BioPhilly 6-Nature, Nurture, and You: Philly’s Recipe for Urban Agriculture

Before the year 1900, farms and orchards were standard components of any urban landscape. Today, cities are unable to provide for themselves, creating a detrimental transportation footprint and serious fresh food inequities. As our climate changes, we must combine our need to sequester carbon and cool our city with our need to provide healthy local foods to all urban residents, including wildlife.

Currently, there are 42,100 vacant lots and buildings in Philadelphia; public agencies own 5,880 of them. Each vacant lot, rooftop, sidewalk, and façade offers opportunities for regenerative urban agriculture, urban orchards, and a re-wilding of the city to promote biodiversity, one microhabitat at a time.

As always, bioPhilly is bringing together a diverse group of experts from the fields of biophilic design, urban agriculture and agroforestry, health and community development and public health. Please join us to help transform our city into a beautiful and productive garden for all.

Speakers:

Malaika Hart Gilpin, One Art Community Center

Phil Forsyth, Philadelphia Orchard Project

Soad Mana, Soil Generation

Ash Richards, Director of Urban Agriculture, City of Philadelphia

Kim Douglas, Landscape Architcture, Thomas Jefferson University

Dr. Drew Harris, College of Population Health,Thomas Jefferson University

Happy Hour and Networking with Local Vendor and Allied Organization Exhibits; Light Dinner and Drinks will be provided.