Biophilia Network
Biophilia: Expanding and Building Stewardship in Pittsburgh's Greenways
IMPORTANT NOTE: This week’s biophilia meeting will be in the Center for Sustainable Landscapes classroom. You can access this location by turning into the Phipps employee parking lot by the Christopher Columbus statue on Schenley Drive Extension.
Join us Thurs., Sept. 4 at 6 p.m., for our in-person and virtual Biophilia meeting, where we will be discussing the City of Pittsburgh’s Department of City Planning going through the process of designating, engaging community around and building stewardship for new greenways across its steeply sloped geography. In an effort to permanently conserve the urban forest and protect residents from landslide-prone land, an analysis of thousands of city-owned vacant parcels was conducted to determine how much land could and should be designated as greenway. Following the parcel selection, multiple rounds of community engagement and site visits to ground truth findings from the geospatial analysis are being done. Alongside expansion and engagement, a stewardship program was developed to support the City’s limited maintenance capacity and encourage residents and organizations to connect with their new greenway spaces. This presentation will focus on the methodology, lessons learned and engagement strategies of creating new greenways in an urban context. The ongoing work is a delicate balance of navigating both the bureaucratic and personal complexities of land as public commons.
Not able to join us in person? We will also be streaming the event via Zoom! Register here.
Meetings are free to attend; however, advance registration is required via email. Although this speaking event can be viewed at home, participants are invited to join others in-person to view the virtual presentation at Phipps’ Center for Sustainable Landscapes classroom. Click the button below to reserve your spot today.
Meet the Speakers:
Isabella Gross
Isabella Gross is the Principal Environmental Planner in the City of Pittsburgh's Department of City Planning focusing on the planning and development of parks, greenways and open spaces city-wide. Collaborating internally and externally, Isabella hopes to cultivate parks, trails and green spaces that are accessible to all, resilient to climate hazards, and promote biodiversity. Prior to the City of Pittsburgh, Isabella worked at the U.S. Green Building Council managing the LEED for Cities program, engaging with local governments globally and building their capacity to drive local climate action. She got her start as a professional planner working for the City of Philadelphia after a brief stint in the architecture field. Having a multi-cultural background, Isabella approaches her locationally-focused planning work with a global and equity-centered mindset. Isabella received her master’s degree in City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley.
Mackenzie Pleskovic
Mackenzie Pleskovic is the Vacant Property Planner in the City of Pittsburgh's Department of City Planning, focusing on the planning and development of vacant lots and open space citywide. In this role, she hopes to facilitate the reactivation of vacant property, land and structures alike, while promoting community ownership and participation in the visioning of ideal end uses for publicly-owned properties. Prior to working for the City of Pittsburgh, Mackenzie worked for several years as a Development Manager for the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh in a project management role focused on affordable housing development in the city's Northside. She received her Bachelor of the Arts degree in environmental studies, art history and urban studies from the University of Pittsburgh and is an AICP-certified planner.
Information for virtual attendees: The Zoom meeting will begin promptly at 6 p.m. (EST), 3 p.m. (PST). After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Upcoming Biophilia Meetings
Biophilia: Wands, Salves and Charms: Herbalism and Plant Lore in Northern Appalachian Folk Magic
Note: This week’s biophilia meeting will be in the Center for Sustainable Landscapes classroom. You can access this location by turning into the Phipps employee parking lot by the Christopher Columbus statue on Schenley Drive Extension.
Join us Thurs., Oct. 2 at 6 p.m., for our in-person and virtual Biophilia meeting, where we will be discussing the beliefs about folk magic and witchcraft that have long permeated the traditions of northern Appalachia. From the English “Cunning Folk” to the Pennsylvania German “Braucherei”, folk magic practitioners and healers relied not only on spoken charms and physical gestures, but also a wide variety of plants to complete their rituals. In this meeting, Historian and Archivist Thomas White will discuss the use of local plants in the historical practice of folk magic.
Not able to join us in person? We will also be streaming the event via Zoom! Register here.
Meetings are free to attend; however, advance registration is required via email. Although this speaking event can be viewed at home, participants are invited to join others in-person to view the virtual presentation at Phipps’ Center for Sustainable Landscapes classroom. Click the button below to reserve your spot today.
Meet the Speakers:
Thomas White
Thomas White is the University Archivist and Curator of Special Collections at Duquesne University. He is also an Adjunct Professor in Duquesne’s History Department and an Adjunct Professor of History at La Roche University. White specializes in public history, folklore and the history of supernatural beliefs. He is the author of 11 books including The Witch of the Monongahela: Folk Magic in Early Western Pennsylvania, Legends and Lore of Western Pennsylvania, and Witches of Pennsylvania: Occult History and Lore.
Information for virtual attendees: The Zoom meeting will begin promptly at 6 p.m. (EST), 3 p.m. (PST). After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Designed as a series of posts on the Phipps blog and a hashtag for use on Twitter and Instagram, #bioPGH is a new social call-to-action for people throughout the region to more closely examine the beauty and importance of the nature around them.
Inspired by the Biophilic Cities initiative, the Biophilia: Pittsburgh Directory seeks to present an overview of the biophilic organizations, events, activities and projects in Pittsburgh, to aid the public in enhancing their connections to nature and discovering collaborative opportunities.
In this archive, you may access presentation materials and video recordings from previous installments of our monthly Biophilia: Pittsburgh meeting series. Additions will be made often, so visit regularly for the latest materials to deepen your Biophilia: Pittsburgh experience.
Biophilia: Pittsburgh meets monthly at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens where, over delicious small-plates and light refreshments, an expert guest speaker discusses ways of connecting people to nature and showing how these connections can improve our lives in the interest of sharing ideas and identifying opportunities.
Our Goals
• To welcome and inspire others with the concept and principles of biophilia
• To foster collaboration and learning between professionals from a wide variety of disciplines
• To communicate biophilic principles in action-oriented ways to a wider audience for exponential and regional impact
What Is Biophilia?
The term “biophilia,” which literally means “love of life,” was coined by social psychologist Erich Fromm and popularized by biologist E.O. Wilson, who defined it as “the innately emotional affiliation of human beings to other living organisms.”
The implications of biophilia extend across a vast array of disciplines including design and engineering, nutrition, psychology, public health, education, biology and the humanities. Biophilia is expressed all over the world every day, through complex collaborations such as the design and construction of buildings and landscapes; and intimate, personal encounters including nature hikes and home gardening.
Photo © Paul g. Wiegman, Phipps staff
