Eco-family Fun at the 2nd Annual GreenFest

This year The Ardmore Initiative combined forces with State Rep. Tim Briggs' office to present the 2nd Annual GreenFest. The result was an eco-friendly and family-friendly event with plenty of great energy saving tips for the adults and lots of fun things for kids.

Four years ago The Ardmore Initiative began holding the Ardmore Blossoms festival, which was originally more about the beatification of Ardmore. Since then the focus had become more about sustainable living.

Last year, Briggs (D-149th) held his first GreenFest, which also was an environmentally conscientious event. It seemed like a perfect pairing, so Christine Vilardo, executive director of The Ardmore Initiative, approached Briggs' office to see if they could combine green forces to do one large event.

Sunday, June 5, Rittenhouse Place was blocked off for a merged eco-block party. Residents could browse through a variety of vendors. Even Septa brought their hybrid bus so people could see what a clean-running engine looks like.

"We had a lot of good vendors and a lot of good information being distributed as well as fun stuff for the kids," said Vilardo.

PECO was on hand with tips on how to save energy and money, while promoting its Smart A/C Saver program, which automatically helps you save energy by closely monitoring your central air conditioning unit.

The utility was giving out compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), which use 50 to 80 percent less energy than regular incandescent bulbs.

"If you just leave your phone charger in without a phone attached to it, it is still drawing one watt," said Jane Young, of PECO, who was giving tips on how to save a little green by being green. "One watt is not a lot, but if you keep it plugged in 24/7 that adds up and it is just a waster," explained Young.

Another suggestion was to unplug your coffee maker; some machines can use up to 12 watts a day just to run the digital clock display. Basically, if you don't use it—unplug it.

Six-year-old Payton Hart and his mother Alena Kennedy enjoyed GreenFest. Kennedy had come out to support one of the vendors who was a friend, but Payton preferred getting some Spiderman face-painting done.

Seven-year-old Katrina Pratsos seemed to really enjoy playing with the hula-hoops brought in by Leah Troiano of . Troiano makes unique hula-hoops specifically for their individual hoopers. She had bought a few hoops at a store and they quickly fell apart, so she began designing her own (less breakage, less waste). 

Riverbend Environmental Education Center brought several critters along, including a very alert tortoise and a shy toad. Riverbend teacher Susan Haider gave lessons about these animals and their habitats by showing the animal in action inside a smaller version of their normal home.

Vilardo felt the team effort was a great success, and hopes it will continue next year. The feeling was mutual from Briggs' team as well.

"It was a great day, we had a ton of kids looking like they had a lot of fun. A lot of people collected great information on how to live more green and more sustainably. I think it was a very successful event," said Briggs.