EarthFest
2009 Planning Playground - A Success Story
On Friday April 24th, 2009 Temple’s
Ambler Campus hosted its 7th annual, and largest, Earthfest. This year
the Planning Playground tent
helped spread the word about sustainability with six activities to
over 13,000 visitors. Games like “Slam Dunk the Junk” helped teach
kids about separating the different recyclables before shooting them
into their proper receptacles. “Eco-promise Stamps” used carved sweet
potatoes as stamps which symbolized different
promises
you can make to the environment. “Seed Balls” were made from clay,
organic compost, wild flower seeds, and some water. By rolling them
into grape size balls they could be thrown anywhere you wish to grow
flowers. “Where do you live” offered visitors the opportunity to
pinpoint their home location on a giant map of the five county
Delaware Valley region. “Litter IQ” was a magic litter IQ game that
showed litter trivia once opened. Did you know it takes up to 2 year
for a banana peel to decompose?! “Build a Town” showed kids how to
build a planned community with blocks by emphasizing environmentally
safe building locations.
Draft Report - Upper Moreland
School District Stormwater Management Plan and Curriculum Materials
The CSC project team presented the
review draft to the Upper Moreland School District (UMSD)
administration and math and science curriculum committee on April 15,
2009. The goal of the meeting was to prioritize the BMPs that the
curriculum committee decides are best suited for the development of
outdoor laboratory modules for use in K-12 courses. The next step is
to assist the UMSD with securing funding for implementation of the
priority BMPs.
Read
the report >>
CSC receives state grant for
multi-municipal greenhouse gas study The CSC will be taking a close look at
ways municipalities and their residents can reduce greenhouse gases
with support from a $79,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection.
Read more >>
T-VSSI Evaluation Survey Summary Report
by Dr. Mandarano
During the last two years the T-VSSI has conducted evaluation surveys
of its public education and outreach events to determine participants’
educational needs regarding stormwater best management practices as
well as to develop targeted outreach programs. For example, the BMP
Inspection and Monitoring Seminar and Tour held on August 14, 2008 was
developed by the T-VSSI in response to findings from data collected at
the PA Stormwater Symposium 2007. The report highlighting the findings
of the surveys conducted to date is now available for the public to
review.
While scholars have debated the nature of sustainability and have
outlined numerous, sometimes ponderous definitions of it, we can
simply accept its basic tenets. In short, sustainability means
protecting and managing our natural resources so they are available
for future generations. It also means that in promoting
sustainability we must give careful and thoughtful consideration to
the environmental, economic, and social aspects of alternative
courses of action so advances in one area do not come at the expense
of the others.
Read more >>
The Center has formed a partnership called
Temple-Villanova Sustainable Stormwater Initiative (T-VSSI) with
Villanova University’s Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership (VUSP) to
demonstrate stormwater best management practices (BMPs), to conduct
research and to conduct outreach program focusing on regional
stormwater management.
Courses Offered by CSC Staff
Urban
Form & Design
(CRP 2114/8114)
Grad and Undergrad
Spring 2010
Introduction to GIS/ Spatial Analysis Techniques
(CRP 5524/2524)
Grad and Undergrad
Spring 2010, Fall 2010
promises
you can make to the environment. “Seed Balls” were made from clay,
organic compost, wild flower seeds, and some water. By rolling them
into grape size balls they could be thrown anywhere you wish to grow
flowers. “Where do you live” offered visitors the opportunity to
pinpoint their home location on a giant map of the five county
Delaware Valley region. “Litter IQ” was a magic litter IQ game that
showed litter trivia once opened. Did you know it takes up to 2 year
for a banana peel to decompose?! “Build a Town” showed kids how to
build a planned community with blocks by emphasizing environmentally
safe building locations. 
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