What does the Green Team do? Download our one-page handout here
Read our past newsletters here. Sign up to receive future monthly issues here
See our calendar with many local events at the bottom of this page
Legendary Lenape summer program
The Legendary Lenape program is a summer 2023 series of educational gatherings for children, families and people of all ages taking place at locations around Chester County, on Saturdays or Sundays from June 24 to August 13. Click here for more info and sign-up form. See a write-up in the May 16 Daily Local News here.
Porchfest, May 20, in Southwest West Chester Borough
The 2nd Annual West Chester Porchfest took place with great success and enthusiasm!
West Chester Porchfest is organized by the West Chester Green Team to build connection, promote community, and celebrate Spring in our historic borough. Thousands came out to hear the music and enjoy the company!
Wondering what you really heard? Check out the schedule of performances and interactive map here. And what you saw? See photos by Emily Miller here, by Jaime Maloney here, and by Taka Nagai here. Many thanks to all three photographers for rendering so vividly the spirit of the performers, attendees, and staffers of booths and concessions!
Earth Day Welcome and Awards, April 21, 2023
The Green Team is grateful to WCU President Chris Fiorentino, Professor Joan Welch, and Director of Sustainability Brad Flamm for hosting and being part of our Day-Before- Earth-Day celebration on campus, to West Chester Mayor Lillian DeBaptiste for welcoming us formally to the Borough and accepting a framed Porchfest 2023 poster as testimony of our thanks for all she is doing to make the Borough a better place, and to our three volunteers whose accomplishment earned our recognition for environmental leadership.
And thanks to all for their educational and heartfelt words supporting our and their shared mission. See more info, texts of award presentations, and photos here.
Thanks to all who joined in our Earth Day rally and Green Fair, Sat. April 22
An exciting event complete with a rally, a march, and a Green Fair.
In one highlight, State Senator Comitta presented the Green Team, represented at the top of the steps by board members Gillian Alicea and David Wickard, with a Community Pride Award from Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. The award, shared with the West Chester Business Improvement District, honored the two community organizations for their work in building a pollinator garden last year at the Chestnut Street Parking Garage in downtown West Chester.
See the full write-up of the day’s events with more photos here.
Our Mission
The West Chester Green Team, a non-governmental civic organization in Chester County PA, works to educate the local public and to establish and nourish green initiatives in the community in harmony with nature and each other, promoting the health of all living things and of planet Earth.
See all our newsletters here.
See our calendar of events at the bottom of this page.
Our inspiration
“I believe that natural beauty has a necessary place in the development of any individual or any society. I believe that whenever we destroy beauty, whenever we substitute something man-made and artificial for a natural feature of this earth, we have retarded some part of man’s spiritual growth.” — Rachel Carson
About the West Chester Green Team
WCGT is passionate about helping people live their daily lives in a green, sustainable and community-oriented manner. We work through a board of over a dozen activists, plus hundreds of supporters. We invite all area residents to join us in taking action!
Check out our areas of focus and see where you can help us:
Climate and Energy: Promoting green energy and combating climate change. Read more here.
Community: Building community through events oriented to the earth and the arts. Our membership in Transition US underlies all of our above areas plus others such as our Front Porch Concerts program, new in 2022. Read more here.
Gardening and Food: Encouraging people to plant and maintain gardens and trees, including the West Chester Tree Team. These activities fall under the Living Landscapes program, part of West Chester Area Transition. Read more here. Plant for the Planet!
Pesticides and Herbicides: Pressing to reduce use of toxic chemicals in our daily lives. Read more here.
Reducing use of plastics, especially single-use plastic bags and straws. Read more here.
Dark Sky Initiative, opposing light pollution at night, which is disruptive to both humans and animal species.
Other issues where we can all make a daily difference in environment and sustainability. Next on our list to start up: a Water Team (dealing with storm water, stream quality, flooding, water retention, rain gardens, tap water quality…).
If you’d like to help on these ongoing or upcoming initiatives, or have additional ideas, please let us know by emailing us at westchestergoesgreen@gmail.com.
Our scope is approximately the West Chester Area School district or about a 10 miles’ radius around West Chester Borough. We occasionally share news and events for the whole of Chester County as well.
As an independent environmental organization, we help our communities become more environment-conscious and sustainable, educate residents about green living, urge municipal and county governments to support our efforts, and ask businesses to become our allies. We need you; the planet needs all of us!
Are you with us? To sign up for our email list or to contact us or donate, please email here. Please let us know your interests and which municipality you live in. We don’t have formal memberships or dues but welcome all supporters to our list; and we can also connect you to other groups throughout Chester County.
Learn about our history here. See our Bylaws and officers here.
Our header shows one of West Chester’s marvelous front yard gardens, fully visible from the street, in all its summer glory.
Please look through this site and our Facebook page, feel free to add your thoughts or posts you’d like to share, and if you have questions or comments or wish to join us, email us here.
Upcoming Events
See our calendar below. You may prefer (upper right) Agenda view, listing events in order. See also the broader Chesco Environment calendar here and numerous events in County parks here.
West Chester Green Team 