Penn State Great Valley Sustainability Committee

Learn more about the health and environmental benefits of biking and trail use, and the latest updates on the Chester Valley Trail system!Bike riding is not only a fantastic way to improve your physical and mental health, but also the health of the planet! Unlike cars, bikes do not release harmful emissions, nor do they require harmful chemicals (like antifreeze). Moreover, the development of roads requires the destruction of green space, and creates water runoff that contributes to ground and water pollution. Riding a bike reduces traffic and noise pollution, improving mental health and communities. Philadelphia is the top bicycle

MOM's Organic Market is on a mission to protect and restore the environment. Learn more about their efforts and impacts!MOM's Organic Market takes sustainability seriously. MOM's was founded in 1987 by 22-year-old Scott Nash as a home delivery business. Today, MOM’s has stores in five states and DC, employs 1,300+ people, and their Purpose is to protect and restore the environment.Sean Lynch, Environmental Research and Partnerships Manager, will share what MOM's is doing to help the planet. MOM's sustainability initiatives range from collecting oyster shells to restore oyster reefs to advocating against animal cosmetics testing. Join Sean and the Penn

You can help protect Pennsylvania’s watershed!Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward Coordinator for Chester and Delaware Counties, Meagan Hopkins-Doerr, will teach us how to follow a few simple guidelines to manage your property to protect area streams and rivers and share information about how to certify your property. This session will touch on urban properties (renters and people with small lots to no control of outside land) and large property (campuses and municipalities).Learn how to improve and maintain the quality of water resources and habitat for wildlife and pollinators.

One garbage truck of clothes is burned or sent to landfills every second!Gone are the days when people would purchase a garment and wear it for years. In a world of accelerating demand, entire business models are built on the premise of “fast fashion,” providing clothes cheaply and quickly to consumers through shorter fashion cycles. This linear fashion model of buying, wearing and quickly discarding clothes negatively impacts people and the planet. Join Dr. Julie Stanton, Professor of Business at Penn State Brandywine, to learn more about fast fashion's social, environmental, and economic ramifications. Julie Stanton received her B.S. in

Learn about your local watershed and what you can do to help protect Pennsylvania’s watersheds!Join Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward Coordinator for Chester and Delaware Counties, Meagan Hopkins-Doerr, and Trout Unlimited board member Steve Grim to learn about our local watershed and what we can do to protect and improve our waterways. We will walk through Penn State Great Valley's pollinator meadow and basin area to take a closer look at native plantings that you can plant at home to improve your watershed. This program will take place outside. Please wear appropriate footwear and meet at the entrance to

It's still possible to hold climate change to relatively safe levels but doing so will require revolutionary changes and global cooperation.Consumer trends and corporate practices over the past 50 years have set our planet on course for catastrophe. We stand at a key moment in the history of our planet, and our species. We have the option to make drastic changes in our lifestyle and society, or we can watch the planet pass the threshold of no return. It's our responsibility to learn what we can do and to implement change. Join Tony Buck to explore paths to a sustainable

Celebrate the Day of the Death with a conversation about death and dying!On multiple levels, green burial solves the problems of modern death care - the environmental, financial, and psychological ones. Join Friends of Green Burial PA co-founder, Carin Bonifacino, as she explains how green burial addresses each one of these aspects. In addition, participants will learn what green burial is, see photos of green burial grounds currently in use, and tap into resources for further learning and for finding green cemeteries where they live. This event will be hosted via Zoom.Carin Bonifacino is a co-founder of Friends of Green

About 2,500 individual stars are visible to the human eye. Due to light pollution, you can only see 200-300 in suburbs!Participate in PSGV's Earth Hour efforts! Learn how outdoor lighting works, how vision works, and how the careless and excessive use of artificial light at night negatively affects us and the environment, as well as what to do about it.This presentation will take place via Zoom. Barry Johnson is the volunteer webmaster for the Pennsylvania Outdoor Lighting CounciBarry works to educate, municipal officials, business leaders, and the general public about outdoor lighting issues, including glare, light trespass, and waste outdoor