Temple Ambler EarthFest: Celebrating Water and Earth
Saturday, April 2
1 to 4 p.m.
Bright Hall Circle and Bright Hall Lounge
Register Online Here
We live on a world of constant change. Join Temple Ambler EarthFest and the Academy of Natural Sciences for an outdoor, interactive event exploring those changes firsthand!
The Academy of Natural Sciences is celebrating "Water Year," a dedicated effort to provide a fresh perspective on the water systems that bind us together and inspire us to work collaboratively to ensure clean and healthy water for natural systems and human communities. How essential is water to our lives and how are we impacting water quality? How do we face and mitigate the impacts of climate change? In the wake of the tornado that struck Temple University Ambler, what can we learn about natural disasters and how nature responds to them?
In addition to EarthFest and the Academy Natural Sciences, Celebrating Water and Earth is being hosted by the Temple Ambler Field Station and the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. The event will include a wide variety interactive exhibits, tours and hands-on exploration! Learn more about our exhibitors and activities below.
Event Registration
Admission to Temple Ambler EarthFest: Celebrating Water and Earth is free!
Visitors are asked to register for the event prior to April 2. Please include the number of guests that will be attending.
Register to attend the event online. For additional information, contact duffyj@temple.edu or 267-468-8108.
Exhibitors and Activities
In addition to hands-on, interactive activities provided by our event hosts, partners and Temple exhibitors, Celebrating Water and Earth will also include several tours. Sign up for one or more tours at the event!
Temple Ambler Field Station Disturbance Ecology Tour
2:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m.
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 and our surrounding communities. Join the Temple Ambler Field Station for a firsthand exploration of disturbance ecology on campus.
Ambler Arboretum Garden Tour
2:30 p.m.
3:30 p.m.
Join the Ambler Arboretum for a tour of our campus gardens and learn why the Arboretum is called a "living laboratory" for students, researchers and visitors alike.
Academy of Natural Sciences Water Tour
1:00 p.m.
1:30 p.m.
2:00 p.m.
2:30 p.m.
3:00 p.m.
3:30 p.m.
Join the Academy of Natural Sciences for a 10-minute outdoor tour following the life of a rain drop! Rain or shine, you will help the Academy track the path of a raindrop from Bright Hall to wherever it may lead. Take what you learn home to explore your local watershed! Tours occur every half hour.
Temple Ambler EarthFest
How do you celebrate sustainability and the environment while reaching out to students, teachers and residents in a way that will excite them about citizen science and “going green?” In 2003, Temple Ambler presented the answer to that question on a grand scale, developing an outdoor, educational celebration of Earth Day — EarthFest!
Our mission is to provide meaningful, impactful educational experiences for all ages throughout the year. Instead of one day and one event, we invite you to celebrate the Earth at several smaller, student and family-centered events!
EarthFest events are designed to provide more personalized opportunities to interact with our exhibitors and students to get hands-on with citizen science. Join us to stargaze, celebrate World Water Day, Earth Day and Arbor Day, campout on campus and explore all life in our woods and gardens!
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is the oldest natural history museum in the Americas and one of the country’s leading scientific institutions, with over 200 years of experience in curation, cutting-edge research and education.
At EarthFest: Celebrating Water and Earth, the The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University will highlight the water cycle. Our water cycle is an intricate and delicate system that needs to be considered and protected every step of the way. Consider some of your own solutions for watershed health and test your creativity with a hands-on investigation. Practice how you can make a difference in your home and neighborhood’s water usage and management. Discover how slight changes can make a substantial difference.
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is the oldest natural history museum in the Americas and one of the country’s leading scientific institutions, with over 200 years of experience in curation, cutting-edge research and education.
The Academy has more than 19 million specimens, all carefully documented and well-preserved for future generations. They serve as the foundation for an active research program that continues to focus on the critical environmental issues of our time, ranging from evolution and biodiversity to human health and climate change.
The Academy is also internationally recognized for its pioneering work in water - in 2022 the Academy is celebrating Water Year. These studies have contributed significantly to the quality of human life by helping to shape public policy concerning the environment. Among the best known of these is The Clean Water Act of 1972 and 1977, which was developed with critical input from Academy scientists.
Temple Ambler Field Station
At EarthFest: Celebrating Water and Earth, the Temple Ambler Field Station is highlighting "disturbance ecology." Disturbances are common in nature as they help create a dynamic ecosystem that can benefit the establishment of different organisms. Some disturbances driven by climate such as tornadoes, however, are becoming more frequent and destructive in response to climate change. At the exhibit and the Field Station tour, visitors will be able to learn from current Disturbance Ecology undergraduate students what these upscaling weather disturbances are, how they are formed and how they affect nature and human populations.
The Ambler Campus was designated in 2020 as the Temple Ambler Field Station, a platform for environmental field research and education. The Field Station leverages the 187-acre Ambler Campus and Ambler Arboretum as a living laboratory, providing access to a diversity of natural habitats. The Field Station’s goal is to be a platform for research across disciplines, from STEM fields to the liberal arts.
The Ambler Field Station also provides research and educational support facilities including laboratory and instructional spaces, offices for visiting scholars, conference rooms, dormitory accommodations, a fully equipped technology center, library, and field vehicle access. Ongoing research at the Ambler Field Station spans multiple disciplines, from the natural sciences, to engineering and liberal arts.
Ambler Arboretum of Temple University
The Ambler Arboretum of Temple University is an educational resource modeling the art and science of horticulture and environmental responsibility while fostering research, celebrating the achievements of women in horticulture, preserving the historic significance of the campus and highlighting the health benefits of nature, plants and gardening.
The Ambler Arboretum of Temple University is proud to be a part of America's Garden Capital. The Ambler Arboretum is providing a series of videos designed to help you connect with nature and the outdoors. Take an arboretum walk with Arboretum Director Kathy Salisbury, make new “fronds,” learn about emerald ash borer, and more!
Elmwood Park Zoo
The Elmwood Park Zoo was founded in 1924. In 1985, the Norristown Zoological Society became an official non-profit organization and assumed control of Elmwood Park Zoo from the Borough of Norristown. Elmwood Park Zoo is dedicated to providing the community with varied learning experiences that encourage people to play an active role in wildlife and environmental conservation activities. Through the work of its Education Department, the zoo strives to empower its guests with the skills, knowledge and resources that may influence them to lead environmentally healthy lives. The Zoo’s mission is to foster an appreciation for wildlife and the environment that will inspire active participation in conservation. The Zoo participates in programs and initiatives that help save wildlife, and it teaches others how they can help prevent species extinction and resource depletion.
Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania
The Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania is dedicated to increasing awareness of Lenape history and culture. Created to join together the members of the Lenape Nation and anyone else interested in continuing the development of the language and culture of the Lenape people, the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania is active in the revival of tradition and community. The Lenape Nation encourages partnerships among people and organizations in order to foster cultural, historical, and environmental education and preservation.
The Lenape people are the original inhabitants of Delaware, New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Southern New York. For more than 10,000 years they have been the caretakers of these lands and of The River of Human Beings, more commonly known as the Delaware River. The Lenape were the first tribe to sign a treaty with the United States and the first tribe to have land set aside for them in New Jersey.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region III
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region III is excited to share two hands-on experiences at EarthFest: Celebrating Water and Earth – both related to America (and Pennsylvania’s) number one disaster – flooding!
Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster, which is why it’s critical for everyone to be equipped with the information, tools and skills needed to take mitigation action and build resiliency. To help educate community leaders about the value of being prepared for the worst, FEMA created a virtual reality experience about flood and resilience called IMMERSED. Using technology, see what it’s like to be in a flood, assess damage and see the benefits of mitigation first hand.
FEMA will also have their crowd favorite flood demonstrator table that allows participants to see the impacts of building a house too close to the edge of a river or paving too much of your community so there is no place for stormwater. It’s wet, educational and always fun!
FEMA Region III's mission is helping people before, during and after disasters. FEMA employs more than 20,000 people nationwide. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., FEMA has 10 regional offices located across the country. The FEMA Region III office, located in Philadelphia, oversees federal emergency management for Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, and seven Tribal Nations.
Global Water Alliance
The Global Water Alliance envisions a world where all people have access to safe drinking water and sanitation; a world free of suffering from water- and sanitation-related diseases.
The mission of the Global Water Alliance is to increase global access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services, engaging the resources and expertise of the Philadelphia region and beyond. The organization’s objective is to implement, through partnerships, water/sanitation projects around the world.
Wissahickon Trails
At EarthFest, Wissahickon Trails will be showcasing the impacts of stormwater and the increased frequency of flooding using a model landscape to represent the Wissahickon watershed. Attendees will get to choose their own weather adventure and learn approaches and techniques for increased flood resiliency along with individual actions that can be taken to combat personal impact.
Wissahickon Trails is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1957 by nine community members who were concerned about flooding in the Wissahickon Valley. Today, their mission is to inspire and engage diverse communities of people to protect, steward, and enjoy the land and waterways of the Wissahickon Valley.
Wissahickon Trails has preserved and actively maintains nearly 1,300 acres of open space on 12 preserves with 24 miles of trails - all of which continues to grow! They monitor water quality of the Wissahickon Creek and provide recreational, educational and volunteer opportunities for people of all ages.
The organization works in the Wissahickon watershed, the 64 square miles of land that drains into the Wissahickon Creek, focusing on the Montgomery County portion of the watershed. Their downstream partners, Friends of the Wissahickon, work in the Philadelphia portion of the watershed.
Delaware River Basin Commission
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is the federal-interstate agency focused on managing, protecting and improving the water resources of the Delaware River Basin.
The DRBC has several water quality programs; one is focused on biological monitoring. Using live macroinvertebrates collected from a nearby stream, DRBC staff will talk with attendees of EarthFest: Celebrating Water and Earth about what these aquatic insects tell us about clean water. Visitors will be able to check out the specimens and try to identify them.
The signing of the Delaware River Basin Compact marked the first time since the nation's birth that the federal government and a group of states joined together as equal partners in a river basin planning, development and regulatory agency. The members of this regional body include the four basin state governors and the Division Engineer, North Atlantic Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who serves as the federal representative. Commission programs include water quality protection, water supply allocation, regulatory review (permitting), water conservation initiatives, watershed planning, drought management, flood loss reduction and recreation.
Air Quality Partnership - Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
The Air Quality Partnership (AQP) is a public / private coalition dedicated to improving air quality in the Greater Philadelphia Region by providing air quality advisories and educating the public about air quality issues. The AQP is administered by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. The AQP provides air quality forecasts for ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5).
Sign-up for air quality alerts, or check the forecast daily and take the proper actions to reduce pollution and protect your health. Businesses, organizations, and individuals are welcome to contact the AQP or your local Transportation Management Association for tips and programs to help improve air quality in the Greater Philadelphia Region.
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
The Department of Environmental Protection's mission is to protect Pennsylvania's air, land and water from pollution and to provide for the health and safety of its citizens through a cleaner environment. The PA DEP work in partnership with individuals, organizations, governments and businesses to prevent pollution and restore our natural resources. At EarthFest: Celebrating Water and Earth, the DEP will have a collection of preserved aquatic macroinvertebrates in vials for the visitors to handle and examine. The vials are grouped into three categories: pollution tolerant, somewhat pollution tolerant, and pollution sensitive. Certain organisms live in certain streams based on how much pollution is present - it is the job of the DEP use that knowledge to determine stream health. Water quality monitoring and collection equipment will also be displayed.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region III
At EarthFest, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region III's exhibit will include live demos of EPA’s Adaptation Resource Center (ARC-X). ARC-X is an interactive resource to help local governments effectively deliver services to their communities even as the climate changes. Decision makers can create an integrated package of information tailored specifically to their needs. Once users select areas of interest, they will find information about: the risks posed by climate change to the issues of concern; relevant adaptation strategies; case studies illustrating how other communities have successfully adapted to those risks and tools to replicate their successes; and EPA funding opportunities.
College of Science and Technology
The College of Science and Technology (CST), with more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students, is one of Temple University’s fastest growing schools. Through its innovative Undergraduate Research Program, students work side-by-side with experienced faculty researchers in the lab, in the field and in the classroom. External funding for advanced research — in big data, advanced materials, health and beyond — has increased by more than 85 percent in just the past five years, creating new opportunities for CST faculty to take on today’s toughest scientific challenges. The College of Science and Technology in cooperation with TUTeach offers a wonderful series of FunScienceDemos. If you are a teacher in need of science readings, writing prompts and more, they also offer a comprehensive companion site.
Cordes Laboratory
In the Cordes Laboratory, research is focused on the ecology of deep-sea ecosystems at all levels of biological organization. The Lab is interested in how organisms shape their environment by creating habitat heterogeneity and altering biochemical cycles on the seafloor. These interests touch on ecosystem level processes, patterns of community assembly, population dynamics, individual habitat preference, physiological responses to changing environments, genetic regulation of metabolic processes, and microbial processes that govern biogeochemistry.
Cordes Lab is also interested in the conservation of deep water habitats, and the lab has been actively investigating the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on deepwater coral communities, as well as monitoring ongoing ocean acidification in the deep Gulf of Mexico. Integrating research across these disciplines has led to the development of a wide variety of capabilities in the Lab as well as a large network of national and international collaborators.
Department of Earth and Environmental Science
Managing the complex system of land-water-energy resources underpinning our society is the grand challenge of the 21st century. To meet this challenge, the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at Temple University is exploring the interactions between Earth systems and human activities. The department’s research and teaching delves into the interface of the geosphere and hydrosphere in both ancient and modern systems. The department’s goals are to understand natural processes in these systems as well as how they are changed by the expanding impact of human activities through cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research.
Landscape Architecture and Horticulture Programs — Student Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects
Did you know that a special tree grows in salty ocean water and can protect tropical beaches and land? Meet the Mangrove - a unique salt-water-loving tree whose thick, tangled roots help prevent sand and soils from washing away and make large, dangerous waves smaller. The Temple student chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects will give visitors an opportunity to test this special ability for themselves in their saltwater wave tank! Make waves and watch them wear away a mini sandy beach, then plant some mangroves in the sand and see what kind of difference they make. Don't splash the salty water in your eyes - only the Mangroves like that!
The Landscape Architecture and Horticulture Programs in the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University share a vision of inspiring the next generation of professionals to lead the transformation of natural and built environments; and creating places that are ecologically sound, socially equitable and resilient, while addressing the challenges of climate change.
Tyler School of Art and Architecture Greenhouse Education and Research Complex
The Tyler School of Art and Architecture Greenhouse Education and Research Complex at Temple Ambler consists of the Main Greenhouse, the Headhouse, the Research Garden, the Shade House and the Hoop House.
Constructed in 2000, the Main Greenhouse features 3,700 square feet of climate-controlled growing space for various projects, including faculty and student research, class projects, and plant forcing for our annual display at the Philadelphia Flower Show. This space also houses a large percentage of our permanent teaching and research plant collection.
The Greenhouse also has the capability to capture and store rainwater from the 6,600 square feet of roof surface on the Greenhouse and Headhouse buildings. This water is stored in two underground cisterns with a combined holding capacity of 12,000 gallons and can be pumped into the Greenhouse for plant irrigation.
Temple Biology Department
The Department of Biology at Temple University is a diverse department that teaches about 1,500 undergraduate majors, runs multiple graduate programs including a Ph.D. program in biology with research emphases in computational evolutionary genomics (computational biology), ecology, neuroscience, and cell/molecular biology. The department has also developed an exciting new PhD in Bioinformatics program with interdisciplinary tracks that span biology, chemistry, and computer science.
Temple University Summer Education Camps
Temple University has been offering Summer Education Camps for more than 30 years. Information about camps in summer 2022, including format, locations, costs, and topics, will be available in early 2022.
Camps are offered during June, July and August. The Temple University Ambler Summer Education Camps provide a wonderful opportunity for youths to explore areas of interest, experience a college campus and have lots of fun at the same time.
Temple University Summer Academy
Temple University Summer Academy is an academically rigorous pre-college program for students entering grades 11 or 12. You'll experience the academics, energy, and culture of Temple University during this four-week online summer program.
Join us online this summer to explore new subjects, dive into a current interest with intense focus, and earn college credit for one undergraduate course at Temple University. Temple Summer Academy students will:
- Take a college course (3 or 4 credits, depending on the course).
- Explore college majors by taking two non-credit academic workshops in two different fields.
- Earn a Temple tuition grant by successfully completing the program.
- Build their confidence and sense of independence, with the option to live on campus, and
- Make new friends and build community with other students from diverse backgrounds.
This program runs from July 11 through August 5, 2022 and will take place on Temple's Main Campus in Philadelphia.
Office of Sustainability
Temple University educates a vibrate student body and creates new knowledge through innovative teaching, research and other creative endeavors. Temple aspires to serve as a model for urban institutions and to burnish its national reputation for excellence and commitment to principled policy and climate action. The Office of Sustainability fosters communication, collaboration, and coordination between stakeholder in the Temple University community. The Office of Sustainability consists of professional staff and dedicated student leaders who champion climate action initiatives at Temple University and in our community.
School of Theater, Film and Media Arts
Climate, Sustainability and the Arts (CSArts) in the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts is an interdisciplinary group working in the arts, sciences and new technologies at Temple University. Initiated in 2016, CSArts supports creative works, research projects and produces an annual festival highlighting videos, live and web events produced by Temple faculty and students and international groups. By focusing on “glocal” (global and local) concerns, the events coincide with World Water Day, Earth Day and Sustainability Week celebrations. In 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, CSArts teamed with Harvestworks Digital Arts Center, New York, to premiere new virtual installations online.
This year’s events will be presented online and onsite at Temple Ambler EarthFest, Ambler campus, at Temple’s Charles Library from April 4 to 8 and other sites on Main Campus. Film & Media Arts is the prime sponsor of these events through the department’s Sustainability Fund. FMA also incorporates climate themes and sustainable technologies in class productions and has implemented a recent Climate & the Arts course.
Ambler Student Life Board
The ocean in vast, far too large to take home after a day at the beach...or is it? Join the Ambler Student Life Board and learn how to create your own portable ocean in a mason jar!
The Ambler Student Life Board is Temple Ambler's team of students who create and host fun events for students to stay engaged!