In his inaugural address back in 2008, Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter expressed a desire to make Philadelphia the greenest city in America. And while many scoffed at this notion, others applauded the mayor for his lofty aspirations and have joined the cause.
greenlimbs is fully committed to achieving the mayor’s goal and would like to celebrate and introduce some of our friends and neighbors making significant green strides as well as highlight those impacting communities the world over.
Healthy, Holistic Homes
Prior to meeting the people behind Holistic Home, LLC, I did some research the findings of which can only be described as disturbing. I discovered that as I sit in the comfort of my home I am not alone. At any given moment I am sharing my space with a variety of mold, fungus and mites, ingesting lead and bacteria laden water, and inhaling detrimental compounds of formaldehyde, radon and benzene.
Cultivating Teens
By way of cultivating gardens in Philadelphia Teens4Good is taking the rarity out of fresh produce by introducing youth to their food from the ground up. McKnight and her team of dedicated professionals and volunteers are making food accessible and teaching values of self-sufficiency, money management and entrepreneurialism.
Hand in Hand Soap
Struck by the shocking statistics related to diarrhoeal diseases in developing nations social entrepreneurs Bill Glaab and Courtney Apple began a three year brainstorming session to launch a socially giving business the couples the traditional business approach to money making with the philanthropic desire to do good.
Hotel Palomar
If you have guests coming to visit the fine city of Philadelphia this summer, encourage them to stay well and green at Hotel Palomar in Center City. The hotel is the first in Philadelphia to achieve LEED Gold Certification for its sustainable build and management practices.
TerraCycle
The TerraCycle team of designers is tasked with envisioning new uses for items previously deemed garbage. Scientists then test the chemical properites of the items and determine the feasibly of the designer’s ideas. Using these methods, all items collected by TerraCycle are upcycled (made into another product for reuse) or recycled (broken down to their most basic parts and made into something different).
Postgreen Homes
Postgreen homes will not appeal to everyone. They are not designed around sprawling lawns, extra bedrooms, or embellished powder rooms. They are the anti-McMansion built for people who choose quality of life over quantity of stuff. Postgreen homes focus on health, sustainable living, and smart design.
Lynden B. Miller: Urban Beautifier
Since the eighties, Miller, a trained painter, has drawn upon her artist’s eye to create what she refers to as “well-planted places” in some of New York’s most destitute ones. Using the basic design principles of color, light, line, and form, Miller has transformed the Conservatory Garden in Central Park, Bryant Park, Madison Square Park, and the gardens of Columbia, Princeton, and SUNY Stony Brook into lush landscapes.
PennFuture
For years the environmental movement has been criticized by those who dismiss its efforts as bad for the economy and detrimental to job creation. Since its inception twelve years ago, PennFuture has made it their mission to debunk this myth.
EarthAid: Rewarding Energy Savers
EarthAid was founded in 2007 to help consumers save energy by monitoring their consumption and educating them on how to live more sustainably. Smart enough to understand that it takes incentives to motivate people into changing behavior, the group debuted their online rewards program in 2009.
The Green Project
As we were taught by Phyllis Jordan, Executive Director of The Green Project, recycling and sustainable living is absent in New Orleans in part due to a lack of leadership and dire economic times, but also because of a lack of education. Jordan operates her sustainable business of reselling used home fixtures and building materials out of a warehouse in city’s ReUse District.
The Olmsted Legacy
American farmer, journalist, and landscaper Frederick Law Olmsted believed that society could be improved by public parks and green spaces. By creating parks and recreational centers in the hearts of cities, communities could be strengthened and individuals seek refuge from harsh city life.
Rebuilding Together New Orleans
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, amid the vast and utterly incomprehensible destruction, Rebuilding Together New Orleans (RTNO) began deconstructing houses. While it would’ve been easier in many cases to demolish entire communities and do away with the remnants of the devastating levee breaks, deconstructing offered an alternative that preserved resources and culture.
Philly 311
Philly 311 was created as an avenue for Philadelphia residents to find information and report non-emergency quality of life issues without calling 911. Before 311, residents were relying on 911 operators to dispense information on everything from what to do about illegal dumping to how to manage raccoon infestations.
South Philly Food Co-op
Though they are first and foremost a businesses, co-ops are deeply rooted in the community. The mission of the South Philly co-op is to bring “affordable and nutritious food to all residents of South Philadelphia while empowering the local community through sustainable practices, food-centric education, outreach, and community building.” A large part of this particular co-ops mission will also be to provide low-income families with access to hearty, healthy foods.
Composting with Nick Esposito
Composting in the body and out is the process of returning discarded matter like food scraps to the earth—you might consider it recycling nature—and though it took an expert to explain it to me, it doesn’t take one to do it.
Vertical Gardening with Urban Jungle
Urban gardeners are so often consumed with transforming the restricted spaces of our patios, rooftops, and window sills that we forget the potential of the spaces surrounding us from ground to sky. The vertical walls comprising our brick and mortar structures are a vast and untapped resource.
Farm to City/Slow Food Philadelphia
Though the array of good food and drink might seem like just a pleasant way to spend an evening, there was a purpose behind the gathering: to promote the idea of making eating a conscious activity.
We Patch
The fundamental notion of sharing land for gardening harkens back to the days of bartering goods and services: you have land, I have agricultural knowledge, you allow me to grow on your land and I’ll share my harvest.
United By Blue
If you’re reading this, you probably consider yourself green, but are you also blue? A sister to the Green Movement, the Blue Movement, recognizes the significant role water plays on the planet by emphasizing the importance of protecting our oceans. The two movements are unique unto themselves and yet undeniably interconnected.
Seeds of Change with Dr. Vandana Shiva
Dr. Shiva’s research and travels have led her to conclude that we are suffering from “monoculture of the mind.” Our science and technology has led to the point where we have “an inability to appreciate diversity.” Monoculture is a disease for which Earth Democracy is the cure. Earth Democracy is Shiva’s ideology that biodiversity is essential to sustaining life.