Philly

Who loovveeesss your Philly parks? We're in the midst of the 2nd annual Love Your Park Week, designed by the Fairmount Park Conservancy & Philadelphia Parks & Rec to celebrate our city's diverse parks. From May 11 - 18, Philadelphia hosts service projects, events, education programs, family activities & more. Festivities kicked off on Saturday with the Love Your Park Service Day, where hundreds of residents volunteered in their neighborhoods. With over 70 events, there's something for music lovers, art lovers, nature lovers, yogis and more. (I personally love a good ol' glass of wine & several plates of cheese in front of me in Philly parks, which I plan on doing again sooon enough...) How can you Clean, Green & Celebrate Philly Parks? Find out, after the jump!

"City of Brotherly Love!" "Birth Place of Liberty." "Home of the Cheesesteak." Philadelphia has been crowned with yet another title: America's Garden Capital, which is perfect timing for National Public Gardens Day. Did you know Philadelphia has 30 public gardens within 30 miles? We rock the highest concentration of public gardens (and arboreta) on the CONTINENT. Philly celebrated the announcement on Tuesday at Bartram's Garden. Founder John Bartram brought many of the seeds of the plants at Bartram's back in the 1700's to the area, shaping modern horticulture. Tuesday's celebration was complete with children creating a 'green thumbs' flower planter for First Lady Michelle Obama, tours & more. GPB Green Lady, aka Philadelphia's Office of Sustainability Director Katherine Gajewski presented an official proclamation to raise awareness of our gardens' (Find out more about this honor and how to get FREE park admission on Friday!)

This guest post comes from Nicole Koedyker, Sierra Club President at Drexel. Are you interested in sustainability? Do you like working alongside people who have similar interests but are a telecommuter or student? In addition to being a senior at Drexel University, I also work for The Sustainability NEXUS, a non-profit organization that is working to bring together this target audience and others to collaborate on sustainability initiatives in the Greater Philadelphia Area. If you’ve ever (Find out more about this group and tomorrow's co-working pop-up, after the jump!)

I'll admit it. I wanted to be 'greener' a few years ago, so I cut out dryer sheets from my laundry. Instead, I found those small, spikey "blue balls" at the dollar store that were reusable to soften my clothes. They even claimed to reduce my drying time, saving me dolla' bills for the clothes drying machine. What I didn't know? Those plastic dryer balls are made out of PVC, (Find out more about those 'blue' dryer balls and an amazing sustainable alternative, after the jump!)

Let's be real: It's essential to get our youth on board with sustainability. We're psyched to see a Philadelphia school taking action and getting recognized for it! Albert M. Greenfield Elementary School received the national Green Ribbon Schools Award from the US Dept of Education for increasing its environmental awareness, health & wellness. Greenfield has reduced (Find out how Greenfield has earned national recognition, after the jump!)

Massages and a trip to the spa are the time you want to relax and let go of all worries. It's also the last place you want to contemplate what chemicals are being used on your body. Eviama Life Spa is the original, natural Philadelphia spa. Need proof? Owner Penny Ordway genuinely "got" the natural movement before it was even a blip on most people's radars. From the moment you step foot on the second floor, green space through the window and Buddhist statues set the calming tone and remind you how an urban structure can coexist with the surrounding environment. As Penny explain's Eviama's mission: (Find out more about Eviama, and how to get into their VIP party! You won't want to miss this...)

Today is Arbor Day, yo. As Arbor Day is all about planting (and appreciating) trees Mayor Nutter will appropriately celebrate Arbor Day with TreePhilly at the tree planting and volunteer day held at Marian Anderson Recreation Center.

Do you have half-used medications and unused drugs stashed around your home? Perhaps a prescription you didn't take completely but it's sitting in your medicine cabinet? Those pill bottles just clog up your cabinet space and can be a P.I.A. Luckily, there's a collection event on Saturday for your unused drugs. (Find out where & when to dispose of your unused prescriptions safely, after the jump!)

Love the environment and looking for a job? You may be in luck! Philadelphia came in at #9 for green jobs, with 789 job listings according to Simply Hired. There are over (Find out more about our title & why, after the jump!)