Read

SS United States gets date for its final voyage to the bottom of Florida’s coast (Billy Penn, October 12, 2026)

In Philadelphia’s Eastwick neighborhood, plans for a temporary solution to flooding hit a snag (WHYY, October 13, 2026)

Both Canada and the US roll back climate policies (Climate Action Track, October 13, 2026)

Pampered city trees deal with stress better than their country cousins (Grist, October 14, 2026)

A network of air quality monitors grows in a formerly redlined area of West Philadelphia (WHYY, October 14, 2026)

Pennsylvania’s aging prisons weren’t built for today’s extreme weather – leaving women and seniors especially at risk of illness and death (The Conversation, October 16, 2026)

Why Philly is one of the best cities for birding (Philadelphia Inquirer, October 18, 2026)

The world is crumbling in ‘The History of Concrete’ (Grist, October 19, 2026)

Participate

Take the Philadelphia 2050 survey
The Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) is working on a comprehensive plan update called Philadelphia2050 that will guide how the city grows and changes over the next 25 years- shaping everything from housing and transportation to parks and public spaces. Your responses will play a major role in shaping Philadelphia2050.

Learn

Valley Talk – Into the Weeds: Foraging for Invasive Plants in Pennsylvania with Tama Matsuoka Wong
Wednesday, October 21 from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Valley Green Inn, Valley Green Road (or virtual)
Tama Matsuoka Wong offers a new approach to many plants deemed undesirable: manage them, turn them into delicious food, teas, structures….in other words reap their abundance.

Weeknights at the Wagner: “The Geology of the Lewis & Clark Expedition” with John W. Jengo
Thursday, October 22 from 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Wagner Free Institute, 1700 W Montgomery Avenue
In his new book, Scenes of Visionary Enchantment: The Geology of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, professional geologist John W. Jengo reassesses the pair’s role in documenting the geology of the American West and the impact on scientific inquiry.

MOVIE NIGHT: Reclaiming The Rain
Thursday, October 22 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Philadelphia Ethical Society, 1906 Rittenhouse Square
Join us for a movie night featuring the film Reclaiming the Rain, Philadelphia’s Green Initiative for Stormwater Management and City Revitalization. We will have snacks, a water focused game for attendees, and a night of discussion about how we protect our waterways in Philadelphia!

Is This For Real? AI Scams
Saturday, October 24 from 12:30 – 2 p.m.
South Philadelphia Library, 1700 South Broad Street
Alison Macrina of Library Freedom Project will lead this training on understanding and identifying common AI scams. She’ll cover how to tell when text, audio, or video has been AI-generated or enhanced.

Parallel Play Symposium
October 24 – 25, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Collective Futures @ Asian Arts Initiative, 1219 Vine Street
The Parallel Play Symposium, presented as part of the six-week Collective Futures festival, is a two-day gathering of artists, scholars, organizers, and cultural workers exploring the practices, histories, and conditions that sustain collective cultural production. Through free panels, workshops, and performative presentations, participants will examine the cultural significance of collective art-making and artist-run spaces while sharing strategies for building and maintaining collaborative cultural infrastructures.

Analog Fall: Maps & Mapmaking
Monday, October 26 from 7 – 9 p.m.
Pen & Pencil Club, 1522 Latimer Street
Learn about paper maps, archival maps, and make a map of your own.

Do

Anna North // BOG QUEEN
Monday, October 19 at 6 p.m.
The Doylestown Bookshop, 16 S Main Street, Doylestown
Join us in welcoming New York Times bestselling author Anna North as she discusses and signs her new book, Bog Queen.

Native Plant Prep Party
Monday, October 19 from 6:30 – 9 p.m.
DGS @ Sulimay’s Restaurant, 632 E Girard Avenue
We’re gearing up for the 2027 iteration of the Philly Native Plant Project, and we need YOUR HELP! We’ve got seeds, we’ve got stickers, we need YOUR hands to help us pack everything up.

Riverside Bike Ride
Tuesday, October 20 from 1 – 4 p.m.
Regal UA Main Street, 3720 Main Street
Join Trail Ambassadors Lisa Kleiman, Jean McWilliams, Sheryl Rose, and Doug Gibson for a 2-wheeled cruise along the Schuylkill River! We’ll meet in Manayunk and then pedal across the Wissahickon Creek, down Kelly Drive past the art museum, along Schuylkill Banks and over the newest section – those cool cable-supported biker/walker bridges right in the river.

Join Our Data Center Action Hour
Wednesday, October 21, from 7 – 8 p.m.
Sierra Club. Virtual.
For October’s virtual Action Hour, we’ll come together to talk about what the growth of data centers means for our communities, health, and climate. In this hour, we’ll learn about a brand new report on how unconstrained data center developments are affecting our communities and what we, collectively, can do about it.

Anvil of the World
Various dates, October 22 – 30
Elfreth’s Alley Museum, 126 Elfreths Alley
Back for an extended run after a sold out performance in 2025, ANVIL OF THE WORLD is an original one-person gothic horror performance about industrialization and masculinity in nineteenth century Philadelphia, performed by Jeff Joseph Katz and directed by Michael A. Stahler.

Tree Planting Celebration at Jasper Street Greenspace!
Saturday, October 24 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
NKCDC, 2729 Jasper Street
Do you want to help restore a greenspace and plant trees in Kensington? NKCDC and partners are bringing a pocket forest to the Jasper Street Greenspace.

Fall Foliage Fest
Saturday, October 24 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
The Discovery Center, 3401 Reservoir Drive
As the leaves at the Discovery Center reach their peak fall colors, join Audubon Mid-Atlantic and PA Master Watershed Stewards to appreciate all of the food, shelter, and resources these trees provide to countless people, birds, insects, and other wildlife. Using interactive games and tools to investigate the dazzling leaves, participants will identify the most common trees on site, and further increase habitat health by planting a new tree along our nature trail.

Cooper Street Workshop: Writing Nature as Solace & Jubilation
Saturday, October 24 from 1 – 4 p.m.
The Writers House at Rutgers University-Camden, 305 Cooper Street, Camden, NJ
In this workshop we will explore writings that treat nature in a myriad of ways. Drawing on poets who use a kaleidoscope of techniques to engage with the natural world, turning to it for both solace and jubilation, we will begin drafts of our own work.

October Volunteer Day: Bring Your Tribe
Sunday, October 25 from 9 – 12 p.m.
Tacony Creek Park, I & Ramona Gateway, 4441 I St
Help us plant trees on I St & Ramona Ave from 9AM – 12PM in Tacony Creek Park for this month’s volunteer day! Supplies and free snacks will be provided.

Creepy Cryptids in the Cresheim
Sunday, October 25 from 1 – 3:30 p.m.
Wissahickon Valley Park, St. Martin’s Lane Trailhead (St. Martin’s Lane and Huron Street)
Join Trail Ambassador Jon McCabe and our Director of Field Stewardship, Shawn Green as we travel along the Cresheim Creek during the spookiest month of the year! We will talk about famous mysterious creatures such as Bigfoot, Nessie, the Jersey Devil, and some lesser-known local monsters as we encounter ruins and travel through a shady little pine grove.

Full Moon Hike: Hunter Moon
Monday, October 26 from 7 – 8:30 p.m.
The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, 8480 Hagy’s Mill Road
Join us on the trails of the Schuylkill Center for an evening hike to see the Hunter Moon. Meet fellow lunar enthusiasts as we chat astronomy, astrology, and nature in the glow of the autumn moon.

Plan ahead 

Outdoors Online: Mysteries of Moss
Thursday, October 29 from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Discover the Wissahickon: Spooky Wissahickon Walk
Saturday, October 31 from 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Daylight After Dark: Artists and Writers Showcase on Climate Change
Friday, November 20 from 6 – 9 p.m.