Alli's blog

Janet’s brother wanted know what kind of edible plant would grow well in Philadelphia, so she suggested grapes.  Grapes grow on winding, stretching vines that take over their habitat. Before Janet’s brother knew it, his neighbors two doors down were enjoying grapes of their own!

We heard this story from a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) garden expert at a temporary hidden gem in downtown Philadelphia at 20th and Market Streets.  Here, as well as at Logan Square and at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society headquarters, are pop-up gardens.  All summer long, the pop-up garden will take over what was once a vacant lot, giving it new life as a garden and a UBB Approved Hidden Gem.

Alli writes about UBB approved Hidden Gems in Philadelphia and across the country. She loves talking to new people as much as she likes discovering new experiences. She can be reached at alli@unitedbyblue.com.

As sustainability has encroached into the mainstream and the local food movement has become de rigueur at many Philadelphia BYOs, sometimes it’s easy to confuse “from a farm” with “farm to table.” Vegetables alone do not a farm-to-table meal make.

But Chef Joshua Lawler of The Farm and Fisherman was born and bred into the farm-to-table movement before it was trendy. He grew up gardening and cooking with home grown ingredients, and can’t imagine cooking any other way. “Even if I was doing sushi or another concept, I would still cook this way.” For Chef Lawler, farm-to-table isn’t a fad or trend, it’s just how he has always made good, simple food.  It’s his way of life.

Alli writes about plastic and its effects on the health of the oceans. She can be reached at alli@unitedbyblue.com and loves talking to people as much as she hates plastic. 

So after a long winter's nap, a solid month of snow-covered streets, and two successful trade shows, we're back in action and humming along.  We've got a new crop of awesome interns who are already wowing us with their fabulous ideas, and we're excited for the road ahead.

As I've been thinking about the New Year, I've also been thinking a little bit about resolutions. (Not to mention, I wonder how many bloggers resolve to post more frequently in one of their January posts.) I'm not one for resolutions myself, but I still think we could all use a little bit of self-improvement for the sake of our global community.

Alli writes about plastic and its effects on the health of the oceans, its inhabitants, and people. She can be reached by email at alli@unitedbyblue.com and loves talking to people as much as she hates plastic.

Every time I type the word ‘sustainability,’ I put quotation marks around it. I’ll frequently write emails that refer to my interests in “sustainability.” Lately I’ve started dropping the scare quotes in favor of an adjective, and now I might write that I’m interested in learning more about news in the so-called sustainability space. The reasons I do this are twofold. First, sustainable is a word that often pitch-hits for other terms like green, eco-conscious, or environmentally friendly. And these words, being broad in scope, are really too broad. After all, everything from green building to electric vehicles is eco-conscious, and to be interested in all of them is like saying “I want to pursue a career in innovation.”

Alli writes about plastic and its effects on the health of the oceans, its inhabitants, and people. She can be reached by email at alli@unitedbyblue.com and loves talking to people as much as she hates plastic.

Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania in UBB's hometown of Philadelphia, was interviewed back in August by Inc. Magazine. Though UBB and our founder are both products of Temple University, I happen to be a grad from the other side of town, so news from Penn is always near and dear to my heart.

Inc. reporter Leigh Buchanan interviewed President Gutmann about what managers should expect from the millennials, also known as Gen-Y.  For starters, she says that "One of the characteristics of millennials, besides the fact that they are masters of digital communication, is that they are primed to do well by doing good." She goes on to talk about pro-bono work, which was once the unwelcome province of lower performing employees at large firms is now in such high demand that the crème de la crème of employees enjoy the opportunity of giving back.