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Proud Mary

Mary Seton Corboy and Greensgrow continue to set an example
story by Lee Stabert/photos by Jessica Kourkounis
Greensgrow, an urban farm and nursery in kensington, is a superstar of Philadelphia’s sustainability community. Having earned an abundance of recent national and local press, the pioneering farm’s name is always at the ready when conversation turns to the rising

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14 mins read
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Profile: King of Compost

Urban farmer and MacArthur Grant recipient Will Allen on the importance of greens, worms and moreby Lee Stabert
Everything about Will Allen is big. The pro basketball player turned urban agriculture iconoclast has hands like baseball mitts, and arms like tree trunks. His normal uniform—jeans, baseball hat, hooded sweatshirt with the sleeves removed—only serves to emphasize

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5 mins read
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Profile: Second Nature

A veteran Philly furniture maker finds new inspirationby Lee Stabert
I interview Jack Larimore from an unfinished bench in his studio. Reclaimed wood timbers lay on an angle—dominos mid-fall—braced by a small round ball. The top is sanded, but still rustic. As he speaks, I can’t help but run my finger along the grain of the

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2 mins read
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Profile: Folk Fight

Philadelphia’s Joshua Marcus—and his banjo—campaign for environmental justiceby Lee Stabert
They say use what you got. For Philadelphia’s Joshua Marcus, that happens to be a banjo and a connection to the socially-conscious folk music of another era. Armed with those tools, he has completed This Land, a collection of seven songs and oral histories recounting the

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2 mins read
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Profile: A Man for All Seasons

Marvin Dixon takes lessons learned on a farm to the luxury hotel businessby Char Vandermeer
If the typical luxury hotel is a gaping hole of conspicuous consumption, then Philadelphia’s Four Seasons Hotel is anything but. With its hugely successful composting program, a commitment to reusing cooking oil, an aggressive commingled recycling program and a brand-new cogeneration

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2 mins read
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Profile: Core Business

Beechwood Orchard brings fresh fruit to Philly's farmers' marketsby Will DeanA fifth-generation family operation, Beechwood Orchards in Biglerville, PA specializes in heirloom and unusual varieties of fruits—particularly apples—and sells them at many farmers’ markets in the city and beyond.

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1 min read

Profile: Fancy Footwork

A local shoe designer gets LEED-certified  by Natalie Hope McdonaldWhen it was time to expand its headquarters, shoemaker Dansko put its best foot forward and went green. The footwear designer may be best known for its comfortable clogs, sandals and shoes inspired by traditional Danish design, but as of this year, this suburban Philadelphia-based company

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3 mins read
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Profile: Better Living Through the Rain

Landscapers save rainwater for watering gardensby Brian James KirkThroughout the Wissahickon watershed, a 64 square-mile basin beginning in Montgomery County and flowing south into Philadelphia, a stormy early May has saturated the ground with rainwater, which will eventually twist downstream through dozens of tributaries into the Schuylkill River.

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2 mins read