UPPER DUBLIN — The ribbon-cutting on a sunny Thursday morning marked a year since the day that forever changed Temple University’s Ambler campus and much of the surrounding Upper Dublin and Horsham townships.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since Hurricane Ida caused a tornado to hit our beautiful campus,” said Vicky Lewis McGarvey, Campus Director.
“Today is a bittersweet day for us. We can’t help but remember what we’ve lost, but we take it as an opportunity to reflect on how much we’ve progressed over the past year,” she said.
On September 1, 2021, the campus and surrounding townships were hit by an EF-2 tornado that damaged hundreds of buildings, uprooted countless trees, and displaced hundreds of locals. and the campus was virtualized for several weeks. Staff-planned repairs. In a sunny day ceremony just outside the campus’s Learning Center, Temple’s Mr. Ambler and local elected officials shared what they saw last year and how the community worked together to help rebuild the campus. I looked back.
“We want our neighbors to know that we are here for them, just as they have been here for us this past year,” McGarvey said. Told.
“The support for this campus has been overwhelming as we continue to recover, reimagine and rebuild,” she said, referring to the school’s support for helping it reopen within two weeks of the storm. Thank you to our staff, contractors and neighbors.
County Commissioner Ken Lawrence said that as an alumnus of that campus, he’s been there for “literally half my life,” getting his family to take classes, attend summer camps, and play sports there. He said he visited frequently before storms—and couldn’t believe what he saw afterwards.
“The day started just like today. It was a good day. If I hadn’t been told there was, I wouldn’t have seen the devastation that happened here and wouldn’t have recognized it.Quad, the tree is down,” Lawrence said.
“As a former admin, I know there’s always a plan at Ambler, what it’s going to be and what it should be. That’s why I’m so proud of Temple.It’s beautiful to have this campus back.”We’ve opened the door to the community.” “
State Representative Todd Stevens (R-151st Dist.) recalled receiving a weather alert that day and didn’t give it much thought until reports of local devastation came in. He remembers getting the alert on his cell phone that night very clearly. And frankly, I remember ignoring it. And I will never do it again. “
“I remember very clearly walking around this campus the next day and all I could remember was how desolate it was. The first chapter is certainly one of tragedy and devastation, but that’s not the end of the story.This is truly a story about grit, perseverance, compassion, and partnership.” he said, thanking people at the local, county and state levels for helping with the recovery efforts.
State Senator Maria Collett for District D-12, which will include Upper Dublin in her district from December, has pledged to continue these partnerships as she fights for additional funding and climate policy changes. . building. It’s about loss of security and broken minds. About the fact that many friends and neighbors have lost their financial security in order to survive natural disasters and other emergencies. “
“I am here today not only as an elected official, but as a neighbor, ally and friend. I can help you,” Colette said.
Ken Kaiser, Temple’s COO, recalled that the response began “right after the storm hit” and said he planned to travel the day after the storm. By the way, it didn’t happen.
“But I ended up here on campus, and what I saw made me feel proud and hopeful.” Campus. ” Two weeks later, the campus reopened.
As they spoke, the VIP stood right next to a sapling that had been planted to replace a tree that had been cut down last year.
D-7 State Senator Vincent Hughes said he hoped for a “warm handover” of Upper Dublin from his district to the Collette district after driving through the damaged community a year ago. said it was a “very sober moment”.
“In times of crisis, as we once did, we must support the resilience that is within us all, and there is no turning back. We must move forward,” Hughes said — “We have to face the climate crisis with the knowledge that comes from the people who are on this campus, doing a good job and helping us use the knowledge and information on how to deal with this. .”
Students can serve as examples. I look at these students, they look so happy and ready and ready to do their homework and stuff like that. We haven’t, but they will, and we have to accept that,” said Hughes.
“For many of us, the strong sense of loss is still strong,” said Temple Provost Gregory Mandel, “but the landscape has changed a lot, but it’s coming back.” Since then, work has been non-stop to restore the campus arboretum. come back “
“That’s what led us to today. Tree stumps are growing new leaves, mutilated trees are growing leaves and branching in fascinating ways. We may find new discoveries,” Mandel said.
A new field station will be key to cataloging that change. And understanding these dynamics, and the lessons Ambler learns as it recovers itself, will help mitigate future impacts. . “
Kate Wingert-Playdon, architectural director at Temple’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture and Environmental Design, says students at the school “demand that we lead the way, and we We will move forward,” said Arashi, giving us a unique opportunity. Learn hands-on.
“Students joined the faculty in the challenge of getting to know their studios and gardens in new ways. A sense of creative optimism was born and we have seen many positive changes this year,” she said. said.
Staff will strengthen programs in ecological restoration, historic preservation and damage assessment, and architectural design and construction, including new studios built on the foundations left after last year’s storms, and plan new building designs. The Institute focuses on rebuilding wildlife habitats. – said Playdon. Cathy Salisbury, director of Ambler Botanical Gardens on campus, said the storm’s biggest impact could actually be underground.
“Trees have a complex underground network of roots and fungi that move water and nutrients to the tree for survival. Not in the way we humans think of conversation and communication, but in a way that humans can still understand,” said Salisbury.
“When they are in danger, trees send out tentacles to let the community know there is a problem. Share with those in need and support those in need. A year ago today most of the 510 trees we lost may not have had time to alert the community. , in the days and weeks following the storm, our campus community was supported by large complexes and intricate networks that you may or may not have known existed,” she said. I was.
Its underground network is still under investigation, but its aboveground network includes contractors, arborists, students, staff, volunteers who have donated over 1,000 hours to clean up the campus and plant new trees throughout the campus, as well as an “alum.” A small army” was included. Various landscaping companies helped.
Salisbury said, “Like many who were unaware that trees were quietly, invisibly helping each other underground, they emerged to support us and our communities.” We may not have been aware of the scale and complexity of the networks we operate,” he said.
After the speech, the gathered VIPs made their way to the fenced-in grassy field next to the renovated library that houses the Temple Ambler Field Station and its research array. It happened just over a year ago and has since shifted focus to the aftermath of the storm.
“We have quickly reoriented our research and training activities to turn these losses into opportunities and create new research directions, new collaborations, new courses, new avenues for learning and discovery.” she said.
Before the storm, field station teams and interns had mapped, measured, and identified nearly every plant in six acres of woodland on campus. Since the storm, we have rapidly expanded our research efforts to document both tornado impacts and forest recovery. “
New field campaigns categorized lost and surviving wildlife, new cameras observed forest creatures, and drone videos gave a top-down perspective of forest growth.
“This research is also a stepping stone for building new training opportunities not only for Temple University undergraduate and graduate students, but also for local middle and high school students. is now receiving unmatched field-based training in global change science,” said Freestone. The new research array, which officially opened Thursday, will do so by providing students with an outdoor space to learn about the effects of spotted lantern flies on plants, research on solar energy and food production, and more, she said. Told.
And Michelle Masucci, vice president of research at Temple, said Field Array began as a conversation about gathering more knowledge directly, and since then a field whose possibilities are only limited by the imagination of the student. said to have grown to
“The idea grew from a little sit-down in the office one day, brainstorming what would happen, to the vision of being able to document the native bush on campus and actually make use of it. “It is about using the arboretum as an educational channel for our students,” she said.
