Ambler Campus, Temple University

In 2003, Temple University Ambler administrators conceived of an idea to celebrate Earth Day on a grand scale - EarthFest.

“At the time, there really were no large events to commemorate Earth Day in the region. As home to the Center for Sustainable Communities, the Ambler Arboretum, and the University’s ‘green’ programs, we felt we had the resources to start something special — who knew then what this event would become?” said Community and Regional Planning Professor Dr. Jeffrey Featherstone, one of the founders of the event. “During our first year, we welcomed 1,500 visitors; in 2010, it was well over 12,000. EarthFest has become one of the largest celebrations of Earth Day on the East Coast and 2010 couldn’t have gone any better!”

Temple University College of Liberal Arts and School of Environmental Design Dean Teresa Scott Soufas, Temple University Ambler Executive Director William Parshall, and Dr. Featherstone helped kick off EarthFest 2010 on the event Main Stage on April 23 under a cloudless sky and amid the gleeful roar of thousands of students from kindergarten through high school darting from exhibitor to exhibitor, learning about everything from how erosion impacts riverbeds and animals that “recycle” in the wild to the importance of honeybees on our ecosystem and how to make ice cream from liquid nitrogen.

“One of our primary core values at Temple University Ambler is community engagement,” said William Parshall. “I can’t think of a better display of this than the planning and execution of EarthFest.”

Partnering in EarthFest - Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

An integral part of EarthFest each year is event partner the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Kids Grow Expo, which includes educational exhibits, service learning projects, and competitive classes as part of the Junior Flower Show.

The 2010 Kids Grow theme, “Planting Seeds, Growing Lives,” offered fun, interactive ways for children to examine seeds and the “tiny miracles” that result in everything from a sunflower to a head of lettuce to a towering oak tree.

“It all comes down to giving these students a way to express themselves while discovering the beauty of the natural world,” said Kids Grow Expo Coordinator Flossie Narducci. “Like the Philadelphia International Flower Show, a panel of judges awards ribbons, but the competition isn’t the real motivator. It’s the thrill of learning something new that inspires the kids.”

Temple University at EarthFest

Temple departments, from Ambler Campus Admissions, event host the Center for Sustainable Communities, and the School of Environmental Design, to Temple’s Office of Sustainability and University Recycling Department were all well represented at EarthFest.

Temple University Ambler student organizations, from the Student Government Association to the Landscape Architecture and Horticulture Student Association also provided imaginative, interactive games that, while fun, taught important lessons to young visitors about recycling, protecting the environment, and preserving plants and animal habitats.

“EarthFest would be impossible without the literal army of volunteers comprised of Owl Ambassadors, students, faculty, staff and community members involved in everything from assisting exhibitors to their locations to t-shirt sales to assisting with set-up and takedown,” said EarthFest Coordinator Susan Spinella. “EarthFest is an exemplary team effort. It is a showcase event for Temple as we continue to promote — and model — sustainability and environmental stewardship.”

Exhibitors at EarthFest 2010

Temple certainly wasn’t alone in its efforts to educate visitors about protecting and preserving the environment for today and tomorrow. At EarthFest, more than 85 exhibitors, ranging from non-profit watershed groups to for-profit businesses and high school, middle school, and elementary school student organizations, presented their ideas, projects, and initiatives in new and intriguing ways.

Exhibitors for 2010 included the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Insectarium, Adventure Aquarium, Sesame Place, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Montgomery County Beekeepers Association, and dozens more.

Main Stage programming, emceed by 6-ABC weather anchor Melissa Magee, included interactive, informative features by the Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Zoo, Wondergy, the Elmwood Park Zoo, and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s (DVRPC) Air Quality Partnership, who presented their first “ozone forecast” for summer 2010.

EarthFest is a particularly good venue to spark students’ interest in environmental stewardship, said Sean Greene, Senior Transportation Planner for the DVRPC.

“Too often, students aren’t able to get outside to become aware of the environmental issues in the region,” he said. “At EarthFest, they see the diversity of resources available to them. It whets their appetite to learn more.”

Schools at EarthFest - Learning Through Interaction

Schools from throughout the area not only visit EarthFest, they also have the opportunity to share their own exhibits, exploring concepts as diverse as watershed clean-up and tree planting to the study of global warming and recycling.

During EarthFest, an area school, student organization, or educator is also presented with the “EarthFest Commitment to Sustainability Award.” The 2010 recipient was Upper Dublin High School, who had 10 different student groups presenting exhibits at EarthFest this year.

“We only have one world and we have to share it. I think what is terrific about EarthFest is that the students realize there are other environmentally minded people like them,” said Richard McLaughlin, Learning Skills teacher and Environmental Activities Coordinator at Solebury School, whose students presented an environmental puppet show entitled “One World” at EarthFest. “When you have 12,000 likeminded people together, that’s powerful — they know they’re not alone.”