Penn State Berks holds Sustainability Expo, open to the public

WYOMISSING, Pa. — In December, Penn State Berks hosted its Sustainability Expo, "Connecting Campus and Community," organized and curated by Mahsa Kazempour, associate professor of science education and sustainability council chair. The expo showcased community effort from around Berks County including that of Penn State Berks students, Alvernia University students and organizations around the area.

“This event showcased ‘student engagement’ and ‘community engagement’ all in one location. It provided a venue for students to present their community-based research and service projects and the participating community organizations and campus groups to share about existing sustainability-focused initiatives and programs, as well as opportunities for students and the campus to engage with the community,” stated Kazempour. “Furthermore, participating community organizations expressed a desire to connect and collaborate with our campus on a number of city and county-wide projects and initiatives.”

Community stations from the Berks County area included Berks Agricultural Resource Network, Berks Nature, Citizens Climate Lobby, City of Reading Public Works, Commute PA, DEP Office of Environmental Justice, Master Watershed Stewards, PASA Sustainable Agriculture and more.

One event at the expo, the Environmental Awareness and Community Action Project (EACAP), consisted of projects conducted by students in Kazempour’s BiSC3 class, the college’s environmental science course that Kazempour has taught since 2011. Students were tasked with researching local, national and global environmental issues, and engaging in community-based projects to address sustainability issues in the Berks County area. They partnered with local organizations such as Berks Nature, Citizens Climate Lobby, Tulpehocken Creek Watershed Association (TCWA), Northeast Middle School and more, to fulfill their outreach requirements.

The fall 2024 semester projects included water testing, removal of invasive species, clearing soil beds of weeds and the building of bird feeders, just to name a few. For more information all the fall 2024 semester EACAP projects, visit the EACAP website.

Jayne Park-Martinez, assistant teaching professor of science, showcased her Earth150 class's sustainable landscape project: The class looked at dinosaur extinction and and other sustainability events for the project.

The expo also featured research conducted by independent biology students from the college. Three different studies, conducted by students in the Blue Marsh Watershed, focused on antibiotic-resistance, microplastics and cyanobacteria in Blue Marsh.

Alvernia University showcased its campus rewilding program, textile recycling program and other sustainability initiatives.

Sixteen first-year seminar students, under the direction of Marietta Scanlon, associate teaching professor of engineering, presented their Water Insecurity Collection Project, in which each team had built their model to collect rainwater.

The expo also contained a raffle prize drawing for participants and the first ever "Trash or Treasure Sustainability Swap" station where participants were able to drop off unwanted items and take items they might find useful.

Several members of the Sustainability Council helped facilitate the expo and all the experiences it offered.

“Participating in the Sustainability Council provides me an outlet to pursue my passion for agriculture, while making a healthier planet. At the Sustainability Expo, I was able to see Penn State students and the community come together to help fight and bring awareness for our planet," said Allison Emanuel, a student member of the Sustainability Council.

More information on the college’s sustainability efforts can be found on the Penn State Berks sustainability website.