The Buried Creek Collective’s Climate Education for Writers program gives Greater Philadelphia area writers a foundation in the regional environment and its concerns—from the city’s historic infrastructure to the mounting pressures of climate change. It includes instructional presentations and readings; transit-accessible field trips focusing on local waterways, land use, and wildlife and ecology; meetings with environmental experts and artists; and virtual sessions to reflect on and discuss the material. The goal is to inspire informed visions of our possible futures as we adapt to a changing world, and work toward keeping Philadelphia habitable and healthy.

Alumni remain in the Buried Creek Collective after completing the program, where they may find peer support for their ongoing artistic engagement with the changing Philadelphia environment. We want our participants, and their future readers, to feel hope! Climate writing so often veers into doomerism. There is reason for fear and sorrow, but we want our participants to discover reasons to hope, and to feel empowered to put their optimism into action.

Application open on April 1, 2026. The deadline is May 31, 2026.

Want to learn more? Come to a virtual information session at 12 p.m. on Thursday, April 16 or 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 30.

Course details and calendar

The program will run from September 20 – November 20, 2026, with weekly meetings that alternate between field trips and online sessions. The program culminates with a public salon featuring Buried Creek Collective writers and multidisciplinary artists engaged with the Philadelphia environment. The field trip and event schedule is:

• Sunday, September 20, from 1 – 4 p.m.
  The Discovery Center. Topics include introductions to one another and to Philadelphia climate basics.
• Saturday, October 3 from 1 – 4 p.m.
  Fairmount Water Works. Topics may include watershed basics, urban infrastructure, flooding and mitigation.
• Saturday, October 17 from 1 – 4 p.m.
  The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. Topics may include ecology, habitat, biodiversity.
• Saturday, November 7 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
  Fairmount Park Horticulture Center/Philadelphia Food Forest. Topics may include land use, urban agriculture, and community and cultural engagement.
• Friday, November 20 from 6 – 9 p.m.
  The Discovery Center. Philadelphia Artist and Writers Showcase, featuring readings and creative prompts. Open to the public (bring your friends and loved ones)!

The program also includes four online sessions, which will be scheduled in the weeks between field trips, and are intended to encourage discussion, reflection, and meetings with guest speakers. This schedule will be confirmed in summer 2026.

Cost

There is no cost to apply or attend the program (aside from incidentals such as transit fare). However, space is limited and applications are required. 

Who should apply

The Buried Creek Collective program welcomes emerging and established writers of any genre and other creatives who reside in the Greater Philadelphia area. While you do not have to have a current work in progress focused on climate change or the environment, we would like to have a sense of how your environmental education will support your ongoing engagement in the arts. 

While it is our aim to keep the program financially accessible, its success depends on an engaged creative cohort; therefore, we ask that participants commit to attending the full course over several weeks.

Applications are due May 31, 2026, and candidates will be contacted by July.

Questions? Please reach out to us at buriedcreekcollective@gmail.com.