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Last year, nearly 10,000 students (grades pre-K through 12), teachers, and visitors spent a rewarding, educational day at Temple University Ambler celebrating the importance of protecting the environment and preserving their future.
We’d like to invite you and your students to be a part of EarthFest 2008 — Friday, April 25, 2008. The event, sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Communities at Temple University Ambler, will be held, rain or shine, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ambler campus.
Learn from more than 90 exhibitors! Enjoy Main Stage programming that includes the Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Zoo, Wondergy, and the Elmwood Park Zoo! Get involved through interactive activities such as the Making the Recycle Band competition or the EarthFest Passport! Or become an exhibitor yourself at an event that has become one of the largest celebrations of Earth Day on the East Coast!
Bring as many students as you like - some schools bring as few as 10; others and many as 300 or more! Make a day of it - bring a bagged lunch or purchase food at EarthFest!
TO VISIT EARTHFEST, ALL YOU NEED DO IS FILL OUT A SCHOOLS APPLICATION FORM! THERE IS NO FEE TO VISIT EARTHFEST!
If you have any difficulty downloading and printing the schools application document, please don't hesitate to contact Jim Duffy at 267-468-8108 or duffyj@temple.edu.
 Don't just visit EarthFest 2008, become a
part of it!
At EarthFest, high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools are invited to become exhibitors. Exhibiting is free for all schools.
Each year, more than a dozen schools from throughout the region exhibit at EarthFest and we're always happy to welcome more! Have an idea to share about protecting and preserving the environment? A general presentation about nature and natural habitats? A project about helping in your communities and promoting healthy living and sustainability? Bring it to EarthFest and share it with your fellow students and visitors!
Student exhibits are presented in a large exhibitors' tent right across from the Kids Grow Expo. Have more than one group of students who would like to exhibit at EarthFest? We're happy to provide you with the space and other special needs, such a electricty, that you might need.
TO EXHIBIT AT EARTHFEST, SIMPLY INCLUDE YOUR EXHIBIT INFORMATION ON YOUR SCHOOLS APPLICATION FORM!
If you have any difficulty downloading and printing the application form, please don't hesitate to contact Jim Duffy at 267-468-8108 or duffyj@temple.edu.
 Growing Healthy!
We are happy to be continuing our partnership with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to offer their Kids Grow Expo and Junior Flower Show as part of a full day of interactive events and exhibits promoting environmental awareness and the use of sustainable concepts, methods, and practices to preserve our environment.
The theme for the 2008 Kids Grow Expo is “Growing Healthy,” which will encourage students to make healthy eating and active lifestyle choices.
Along with the horticultural and artistic entries that youngsters can exhibit, the Kids Grow Expo includes several classroom projects.
We believe EarthFest and the Kids Grow Expo are the perfect opportunity for area students, teachers, and families to get involved and work toward developing sustainable communities for today and tomorrow!
LEARN HOW TO PARTICPATE IN THE KIDS GROW EXPO AND MAKE ENTRIES IN THE JUNIOR FLOWER SHOW HERE.
For more information on the Kids Grow Expo and Junior Flower Show, contact Flossie Narducci at 215-988-8897 or fnarducci@pennhort.org.
Think of it as American Idol meets An Inconvenient Truth!
 During EarthFest 2008, high school students, grades 9-12, are invited to compete in a new program, Making the Recycle Band!
As part of this activity, teams of 2 to 6 students from area high schools will develop their own "band" using nothing but recycled and reusable materials (water bottles, aluminum cans, plastic bags, scrap wood, plastic utensils, etc.) to create their instruments.
They will be encouraged to sing and create a 1 to 3 minute performance. The top three groups will perform on the EarthFest Main Stage in front of a panel of talented judges and all the EarthFest visitors!
COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS WILL BE AWARDED TO THE WINNERS!
- Group must be 2 to 6 students.
- Students must be in grades 9 to 12 only.
- Students must give their band a group name.
- Students will be given a pile of recyclable and reusable materials; they do not have to use all of them (examples include water bottles, newspaper, scrap wood, plastic utensils, aluminum cans, etc.).
- Students must create a song/performance using their materials; they do not have to sing but it is encouraged!
- The song/performance must be between 1 to 3 minutes long.
- The song can be a re-make of a current song or something made-up.
- Students must be creative! Judging will be based on creativity, diversity of materials used, stage presence, enthusiasm, and if they follow the allotted time and other rules.
Check-in for Making the Recycle Band will be at the Admissions table near West Hall between 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.!
All performers must report to the Learning Center Auditorium by 11:00 a.m. for semi-final performances!
The top 3 bands will perform live on the Main Stage at 12:30 p.m.!
We are encouraging groups to sign up in advance! To register a group for the Making the Recycle Band contest, please contact Rachel Oliver in Admissions at 267-468-8106 or roliver@temple.edu.
The Making the Recycle Band Contest is sponsored by Rohm and Haas Company, an EarthFest 2008 contributing sponsor. Rohm and Haas is a global leader in the creation and development of innovative technologies and solutions for the specialty materials industry.
Take a trip around EarthFest and the Kids Grow Expo!
The EarthFest Passport, an activity aimed at students from pre-K through 8th grade, encourages children to visit a variety of the more than
85 EarthFest exhibitors.
The exhibitors will give the children an educational lesson about how they are helping the environment and how children can help too!
Upon participating in this interactive activity, the exhibitor will stamp the children’s Passports and from there, the children can move on to the next exhibitor listed on their Passport.
Once the students get to all the exhibitors listed on their Passports, all they have to do is fill out their name, age, and school on the back of the Passport to be entered into a drawing to win all sorts of terrific prizes! (Students need not be present to win.)
Students can pick up their EarthFest Passports at any of the EarthFest 2008 Information Booths marked on the event map.
This program is an excellent opportunity to interact with our EarthFest and Kids Grow Expo exhibitors, and each other, and learn important information about the great work these organizations are doing.
We hope you will join us in making our educational programs a success!
There is a lot to see and do at EarthFest 2008 and the Kids Grow Expo. Here are a few handy tips to plan your day!
- Post a sign (which will be provided to you prior to the event) with your school name on the back of your school bus and on the side by the main door of the bus. This will help your students find your bus at the end of the day.
 Often other large events will be taking place in the region at around the same time as EarthFest. If you need an outside bus vendor, make your arrangements early!
- There will be food and beverages for sale. However, if your students are bringing their lunches, you may wish to put all bagged lunches in a box and mark the outside of the box with your school’s name and grade. All lunches can be stored on designated tables in the Food Tent near the Kids Grow Expo festivities.
- Because there will be a large number of students, you may wish to have your class wear gym uniforms or the same color t-shirt. Have your students travel with “buddies” to ensure everyone returns to their bus at the proper time.
- Make sure your students know what time your bus will be leaving and plan accordingly. Have your students ready at the bus pick-up area.
- Please remind children that Temple students will be attending classes that day in several of the buildings. Children should remain with their chaperones at all times and not wander through the buildings. EarthFest visitors are NOT permitted inside the classroom buildings.
- There will be items, such as t-shirts, books, and food available for purchase at EarthFest. Please let your students know that they will have opportunities to purchase souvenirs at the event.
- Please let your students know that should they become lost or separated from your group that they should go to one of the Information tables indicated on the EarthFest and Kids Grow Expo map.
- There will be trash and recycling receptacles located throughout the Kids Grow Expo and EarthFest. Please think environmentally and keep our campus clean! Make sure your students throw away any trash in the proper containers.
- Students at all grade levels have the opportunity to take part in two fun-filled interactive programs at EarthFest — the EarthFest Passport, which will take students on a journey throughout the event, and “Making the Recycle Band,” which will take place near West Hall and the Library Building, in the campus Learning Center and on the event Main Stage.
- If you have any questions or concerns prior to the event, please don’t hesitate to contact Jim Duffy at Temple University Ambler at 267-468-8108 or Flossie Narducci at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society at 215-988-8897.
 In order to make EarthFest as enjoyable as possible, we would like to provide you with the necessary information for travel and parking ahead of time. Please read the following tips and share them with the other teachers/chaperones on your bus.
Please note: There are often other large events taking place in the region around the time of EarthFest. If you use an outside bus company for your travel needs, make your arrangements early!
Because of the volume of buses on our parking lot the day of EarthFest, and since most school buses look nearly identical, there may be some difficulties in locating your bus when you are ready to take the children back to their school. To make your bus easier to identify, two signs will be provided with the name of your school to post on the back window and side of your bus. Decorate them in any way you like — make it a classroom project with an environmental theme!
- We unfortunately do not have the means to contact the bus drivers ahead of time. We ask that you provide the included information under “Bus Tips for Bus Drivers” to the driver so that he/she may read it over before you depart.
- Double check with the bus driver as to what time you need to bring the children back to the bus.
- Go over with the children what they should do if they get separated or lost at EarthFest (have them go to one of the Information Tables marked on the event map).
- Make sure you post your signs on the bus. Tape one sign on the window near the main door. Tape the second on the emergency door in the rear, towards the bottom of the door so it is not blocking the driver’s view. Please ask the bus driver for permission to tape the signs inside the bus.
- Ask the bus driver if the school bus is going to be staying on our lot for the day or if the bus is dropping your group off and coming back to pick you up. This is a very important detail that needs to be decided before you leave your school.
- Make sure the bus driver knows the only entrance/exit for EarthFest will be from Butler Pike.
If your bus is dropping off the children, leaving, and returning later in the day:
The bus will drop you off alongside the field for EarthFest. Please mention to your children that they need to stay calm (no pushing, shoving, or running) when getting off the bus and when getting back on the bus. When the bus comes back to pick up your group, it may not be located in the exact spot where you were dropped off due to the number of buses picking up the children at the same time. Your bus should be located somewhere along the edge of the grass. The signs provided will help you identify your bus. We will have staff on hand to help you find your bus if needed.
If your bus is staying on our lot for the day:
- Your bus is going to pull into the parking spot first. Once the bus is parked in the spot where it will stay for the day, you will be able to escort the children off the bus.
- If your bus is parked facing the ball fields, escort the children off the bus and walk forward to the gravel sidewalk, which will lead you to EarthFest. We will have staff on hand to make sure you lead the children in the correct direction.
- If your bus is parked facing the parking lot, escort the children off the bus and towards the rear of the bus, across and between the other parked buses, and continue on until you reach the gravel sidewalk, which will lead you to EarthFest. We will have staff on hand to make sure you lead the children in the correct direction.
- At the end of the day when you are ready to leave, please stay on the grass until you have all of your children accounted for. Then escort your children to your bus. This time you will approach the bus from the rear. Please make sure your children load the bus in a single line, staying away from the front of the buses. Once the bus driver has confirmed everyone on the bus is accounted for, the bus will then pull out and head back to your school.
We do not want anyone by the ball field located next to where the buses park for the day. The reason is simply a safety issue. Since the ball field is located next to the area where the buses pull out, we don’t want the children accidently stepping in this area. For the safety of the children, we ask that you stay away from the ball field.
LEARN MORE ABOUT PARKING AT EARTHFEST HERE.
 If your bus IS NOT staying for the day (returning later to pick up):
- When you are dropped off in the morning, your bus will pull up to the edge of the grass in front of EarthFest. In the afternoon, we are expecting about 20 to 30 buses so there may be a line of buses waiting to pick up the various groups. Please make sure you are able to identify your bus.
- Please make sure your students are staying clear of any other bus. We do not want students playing near or around the buses.
If your bus IS staying on our parking lot for the day:
- The students should remain calm while exiting the bus and walk in an orderly fashion until they reach EarthFest. No pushing, shoving or running on the pavement or around buses at any time.
- Please do not leave anything on the bus. The buses will not be accessible until you are ready to leave.
- If your bus is parked facing the ball fields (facing away from the parking lot), escort the students off the bus, heading past the front of the bus and forward to the gravel sidewalk which will lead you to EarthFest. We will have staff on hand to make sure you lead the students in the correct direction.
- If your bus is parked facing the parking lot, escort the students off the bus and past the rear of the bus, across and between the other parked buses, and continue on until you reach the gravel sidewalk which will lead you to EarthFest. We will have staff on hand to make sure you lead the students in the correct direction.
- At the end of the day when you are ready to leave, please stay on the grass until you have ALL of your students accounted for. Then escort students to the bus. This time you will approach the bus from the rear. Please make sure your students load the bus in a single line, staying away from the front of the buses. Once the bus driver has confirmed everyone that should be on the bus is accounted for, the bus will then be able to pull out and head back to your school.
Since we would like to involve as many students in the region as possible, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and Temple University Ambler have collaborated to create the Transportation Angels program for schools in need of funding for transportation to and from EarthFest.
Please note that Transportation Angels funding is meant for schools with genuine economic need. We encourage all schools to pursue alternative means of transportation funding with local businesses or organizations to ensure that funding is available for as many schools as possible.
DOWNLOAD A TRANSPORTATION ANGELS APPLICATION HERE.
If you have any difficulty downloading and printing the Transportation Angels document, please don't hesitate to contact Flossie Narducci at 215-988-8897 or fnarducci@pennhort.org.
Area schools have become an even greater part of the event with each year!
 During EarthFest 2008, the Souderton Area High School SAVE (Students Against Violating the Earth) student organization, in addition to being a school exhibitor, will be presented with the “EarthFest Commitment to Sustainability Award.”
SAVE seeks to “promote the preservation of our natural world by encouraging appreciation, understanding, and responsible use of the environment. Our goal is to create a sustainable world by spreading information about environmental problems and encouraging appropriate public involvement in the solutions to those problems.”
The high school environmental group not only promotes a wide variety of environmental concepts, they put those concepts to tangible use in their Student Environmental Education Center, also know as the “SAVE House,” a working home built by SAVE students that incorporates a wide variety of environmentally sound technologies. It is the central part of the program’s Project EFFECT (Environmental Friendly Facility Exploring Conservation Technology).
"There are so many students doing incredible things at a grassroots level that, each year, we want to take the opportunity to recognize their achievements. Students such as these are the stewards of the future," said EarthFest Coordinator Susan Spinella. "Our primary goal with EarthFest is education. While we are able to bring a diverse group of students, educators, and exhibitors together each year to celebrate a common cause, students at schools throughout the region are teaching their peers — and in many cases their parents — how they can ensure sustainable communities."
If you would like to nominate a school, student organization, or educator for the 2009 Commitment to Sustainability Award, please contact Jim Duffy at 215-267-468-8108 or duffyj@temple.edu.
    
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