s Choice Award.”

→ Sun., Feb. 10, 1-3 p.m., $8, Dock Street Brewing Co., 701 South 50th St. For tickets, visit westphilly-homebrewing2012.eventbrite.com

feb14

Homestead Series Part 4: For the ♥ of Cheese; An Evening Out with the Experts of Cheese, Wine

and Chocolates A local and delicious way to spend Valentine’s Day, this workshop will teach how to pair cheese, chocolates and wine. Plus watch a home cheese-making demonstration.

→ Thurs., Feb. 14, 7-8:30 p.m., $30 members/$40 nonmembers (21+ only, pre-registration required), carriage house of Fred and Nancy Bissinger, Villa-nova. To register, visit lmconservancy.org

feb9

Lecture: African American Heritage PlantsChris Bolden-Newsome, community or-

ganizer, food justice and food system educator, will talk about traditional African and African American plants that have impacted the national and global food system.

→ Sat., Feb. 9, 1-3 p.m., $5, Awbury Arboretum, 1 Awbury Rd. For more information and to register, visit awbury.org or call 215-849-2855

feb9

30th Street Craft MarketVIX Emporium hosts a Valentine’s show featuring 30 local artists and

craftspeople. Expect Philly-made jewelry, hand knits, prints, glassware, ceramics and more, all in America’s third busiest railway station.

→ Sat., Feb. 9, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., free, 30th Street Sta-tion, North Waiting Room. For more information, visit mad.ly/c1a863

feb9

Beekeeping for FamiliesLearn how your family can become backyard beekeepers! Select a hive style,

choose your bee breed, and discover other tips to raising a successful colony. Additional dates: Feb. 16, 23 and Mar. 2, 9

→ Sat., Feb 9, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., $90 adults/$75 chil-dren 10+, Awbury Arboretum, 1 Awbury Rd. For more information or to register, visit awbury.org or call 215-849-2855

Sustainability Expo and Film Series: The GreenhornsPennypack Farm & Education Center kicks off their fourth annual sustainability expo and film screening with The Green-horns, a documentary on America’s youth farming community.

→ Tues., Feb. 12, 6-9 p.m., $10 single tick-et/$24 for the series, Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Ave., Ambler. For more informa-tion and to buy tickets, visit amblertheater.org/pennypack

feb12

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Inclusive, multi-generational community in wooded lower Bucks County. Homes available. Gardens and livestock possible. Easy commute to Center City.

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i l lust r at i o n by Ja m es b oy l e

Invasion of the Delicacies!

Sometimes the best weapon against alien invaders is a light vinaigrette by alex zorach

I started out by plucking a little garlic mus-tard—a leafy herb—and picking Japanese wine-berries, a relative of raspberries. Often, I’ve identified new edible non-native species, not by reading field guides or scouring botany websites, but by looking through the vegetables in ethnic groceries. I saw a vegetable labeled “xian cai” in an Asian grocery, and later found the same plant, a cultivated form of amaranth with red and green leaves, growing in my neighborhood.

My favorite invasive herb is perilla, or shiso in Japanese. Perilla, a member of the mint family, is abundant in Philadelphia, growing in flower beds, pots and the brick sidewalks of Center City alleyways. It forms huge patches in the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge and Cobbs Creek Park. Because it looks similar to coleus,

a popular ornamental, gardeners often let it grow wild. I gather and dry large volumes of it for use in the winter.

While harvesting wild plants can be time-intensive, it’s more fun than work for me, and I’m saving money I’d nor-mally be spending at the supermarket. The process of seeking out plants to harvest is exciting, and helps me get to know the city’s wild areas. I don’t have a garden, so harvesting invasives has given me access to free, locally grown food that I would not otherwise have.

Several of my friends share my pas-sion for eating invasives. Recently, a group of us gathered for a feast featuring as many invasive and non-native species as we could find. While we still needed to purchase a few staple foods, every dish featured wild harvested plants, and we had an abundance of green vegeta-bles and herbs. The result was delicious.

Learning to identify edible invasives takes work, but for me, it has definitely been worth it. Eating these plants is a triple win: I’m accessing a free food source, exposing my palate to new fla-vors and perhaps more importantly, helping protect local ecosystems.

alex zorach lives in West Philadelphia. He runs numerous websites, including RateTea, and is a co-founder of Why This Way, a consensus-run belief system and organization.

I like to eat invasive plants. Sounds scary, right? Invasive species are plants or animals that have been introduced from other regions, ac-cidentally or on purpose, and have negative impacts on local ecosystems.

Whether or not you realize it, you have probably seen many invasive plants—they’re in gardens, vacant lots and even between cracks in the sidewalk.

People are sometimes skeptical when they see me picking berries or gathering leafy herbs from an overgrown area. “How do you know that’s not poisonous?” they ask. But other people are cu-rious, and some share information on where to find the best berry bushes or herb patches.

As I learned to identify more plants, I became

appalled at how many around us were invasives. But with this distressing news, I also discovered that many are edible. This is no coincidence; lots of invasive plants were originally introduced as food. Eating invasives is a logical way to control them: It turns a problem into a free, local food source.

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The Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory in Puerto Rico offers an ideal laboratory for determining whether variations in canopy-level ozone are natural or human-induced. For her MES Capstone project, Chennery Fife studied levels of ozone and determined the implications for policy directions in Puerto Rico and other tropical sites to prevent harm to rainforests.

Penn’s Master oF environMental studies PrograM combines classroom work with field experience and an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the environment. As a culminating exercise in the program, students complete an individual project that puts what they’ve learned in the classroom to work in the field. Their choice of final projects reflects the area of environmental work in which they intend to focus their careers.