In the 14 years since its inception, the Center for Sustainable Communities at Temple University Ambler has become a leader in researching and planning how to make communities safer, greener and healthier, partnering with state, federal and local organizations to implement plans to leave the region a better place than the Center found it.
In 2014 alone, the Center has received grants totaling more than $2.65 million to research and help implement a variety of beneficial projects, from overseeing dozens of restoration projects in the suburban portions of five watersheds in...
Allen K. Folks (AS, '76) doesn't think small.As Vice President of Planning, Design and Economics for the Southeast Asia region of AECOM, Folks is presently helping to develop a community that will house a quarter of a million people in Singapore, where he and his family currently reside."After completing my degree in Landscape Design at Temple, I studied architecture at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. I then looked for something that blended both interests and that really was urban design — I completed my Masters in Landscape Architecture and Certificate in...
Working from a positive approach. It may sound simple but for decades individuals who worked with families in crisis in the United States approached problems by trying to determine what was "wrong" in an effort to "fix it."After many years working with families at some of the toughest moments in their lives, Rob Gaskill was looking for a better way to help families achieve their goals and get back on track."Having always worked from a deficit model with clients, it was important to me to take a better look at coming from a more strengths-based approach," said Gaskill, 61, who...
Fight! Fight! Fight for the Cherry and the White! Celebrate Homecoming at Temple University Ambler with a variety of events throughout the week of October 9.From the "Homecoming Festival" to the crowning of Ambler's own Homecoming King and Queen, there are plenty of opportunities to show your Temple pride leading up to the Homecoming Game on October 14 when the Owls take on UConn at Lincoln Financial Field! GO OWLS!For more information, contact the Office of Student Life at 267-468-8425 or osl@temple.edu.Homecoming at AmblerAmbler Campus Royalty Applications DueWednesday,...
In the time it takes for a lunch break, you could be saving three lives. That is how many people are helped with the donation of just one pint of blood. Here is your chance to make a difference.On Tuesday, November 7, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Temple University Ambler Student Government Association and the Office of Student Life will host an American Red Cross blood drive in the Campus Lounge (Bright Hall). To make an appointment to donate, go to redcrossblood.org (donor code templeambler). Walk-ins are welcome and sign-up sheets are additionally available in the Office of...
Business majors at Temple will be interacting with area accounting professionals in a decidedly different fashion on September 28.They'll be networking on the run.The Ambler Campus Accounting Professional Society will host the first "CPA Dash" on Sunday, September 28, beginning at 11 a.m. Teams will meet in Bright Hall Lounge and then head out to the Loop Road on campus. The CPA Dash is "a networking team-based relay event with a dress code," said Accounting Professional Society President Jere Ritchie. "A lot of organizations do 5K runs. We started thinking about how we could...
John Paul Endicott saw the world as it could — and should — be; people helping one another where possible, communities gathering together for a common goal of health and well being. He knew that no one should be allowed to go hungry. The countless hours he put into area charitable endeavors, including helping to raise interest and awareness about community gardens right at Temple University Ambler, were certainly reflective of his desire to see community agriculture thrive throughout the region.
John Paul joined the Temple University Ambler community as a horticulture...
When Meredith Thomas completes her degree in journalism at Temple University this fall, she has planned a decidedly different path to take toward a career centered on helping make the Earth a better place than when she found it.
"On a whim, I recently purchased a one-way ticket to Reykjavik, Iceland, for after I graduate. I am not entirely sure what I will do there or how long my stay will be, but the concept of a country run nearly entirely on renewable energy is amazing to me," said Thomas, who currently spends her free time working in the archives at both Temple's...
Before students even begin classes for the fall 2019 semester at Temple University Ambler, they will be met with a special week-long celebration!
Temple University Ambler has planned several activities for students to help them start the year off right by meeting new friends, having fun and acclimating to their new environment.
"Welcome Week — and the first weeks of the semester in general — are a time for the campus to welcome all of the new and returning students," said Megan Cranney, Assistant Director of Student and Campus Life. "It gives them a period of spirit and...
The Center for Sustainable Communities will soon begin a project to develop Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) plans for three locations in the Delaware Direct and Tookany/Tacony-Frankford watersheds, but they won't be doing it alone.With the help of a $60,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Center will use a "public participatory planning and design process," to implement the projects with support from three community partners, according to principal investigator Dr. Mahbubur Meenar, Assistant Director of GIS Operations and Research for the...
For some, their food concerns might not go any further than stopping at the local supermarket to determine what's for dinner that night.For officials and community activists in Norristown, their concerns center on the food security of a population of nearly 35,000, working to ensure that all residents have ready, affordable access to healthy food choices."Quality, affordable food is essential to the well being of any community," said Dr. Deborah Howe, Chair of the Department of Community and Regional Planning, whose undergraduate senior Community and Regional Planning Studio...
Temple University Ambler students are helping Philadelphia neighborhoods become more sustainable thanks to a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation.
The Center for Sustainable Communities at Temple University received $25,000 to develop "Green Neighborhood Tool Kits" and train community-based organizations serving Philadelphia low-income neighborhoods "to educate and empower residents to take actions that improve sustainability," said Dr. Lynn Mandarano, Associate Professor in the Department of Community and Regional Planning at Temple and a Research Fellow with the Center...
Your ability to speak betrays you. You know what you want to say, but you're trapped on a single syllable. A wave of frustration, anxiety and embarrassment wash over you in quick succession as the group you are speaking to responds with a mix of patience and impatience, sympathy and discomfort. The harder you try, the more difficult it becomes. Your anxiety and frustration manifests physically, your lips quivering, your eyes closing unconsciously. A few moments feel like forever.One out of every 100 people will be affected by stuttering in their lifetime, according to Kim...
Twenty-Five years ago, John F. Collins, FASLA, and a dedicated group of faculty built on 75 years of environmental education offered at Temple University Ambler to create prestigious four-year programs in Landscape Architecture and Horticulture that have generated dedicated leaders in every field of the green industry.In practice with his own landscape architecture and environmental planning firm for 25 years prior to coming to Temple, Collins "needed some soldiers," in the battle to preserve the environment."I wanted students that would look at nature, not pave over it. The...
You could say that Jiting Deng had a baptism by fire of sorts into University life — or more appropriately a baptism by football.One of her first experiences outside of the classroom at Temple was an Owls football game at Lincoln Financial Field. And she certainly didn't shy away from raising a giant foam finger or a cherry and white pom pom to cheer on her adopted team to victory."It was my first experience with American football. I figured, 'Why not?' — I always try to do things that are different, that are new to me," said Deng, 25, originally from Hohhot, the...
For Denise Snook everything is literally coming up roses.Upon completing her bachelor's degree in Horticulture at Temple in December, Snook settled into a career as the Horticulturist, Landscape Manager and Rosarian at Wyck, a National Historic Landmark house, garden and farm in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, which served as the ancestral home to the Wistar-Haines family for over nine generations."I'm responsible for the care, interpretation and propagation of the Wyck roses, which isn't something I take lightly. This is one of the oldest rose gardens in America...
Alain-Stephane Wognin Moulot has lived in more countries than many of us are likely to ever visit. Born in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, Moulot has a vision of the world that he would like to help come to pass."I come from a third world country; I've lived in three third world countries. All of these countries have great potential," said Moulot, 22, who will graduate from Temple with a bachelor's degree in Finance. "It's not just a problem of funding; you have to get the resources distributed to where they are needed most. I want to work in a field where I can influence the...
This year wasn't a hat trick for the Department of Community and Regional Planning — it was a step above. Matt Smith made it a fourpeat.Smith was the fourth semi-finalist for the Presidential Management Fellows program from Temple's Community and Regional Planning (CRP) program in four years and the third finalist during the same time frame — an almost unheard of accomplishment among planning programs in the country."This year they only selected 609 out of more than 7,000 candidates. I think this run of success says only good things for the Temple CRP program," said...
There is a garden in the Lawncrest section of Philadelphia that didn't exist two years ago.The 25-plot community garden required buy in from the niehgborhood, city officials and a variety of city groups, but with Temple University Landscape Architecture major Thu Ngan Han leading the charge, fresh vegetables will soon by popping up in abundance as the garden's second growing season gets underway."With Temple's landscape architecture program, we are given the opportunity to work on a lot of urban community-based projects in addition to being given a solid background in plants...
Before Jillian Brainard came to Temple University, she spent a few years with the CIA.In this case, however, her stock in trade was entrees, not espionage."I really fell in love with cooking when I was in high school," said Brainard, 28, of Philadelphia. "I decided to pursue a more culinary-based education and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. After graduation, I started working for Starr Restaurants."For several years, Brainard worked the front of the house — in addition to duties as a sommelier — at some of the most prestigious restaurants in...