Updated 12/17/2019
The West Chester Food Co-op aims to be a community that shares sustainable practices, friendly faces, and healthy and fresh food.
Website: https://www.westchester.coop/
Email: info@westchester.coop
Instagram: @westchestercooperative
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WestChesterFoodcooperative/
Updated 12/17/2019
The Overbrook Environmental Education Center was established as a community based center dedicated to the preservation of our built and natural environments, improved public health, and for the promotion of sustainable and livable communities, and to ensure a more livable, sustainable, and equitable community in the City of Philadelphia.
This organization fulfills its mission through the development of great partnerships with both local and national organizations. Although JASTECH, OEEC’s parent nonprofit, serves the entire Philadelphia area, it has a targeted focus on environmental justice communities in zip codes 19131, 19139, & 19151 in West Philadelphia.
The center was repurposed by removing 20 tons of trash and debris, reintroducing native fauna, adding bioretension systems, urban forestry, agriculture, and orchards. The OEEC offers programs for the entire family in nutrition, environmental education, arts & literacy, and public health.
Website: http://overbrookcenter.wixsite.com/overbrook
Phone: 215-879-7770
Updated 10/14/19
About
John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum is America’s First Urban Refuge and was established in 1972 for the purpose of preserving, restoring, and developing the natural area known as Tinicum Marsh, to promote environmental education, and to afford visitors an opportunity to study wildlife in its natural habitat.
The refuge houses healthy and productive expanses of freshwater tidal marsh, open waters, mudflats, and woodlands support the hundreds of species that breed, rear their young, rest during migration, or call the refuge home year-round.
The refuge leads by example in the conservation of freshwater tidal marsh within the Delaware Estuary but more importantly, in providing environmental education in Philadelphia and Delaware Counties. Also, given its accessibility and visibility to over 1,700,00 million people living within 10 miles of the refuge and more than 35 million Americans living within a 2-hours drive, the refuge serves as a prominent ambassador of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Its high-quality programs promote natural and cultural resource stewardship, demonstrate wildlife habitat management, encourage compatible outdoor public use, and provide a living classroom to connect both schools and communities with nature and local history.
Volunteer opportunities
All prospective volunteers should download and complete a Volunteer Application and submit it to the refuge’s Volunteer Coordinator, David Stoughton. Forms may be submitted via email to johnheinznwr@fws.gov or in-person. This application will be forwarded to appropriate refuge staff who will determine how your talents can be best used at Heinz Refuge. Training for all positions will be provided.
Volunteer opportunities can be found at: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/John_Heinz/what_we_do/get_involved.html.
Directions on how to get to the refuge can be found at https://www.fws.gov/refuge/John_Heinz/visit/directions.html
Website: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/John_Heinz/
Phone: 215-365-3118
Email: johnheinznwr@fws.gov
Updated 10/9/19
Norris Square Neighborhood Project promotes positive change through youth education, community leadership, green spaces, the arts and the celebration of Latino culture. NSNP envisions a community where youth and adults can positively engage one another, promote cultural awareness and preservation, and advocate for a healthier future for their neighborhoods. NSNP aspires to connect generations and use their space to enable youth and community members to be the change-makers in their lives and the lives of their families.
Volunteers provide critical support for our youth and garden programming. They are able to help us provide services in our community in a variety of areas including: carpentry, technology support, skilled garden volunteers, event support, carpentry and garden infrastructure.
To become a volunteer, fill out the form at http://myneighborhoodproject.org/get-involved/volunteer/.
Website: http://www.myneighborhoodproject.org
Location: 2141 Howard St, Philadelphia, PA 19122
Contact: 215-634-2227
Updated 10/9/19
Mission:
PennEnvironment is a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization focused on issues of special importance to the state of Pennsylvania. A constituent of the national organization Environment America, PennEnvironment works to better the environment through a number of approaches, including the protection of the natural heritage and health of residents, and promotion of sustainable resource exploitation. These goals are accomplished through activism and advocacy, by recruiting citizens, interacting with the press, and lobbying government at the local, state, and federal level.
Programs/Services Offered:
Current initiatives include the protection of state parks and forests, the conversion of Philadelphia’s Reading Viaduct into an elevated park, and fighting the activities of coal and natural gas corporations in the state. For a complete list and detailed descriptions, see http://www.pennenvironment.org/issues.
Student Opportunities:
Students can get involved with PennEnvironment during both their time at Bryn Mawr and after graduation.
Internships are offered each semester and over the summer. These internships have been structured into Praxis III courses in the past – contact CEO Praxis Coordinator Nell Anderson (nanderso@brynmawr.edu) if interested. For more information and application instructions, visit http://jobs.environmentamerica.org/internship.html.
Fellowships are available to recent college graduates interested in making a two year commitment to environmental advocacy in Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., or 29 other states. Check out http://jobs.environmentamerica.org/fellowship.html for details. If you’re interested in talking with past PennEnvironment fellows, email Nell as well.
PennEnvironment
Philadelphia Office:
1420 Walnut Street, Suite 650
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 732-5897
Updated 10/9/19
Mission:
Weavers Way Cooperative Association is a member-owned, cooperative grocery store with locations in Ambler, West Mt. Airy, and Chestnut Hill. The association’s mission is to operate a grocery-based consumer organization that is owned and governed by its members, and to build community, both within its membership and in the Northwest Philadelphia area. The initiative to enrich communities through locally based, sustainable practices is extended beyond co-op members and shoppers through Weavers Way Farms and Weavers Way Community Programs.
Services/Programs Offered:
Weavers Way stores sell products that are local, sustainably made, organic, and fairly traded. In addition, the association manages farms at Awbury Arboretum and Walter Biddle Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences that produce food shared through community supported agriculture (CSA) programs and sold in Weavers Way stores. Through the Weavers Way Community Programs nonprofit, farm education is offered to a diverse array of learners including residents of the Stenton Family Manor emergency shelter for homeless families. Learn more at http://www.weaversway.coop/pages/our-nonprofit.
Student Opportunities:
By joining the cooperative as a member, students can get involved with all aspects of the association’s operations. Members are encouraged to attend board meetings and to work at the stores, on the farms, and with the community programs to earn a retail discount while promoting sustainability in the greater Philadelphia region. For more information on memberships, visit http://www.weaversway.coop/pages/membership.
Website: http://www.weaversway.coop
Email: feedback@weaversway.coop
Weavers Way Mt. Airy
Address: 559 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119
Phone: 215-843-2350
Weavers Way Chestnut Hill
Address: 8424 Germantown Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19119
Phone: 215-866-9150
*This site is accessible via public transportation from the Bryn Mawr campus. Please see transportation reimbursement policy.
Weavers Way Ambler
Address: 217 E Butler Ave, Ambler, PA 19002
Phone: 215-302-5550
Updated 10/9/19
Mission:
Founded by a Roman Catholic community, the Center for Environmental Transformation directs its efforts to all people, particularly those who live in the neighborhood of Waterfront South and the City of Camden, NJ. The mission of the CFET is to educate people into a more environmentally responsible way of living. They seek to engage in sustainable modes of food production, storm water management, and waste recycling for the benefit of the people of the neighborhood and the residents of the entire city.
Services/Programs Offered:
CFET manages urban farms, education and internship programs for grade- and high school children, environmental retreats, and a farmers’ market.
Learn more at: http://www.cfet.org/programs/
Student Opportunities:
On the first Saturday of every month from 9:00 am until noon, volunteers are invited to help out in the CFET’s gardens. Other opportunities include advocacy work, story-telling, cooking, teaching, and a variety of other projects
For more info, visit: http://www.cfet.org/get-involved/
Website: http://www.cfet.org/
Email: info@cfet.org
Address: 1729 Ferry Avenue, Camden, NJ 08104
Phone: (856) 365-8111
Updated 10/9/19
Mission:
The mission of the Sustainable Business Network is to build a just, green, and thriving economy in the Greater Philadelphia region. The SBN of Greater Philadelphia accomplishes this by educating and growing a broad base of local, independent businesses and educating policymakers and the public.
Service/Programs Offered:
Initiatives include the Buy Local Philly campaign, the Social Venture Institute, and the Green Stormwater Infrastructure Partners program. Through these and other undertakings, SBN works to connect consumers, independent businesses, and policymakers in making environmentally responsible decisions.
Student Opportunities:
Email info@sbnphiladelphia.org with questions about getting involved.
Bryn Mawr students have organized Praxis III courses with the SBN in past years. Contact the Civic Engagement Office for more information.
Website: http://www.sbnphiladelphia.org/
Email: info@sbnphiladelphia.org
Address:2401 Walnut Street, Suite 206, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: 215-922-7400
*This site is accessible via public transportation from the Bryn Mawr campus. Please see transportation reimbursement policy.
Updated 10/9/19
Mission:
United By Blue is a unique outdoor apparel store/coffee shop located in Old City Philadelphia that is driven by the idea of associating the sale of each product with a concrete environmental action. For every product sold, UBB removes one pound of trash from oceans and waterways through company organized and hosted cleanups.
https://vimeo.com/109064207
Programs/Service Offered:
By collaborating with suppliers who use sustainable practices and organizing waterway cleanups around the country, United By Blue works to affect meaningful environmental change through a for-profit business model.
Student Opportunities:
Students can sign up to volunteer at one of United By Blue’s cleanups. For locations and more info, visit http://unitedbyblue.com/collections/cleanups.
Job and internships opportunities are sometimes available. Check http://unitedbyblue.com/pages/jobs-and-internships for current listings.
Website: http://unitedbyblue.com/
Updated 10/9/19
Greenstreet Coffee Roasters is a local business which roasts specialty organic and fair trade coffees. Volunteer opportunities are available for students interested in sustainability and entrepreneurship.
Website: http://greenstreetcoffee.com/
Email: greenstreetroasters@gmail.com
Address: 1101 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19107
*This site is accessible via public transportation from the Bryn Mawr campus.
Please see transportation reimbursement policy.