July 25th | 10 AM-2 PM
Hendricks Farms and Dairy
Telford, PA

Join us on a tour of Hendricks Farms and Dairy, and learn about their production of raw milk, meats, and award-winning cheeses. We will enjoy a tour of the family’s beautiful farm and cheese houses. You will learn about raising the grass-fed Ayrshire and Angus cattle that produce their products, the use of draft horses to power the farm, and the crafting of their cheeses. Our day will conclude with a picnic lunch featuring locally-produced food, including Hendricks’ delicious cheeses.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $12 for children 6-13, and free for children under 6. FMNP (WIC or seniors) receive a 50% discount. Carpools can be arranged. For more information or to reserve a space, please contact Louisa Amsterdam at fairfoodfarmtours@gmail.com, or (215) 386-5211 x113. Space is limited, so reserve early!

Come out to see PhillyCarShare’s own Gerald Furgione as he participates in panel discussion “Why Going Local Matters in the Going Green Movement” this Friday, March, 13 at 3pm at the Go Green Expo. Listen to this group of local, independent entrepreneurs share their business model and unique stories of staying local in the Philadelphia Region. Go Green Expo is pleased to offer complimentary admission on Friday, simply visit www.gogreenexpo.com and use promo code PAGREEN when registering for tickets!

Go Green Expo, the nation’s premier eco-friendly tradeshow, is coming to the PA Convention Center March 13th - 15th! Sponsored in part by NBC, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philly.com, Go Green Expo will showcase the latest and greatest in all things green from fuel efficient cars and natural personal care products to greener gadgets that help us live more sustainably.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Water Department is now accepting entries for its 10^th annual art competition, the theme of which is “Protect Philadelphia’s Hidden Streams.”  In addition to drawings, students are now invited to submit short video clips depicting polluted rainwater, a leading threat to Philadelphia’s waterways.

First-place drawings will be selected from four age categories for use on Earth Day advertisements inside city buses and subway cars.  Prizes include framed certificates, a variety of art supplies, and a contest calendar that will also be available for free inside the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center.  Students in kindergarten through 12th grades are invited to submit drawings.

“Last year we received more than 1,700 entries, a record number for our drawing contest,” said Cheryl Jackson, program specialist with the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, a nonprofit that coordinates the contest on behalf of the Philadelphia Water Department.  “It’s become so popular, we decided to expand the program to attract older students who might be interested in film more so than drawing.”

First-place videos will be posted for public viewing on websites belonging to the Philadelphia Water Department, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, and YouTube.  Students in sixth through 12th grades are invited to submit video clips, the prizes for which include gift cards up to $100 in value.

Every home-school, private-school, and public-school teacher who uses this contest as an assignment will be eligible to win a $25 gift card toward the purchase of art supplies.  Children are also welcome to participate independently with their parents’ supervision.

Stormwater runoff pollution occurs when rain or melted snow flows over watertight surfaces such as driveways, sidewalks, and streets.  Rather than naturally soaking into the earth, this runoff picks up debris, chemicals, and other pollutants on its way into storm drains, and then into waterways that we use for swimming, fishing, drinking water and more.

Please call Jackson at (800) 445-4935, extension 112, to learn more about water pollution and the “Protect Philadelphia’s Hidden Streams” Art Contest.  Entry forms and additional details can be found at www.DelawareEstuary.org, the online home of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.  The deadline for entries is March 20.

PhillyCarShare announced a sale on all of their Standard Tier vehicles, $49/day, M-F, through the end of February. The rate applies to all plans – Basic, Advantage, and Business.
This special $49 includes all of your favorite vehicles - hybrids, Volvos, and Subarus. Call or go online to reserve yours today!

www.phillycarshare.org

Got a good read you’re ready to share? Join PhillyCarShare staff and members on Wednesday, February 18th from 7-9pm at Good Karma Cafe in Fitler Square for a BOOK SWAP!

Bring all your gently used books you’d like to trade in and find some new favorites! Books of all types are welcome. Don’t forget to bring your Key to the City tag and receive 10% off any purchase between 7-9pm! Good Karma Café is located at 331 S. 22nd Street (@ Pine Street).

from www.philaparks.org How can you make your voice heard at the City’s Community Budget Forums? See details at,www.philaparks.org, about how to participate on February 12, 18, 19 & 23, from 7-9:30 PM.Registration begins promptly at 6:00 PM. Now for ten reasons why park funding should not be cut:The Park and Recreation Budget already is BARE BONES!

 1.  Fairmount Park (FPC) and Department of Recreation (PDR) budgets were already cut by 20% in November 2008.  NOT every department was cut.2.  The Fairmount Park budget is less than half of what it was 20 years ago (adjusted for inflation).  3.  Additional cuts of 10% or 20% or 30% - will be amputations of the bone:

• In 1970 Fairmount Park had 637 full time employees. Today it has 169. 
• In 2000, Department of Recreation had 613 full time staff.  In 2008, it had 469, with only 1 full time person and just 40 part-time seasonal workers assigned to the 76 Rec. parks.
• Of the largest 75 cities in the country - Philadelphia ranks 64th on how much it spends per resident on parks and recreation.  Before the budget cuts, Philadelphia spent just $47 per resident.  The large city average is nearly double that at $91.  And cities like Seattle spend $242 per resident.

4.   Kids have fewer clean and safe places to play and learn.  Crime goes up.      5.   Asthma and obesity increase.  People get sick.  Health costs go up.6.  Trash and short dumping take over parks and playgrounds.  Vandalism.  Graffiti.7.   Infrastructure like retaining walls and bridges continue to crumble.  More Deferred Maintenance.  8.   More Flooding.  More clogged residential drains.9.   More trees die.  Fewer trees are planted.  More air pollution.10. Home values drop further.  Few visitors.  City collects less revenue. Our Parks are an Economic Engine … They Stimulate Growth … But Not if We Don’t Invest in Them!

• The economic value of Philadelphia’s parks and recreation system is over $1.2 billion, through health care savings, increased tourism and property values, and beneficial environmental savings.  For a small investment in the parks and recreation system, we get a large return. It’s doesn’t make sense to not invest in the very things that help generate income, wealth and well-being.
• Last November, citizens of Philadelphia overwhelming approved legislation to create a new combined Department of Parks and Recreation with a new Commission and Commissioner.  More funding cuts make these otherwise promising and historic reforms all the more difficult.

We Can’t Afford to Cut Parks and Recreation!The Mayor has said “everything is on the table.” Therefore, indispensible operating departments and the people they serve should not have to compete for the same dollars for essential services. Let’s take this opportunity to look elsewhere in the City’s budget. 

***For your convenience, choose 1 of 2 meetings held today Monday morning or Tuesday evening.

COME HEAR WHAT PEOPLE TOLD PUFFA ABOUT EATING AND BEING ACTIVE IN OUR CITY. HELP US NARROW DOWN OUR OPTIONS TO DETERMINE WHAT WE WANT TO WORK ON FIRST.

Location: Patterson’s Palace
1621-27 Cecil B. Moore Avenue
(Between 16th & 17th Streets)
Philadelphia, PA 19122

TIME: 5:30pm - Refreshments & Orientation for new partners
6:00-8:00pm - Meeting

Directions: Take Broad Street Orange line to Cecil B. Moore/Temple University station. Tokens will be available. No parking available.

Please RSVP to Imane@whitedog.com or 215.386.5211 ext. 106

*** Important notice: SNOW DATE is Feb. 25th - IF SDP schools are closed that day, meeting will be held on snow date at the same location

***For your convenience, choose 1 of 2 meetings held today Monday morning or Tuesday evening.

COME HEAR WHAT PEOPLE TOLD PUFFA ABOUT EATING AND BEING ACTIVE IN OUR CITY. HELP US NARROW DOWN OUR OPTIONS TO DETERMINE WHAT WE WANT TO WORK ON FIRST.

Location: STILES HALL, Drexel U., Hahnemann Campus
325 N 15th Street, 15th & Wood Streets
(Between Vine & Callowhill Streets)
Philadelphia, PA 19102

TIME: 8:30am - Refreshments & Orientation for new partners
9:00-11:00am - Meeting

Directions: Take Market/Frankfurt blue line to City Hall Station. Tokens will be available. No parking available.

Please RSVP to Imane@whitedog.com or 215.386.5211 ext. 106

Philadelphians will have an opportunity to explore the city’s coastline by land and by sea on Saturday, September 20, in what will be a full day of festivities during Southeastern Pennsylvania Coast Day, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Walnut Plaza at Penn’s Landing.

Visitors on this last unofficial Saturday of summer will be welcomed at 20 or more tents offering free water-themed activities along with face painting, make-and-take crafts, music and more.  They will also have an opportunity to get a “duck’s-eye” view of the Delaware River aboard a Ride the Ducks amphibious vehicle.  It is all part of a free festival sponsored by the Philadelphia Water Department, Pennsylvania Coastal Zone Management Program, DuPont Clear into the Future, and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.

“The Partnership is especially proud of the way this festival has taken off in recent years,” said Lisa Wool, program director at the PDE.  “Not only do families have a great time, they also gain a new appreciation for Pennsylvania’s coastal waterways, including the tidal Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers.”

In the spirit of Coast Day, three neighboring institutions will be offering free or discounted programs to the public.  The closest of these is the Independence Seaport Museum, which is offering reduced admission of just $5 per person on Saturday.  A free shuttle bus will also be available to carry festival goers roundtrip from Walnut Plaza to two other riverside attractions.

The shuttle’s first stop is at the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, an interactive museum that tells the story of the Schuylkill River and America’s first water utility.  Incidentally, anglers are welcome to board the shuttle bus once they have finished competing in the PWD’s Philly Fun Fishing Fest from 7 a.m. to noon along the banks of the Schuylkill River.

The shuttle will also make stops at the American Philosophical Society Museum, where visitors can pick up a map before departing on a self-guided walking tour of Dock Creek.  At one time, this tidal stream flowed right through the heart of Independence Mall, but it has since been forced underground by two centuries of development.  For a limited time, however, Philadelphians can walk its original course thanks to sculptures and knowledgeable interpreters stationed at six locations, each of which features a different hands-on activity.

To learn more about Southeastern Pennsylvania Coast Day and the work of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, please visit www.DelawareEstuary.org or call (800) 445-4935, extension 106.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Atlantic Region has selected PhillyCarShare to receive one of the 2008 Environmental Achievement Awards.

This new highly competitive award celebrates and recognizes outstanding organizations and individuals who have made significant contributions toward enhancing and protecting the quality of our environment. Award recipients are from business, nonprofit and volunteer organizations, and government.