The PreWinter Push - Latest Tours

I'm not really sure when time began speeding up. It used to take forever for the weeks to pass or the seasons to change and now my schedule is in overdrive and I'm running to keep up.

But I think you can learn from any experience, even the craptacular ones, and I'm using this one to recognize all of the little things I can get done in between major projects. And that's why, you're actually seeing a post from me, just a month after my last one....as opposed to several months.

Fortunately, the weather is cooling a bit (at least this weekend), so I'm going to host a tour along the waterfront. Behind Columbus Blvd (Delaware Ave., as us old timers call it) there is 1.64 miles of trail from Pier 68 & 70 lined with trees and wild plants that have edible and medicinal value.

We’ll start at Pier 70 that begins at the edge of Walmart's parking lot, and walk north towards pier 68 and Washington Avenue Green. We’ll discuss the trees and other plants that line the route. This is a collaboration between Wild Foodies and Landed Gentress. Tickets are a mere $10 and are available through Eventbrite

Foraging from Pier to Pier Sat Sept. 17

FDR Park and Meadow: The Current Situation

So to recap, I'm still fighting to #savethemeadowsfdr For anyone who lives in Philly and doesn't realize the wonder of the meadows, that former golf course that rewilded, I would encourage you to see it before it's gone. Under the helm of the Exe. Director of Parks and Wreck-creation, Kathryn Ott Lovell, the meadow area is rapidly being leveled. I was gutted to see the first wave which felled a number of old trees including heritage trees that should not have been removed. But when I returned last week, and saw the beginnings of the dreaded 30 foot soil mound they've dumped into the clearing, I was horrified.

What's the deal with the mound?

The city's FDR Park Master Plan, calls for the destruction of the current wetlands and meadow and the creation of 12 sports fields, 10 tennis courts, 8 basketball courts, 6 baseball fields and 4 acres of play space. To raise the ground upon which build these fields will sit, soil removed as part of the Philadelphia airport expansion is going to be dumped in the current Meadow to create a 30 foot soil mound. Licensing and inspection has granted permanent licensing to this mound.

But wait for it....site observations and other records indicate the fill they're using comes from sites that include material from the Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant (formerly the Southeast Sewage Disposal Works), which appears to have been placed circa 1980. It appears that other filling may be associated with the construction of the rail line and the historical use of the site for agricultural purposes which also occurred on the site in the past. We are concerned about the toxicity of this soil mound, so when the Coalition for the People's Plan for FDR Park said they needed money to have Fairway Labs test for heavy metals, fecal coliform, & fuel residue, I set up a Go Fund Me. I mean even if we lose, and this soil goes beneath youth athletic fields, we should be certain it's safe. If you want to help, then please click on the link below.

Donate to Soil mound testing for FDR

To further our campaign, I'm doing a gratis foraging tour around, what remains of the meadow on Saturday, September 24th from 9am-10:30. This is not the normal route I've taken in the past as with the construction, many of those trails are blocked off, but you'll get to see what remains and what we're still fighting to preserve.

We'll meet at the picnic tables behind the community bulletin board and then circumnavigate the construction fencing where you can still observe things like mugwort, reedgrass and more importantly the destruction they've done while claiming that this is what the citizens wanted. Of course my response to that is "Not bloody likely and certainly not in my name."

The tour is free but please register via Eventbrite. but wear appropriate shoes as courtesy of the bulldozers and feller bunchers, the ground is covered in deep tire tracks and divits that could make for tripping hazzards.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/420908377287

Finally, to end on a high note, I'm giving my first "class" for MALT Mount Airy Learning Center in October and I've already sold out.

But if you're looking for a unique way to experience a bit of wild herbalism with a bee hive tour, why not enjoy the Oxymel workshops I'm staging with Half Mad Honey at the Navy Yard. You'll get the chance to learn about bees, and hold the frames, followed by a workshop where we'll discuss the power of the full Hunter's Moon, plants with moon energetic and then make an oxymel you'll customize with a selection of organic herbs/flowers according to what medicinal properties and energies you want to incorporate.