There is something about the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University that recent graduate Sam Emory loves that other people might not readily think about.
"I love labels on trees — I'm always curious about what I'm looking at — they are a genius invention. The way that the landscape on campus has been shaped to tell ecological stories — the wetland garden, the healing garden, the winter garden, the native plant garden — there is so much care put into creating and maintaining these learning spaces," said Emory, 30, (RA | Student ASLA | LEED AP BD+C), who graduated with a Master...
Temple University recent graduate Gabrielle Widjaja never expected to be involved in the type of research she has undertaken with the Temple Ambler Field Station."Certainly, no one expected a tornado to hit the Ambler Campus. I think what is amazing is that the Field Station has taken this extremely difficult circumstance and opened up entirely new research opportunities," said Widjaja, who graduated from Temple with a degree in Biochemistry, a major offer by Temple's College of Science and Technology. "You have to adapt to what you are given. Even in the lab, most experiments...
Leona Edmund never had to look very far to find the endless well of inspiration that she needed to return to the classroom to complete her Temple degree in the Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) program."My driving force was my children. I really needed to exemplify what I was talking about with them — I give great speeches and they hear it all the time about the importance of their education," said Edmund, 49, who will share her experiences with her classmates and their families as one of the student speakers at the first Bachelor of General Studies Graduation Ceremony...
In March 2021, Temple's new Bachelor of General Studies degree was still nearly half a year away from its official launch during the fall 2021 semester. Fast forward to May 2022 and the first Bachelor of General Studies graduates are about to cross the finish line on a journey that for many of them was years in the making. "The Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) offered by University College was developed specifically for adult learners, giving them the perfect opportunity to complete their degree," said Dr. Vicki Lewis McGarvey, Vice Provost for University College and Director...
Antywane Robinson — soon to be one of the first graduates of Temple University's Bachelor of General Studies program — knows a little something about the dedication and determination it takes to be a champion.During his senior year at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, his team won a national championship in basketball. Over two years, his record was 65-1, and the one loss, according to Robinson, only came when the other team cheated."(LA Laker) Carmelo Anthony was my teammate in my senior year. That year we had nine Division I athletes on a high school team, which is...
Paige Levan, 27, always knew she was destined to be Temple Owl.
"I was always drawn to Temple honestly. Ever since high school, it was my first pick — I've always loved how diverse Temple is," said Levan, who is graduating with her degree in Psychology from Temple's College of Liberal Arts. "I love the history, that it was founded to be a school that was affordable for everyone. I'm a first-generation college student who for a time didn't think I had the financial background to make it through a bachelor's degree, but after putting in the work, here I am."
Levan began her...
Ambler Arboretum Director Kathy Salisbury has received the 2022 Garden Club of America Hope Goddard Iselin Fellowship in Public Horticulture, which will support her doctoral study — Investigating the Role a Public Garden can Play in Adult Environmental Education after a Natural Disaster. Kathy is currently a candidate for a Doctorate of Education (DEd) in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning, Penn State Harrisburg. The purpose of the Fellowship in Public Horticulture is to further the study of public horticulture through experiential learning that takes place at a...
Biodiversity (noun): The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
Biodiversity is all around us. In fact, it includes us.
Biodiversity refers to the variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi. Biodiversity provides functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen, clean air and water, pollinate plants, control pests, treat wastewater and every other essential ecological service. Biodiversity is necessary for the planet to function.
During the month of May, the Temple Ambler Field Station will be...
Some of the trees in the Ambler Arboretum lost their tops in the September 1, 2021 tornado.
According to Ambler Arboretum Director Kathy Salisbury, after the storm, "it looked like little Christmas trees had been scattered around the Arboretum."
"They were actually many of the tops of our large conifers," she said. "Besides looking funny for a while, many people might wonder what we expect from our topless trees."
The top, called a terminal leader, gives the conifers "the pyramidal shape we have come to expect from our needled friends," Salisbury said....
The Temple University Ambler Library Building didn't escape the wrath of the EF2 tornado that ravaged campus on September 1, 2021. Ferocious winds and debris tore holes in the building's roof and blew out most of the large windows, threatening the collection of 130,000 books, periodicals, research material and historical archives inside.
"Our first concern was the care of the materials. That was paramount in our thinking — how to save what we had because we knew there was major damage to a number of books," said Sandi Thompson, Head of the Ambler Campus Library. "We focused...
Temple University Horticulture sophomore Grace Lenart doesn't remember a time when she wasn't outside exploring the world around her.
"As a child, I was always outside, always exploring in the bogs near my house and the swamps and the forest. I feel like in school you are often told 'These are the specific jobs you can have' and you start wondering how you're supposed to fit into this whole outline of how life is supposed to work," said Lenart, who entered the Horticulture program offered by the Tyler School of Art and Architecture after transferring from Bucks County...
Envisioning the future. Planning a career. Achieving personal goals.
These are heavy topics for any student just starting out or making a return to the classroom.
As the newly appointed Assistant Director of Advising and Student Success at Temple University Ambler, Maria Sarmiento wants to help students navigate these important questions while making their decision to come to the Ambler Campus to pursue their dreams.
"I think I embody a lot of the different types of students at Temple. I'm an immigrant; I'm a first-generation student; a person of color," said...
Eric Sphar would be the first to tell you that the road to achieving his degree was less than smooth.
"I started at Boston University initially very sure of myself and got smacked down pretty hard by the reality of it. There were some definite bump in the road when I was pursuing my degree, which is fairly common," said Sphar, who began as Temple University Ambler's new Enrollment Coordinator on November 29. "I think there were likely some things I could have heard from advisors at universities that could have directed me in a way that would have made it all easier to...
On September 1, the Temple Ambler Field Station was confronted with a seemingly impossible question.
How do you continue in-depth research in an ecosystem that has been forever changed by a natural disaster?
The answer: "Tell the story that nature has given us to tell," said Dr. Amy Freestone, Director of the Temple Ambler Field Station.
"Prior to the tornado that swept through the Temple Ambler campus in September, the Field Station had spent the last year establishing the Temple Forest Observatory in what we had called the Old Growth Forest. This is a collaboration...
Nature is dynamic.
Ecosystems across the globe are defined by their disturbance regimes — disturbances that can be caused by storms, floods, fire and species interactions. On September 1, an EF2 tornado spawned by Hurricane Ida proved to be a massive and devastating disturbance to Temple University Ambler.
"Disturbances can reset an entire ecosystem. Understanding resilience to disturbance is a cornerstone of contemporary ecology," said Dr. Amy Freestone, Director of the Temple Ambler Field Station. "As climate change alters the frequency and severity of...
As a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), recipient of the Bradford Williams Medal and recipient of the Award of Distinction from the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, Dr. Lolly Tai is no stranger to accolades.Monday, November 22, however, was something altogether different. During the ASLA's annual conference in Nashville, TN, Dr. Tai, a Professor of Landscape Architecture in the Tyler School of Art and Architecture, was presented with the 2021 Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal, recognizing her sustained and significant contribution to...
If you put Christmas trees up as part of your winter holiday celebration, the Arboretum is asking you to consider using a living Christmas tree and then donating it to the Ambler Arboretum.
Living Christmas trees are those that have a root ball or are grown in a container. If you have always wanted to have a living Christmas tree but didn't know where to plant it, now you can contribute to the replanting of the Ambler Arboretum. If you use one every year, consider donating it to the Arboretum this year.
Living Christmas trees require more care than the average cut live...
By Baldev Lamba, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Tyler School of Art and Architecture
"Trees exhale for us so that we can inhale them to stay alive. Can we ever forget that? Let us love trees with every breath we take until we perish." — Munia Khan
"Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky." — Kahlil Gebran
The tornado on Wednesday, September 1, brought its full fury to Ambler Campus and in a matter of minutes, wiped out many of the canopy trees and their poetry — the heart and soul of the campus landscape.
The tragic loss left us with...
The Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania led a Healing Ceremony at Temple Ambler, which was hit by an EF2 tornado on Sept. 1.
The calming rhythm of a drumming circle. Tribal stories as relevant today as the first time they were told. An emotional blessing in the Lenape-Unami dialect. The cleansing scent of burning sage. A dance of friendship and community.
The Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania visited Temple University Ambler and the Ambler Arboretum to help the campus and the surrounding community heal and re-connect with the land that has been irrevocably scarred by an EF2 tornado...
