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Spokesdog Contest Countdown: Two Days Left to Enter Your Dog!

Feb 14, 2012
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Queen Village and Northern Liberties dog owners: Don't forget to register your dog for the Philly Water's Best Friend competition! Registration ends tomorrow. Don't "fur"get. Take a "paws" from your busy day and do it now. Don't make us "unleash" more dog puns.

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News Stream: Spokesdog Deadline Approaching

Feb 7, 2012
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While the field of spokesdog contestants gets bigger and more competitive every day (some recent entries are pictured above), the deadline for registering your dog in the Philly Water's Best Friend competition in Queen Village and Northern Liberties is nipping at our heels. Register your dog by February 15 to participate in the chance to win prizes and educate Philly dogs about the importance of picking up pet waste in order to keep our rivers and streams clean.

As this Newsworks article notes, Philly voted in its Schuylkill River spokesdogs last year—now it's the Delaware's turn to elect its ambassadogs.

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Open Call For Art In The Open

Feb 3, 2012
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Photo: Mia Rotondo

Attention artists: Enter now to participate in the third annual Art In The Open, an opportunity for artists to create their work along the banks of the Schuylkill River. Taking place May 18-20, Art In The Open inspires Philadelphians to see the Schuylkill in a new light and draw inspiration from our environment. Painters, sculptors, installation artists and designers will line the banks of the Schuylkill, from the Fairmount Water Works to Bartram's Garden, for the three-day event.

The deadline for artist entries is February 10. Click here for more information on participating.

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Dog Days: Countdown to the Philly Water's Best Friend Competition

Jan 20, 2012
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Queen Village and Northern Liberties dog owners: Only 26 days left to register your pooch for the Philly Water's Best Friend competition! The dogs pictured above are only some of the entries in the contest to be the Philadelphia Water Department's spokesdog, an honor that comes with perks, prizes and the responsibility of teaching others to clean up pet waste and keep our rivers and streams clean. Registration ends February 15—don't miss your chance to enter your dog, have an online profile made and participate in the online voting process (which starts March 1) and awards ceremony in your neighborhood.

Visit our spokesdog page to learn more about the competition and register your dog (come on, Queen Village—NoLibs is way ahead of you).

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Watershed History: Philadelphia Filtration

Jan 17, 2012
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2012 marks the bicentennial of the opening of the Fairmount Water Works, Philadelphia's claim to fame as the first large American city to provide safe water to its residents. Join us at the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center on Thursday, January 19 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for a presentation on the history of water filtration in Philadelphia. PWD's Adam Levine and C. Drew Brown will use historical imagery to detail how filtration made the polluted waters of 18th-century Philadelphia safe to drink.

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Green City, Clean Waters Art Contest Open to Philly Students

Jan 12, 2012
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Picasso's Blue Period was OK, we suppose, but we think green will be the color of choice for up-and-coming Philadelphia artists for the next 25 years or so. That's the duration of the Philadelphia Water Department's Green City, Clean Waters plan, the inspiration for a new art contest open to Philly students grades K-12. Students can submit a drawing, short video or both, portraying the ways in which we can protect our local waterways through environmentally friendly practices. The deadline for entries is February 24; prizes include gift cards, art supplies, certificates and calendars. Our friends at the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary are administering the contest; visit their site for more information and guidelines.

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River Wardens: Students Learn How to Protect the Schuylkill

Jan 11, 2012
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The Schuylkill Action Network has announced its eighth annual student contest for projects related to drinking water protection in the Schuylkill watershed. A recent Newsworks article highlighted some of the details of the contest:

"Since the founding of the [Schuylkill Action Network], it has highlighted students' projects that have a direct impact on the drinking water in the Schuylkill watershed. Projects in the past have included water quality testing of local creeks, classroom discussion of environmental stewardship with journals, student participation in creating a campus rain garden and many more.

The contestants are entered to win the Schuykill Scholastic Drinking Water Award. The award recognizes schools, colleges, and universities that protect drinking water sources through hands-on educational programs, class projects or land management practices."

Students in Berks, Montgomery, Delaware, Camden and Philadelphia
counties are eligible. Submissions are due March 2. Click here for more information on the contest.

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This Saturday: Green Roofs 101

Jan 4, 2012
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Want to know the basics behind green roofs? Join master gardener Stephanie Alarcon on Saturday, January 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Horticultural Center in Fairmount Park for a discussion on the fundamental issues in green roof planning. Topics include structural requirements, examples of pre-fab systems, plant choices and local green roof experts to contact. Registration ($10) and refreshments begin at 9:00 a.m., and the workshop commences at 9:30.

Click here for more info.

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Queen Village, Northern Liberties Spokesdog Competitions Are Under Way

Jan 3, 2012
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Dog owners in Queen Village and Northern Liberties have unleashed their hounds (figuratively), as registration is now open for the 2012 Philly Water's Best Friend competition in those neighborhoods. To read about the prizes, perks and contest guidelines, check out the Spokesdog page, where you learn how picking up pet waste keeps our local waterways clean, enter your dog and size up the competition so far. Registration is open until Feb. 15, and the finalists will compete in a judging and awards ceremony in their respective neighborhoods.

In related news, here's Northern soul act the Olympics and their 1966 single "Baby, Do The Philly Dog":

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11 For 2011: Green City, Clean Waters Gets the Green Light

Dec 31, 2011
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PWD's Watersheds blog closes out the year with a list of 11 green missions accomplished in 2011, from innovative stormwater management projects and stream restorations to groundbreaking policy agreements and energy-generating solar arrays.


photo: GreenTreks

You can argue that the biggest win for Philadelphia's watersheds in 2011 wasn't a tangible project such as a rain garden, stream restoration, green roof or porous street—it was the approval of PWD's Green City, Clean Waters plan. Officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and PWD met on June 1 to sign a consent agreement that validates the 25-year, $2 billion plan to manage Philadelphia's stormwater largely through green infrastructure. This historic agreement was celebrated with a tap-water toast. Cheers to the work accomplished in 2011 and expect to see even more Green City, Clean Waters projects in 2012.

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