EAC Sustainability Fair: Telling Your Sustainability Story & Taking Action

“Useless Plastic” read the t-shirt worn by Zoe Levenstien ’26, one of the leaders of GFS Upper School’s Environmental Action Committee (EAC). This was a nod to the “Use less plastic” campaign that the EAC launched in 2024; this year, the student group is setting even more ambitious goals for encouraging sustainability action across the community. One of these was the club’s annual Sustainability Fair, held on Friday, September 12.

Levenstien, along with co-EAC members Jay Hangley ’27 and Naomi Allon ’27, were the primary student organizers of the Fair; the group met regularly throughout the summer for planning meetings, which yielded a two-hour event that brought changemakers from across the region to GFS’ campus. 

The EAC Sustainability Fair kicked off with a brief opening assembly in the Barbara & David Loeb Performing Arts Center, which included a presentation from GFS Director of Sustainability Francine Locke and members of the EAC.

“Everything starts on a small scale, and we can work together to make changes,” said Hangley, echoing the theme of the Fair, “Telling your sustainability story and taking action.”

After the assembly, Upper School students streamed onto the Common where 27 local and regional sustainability-related organizations, businesses, and advocacy groups had set up tables with interactive displays and information. To help identify these organizations, the EAC and Locke worked with Julie Hancher, the co-founder and editor in chief of Green Philly, a local sustainability media company. The twice-annual Black Student Union barbecue was taking place concurrently on the Common, adding to the festive community atmosphere. 

The tables represented a wide range of topics related to environmentalism in the Greater Philadelphia Area. 

Farmer Bri of FarmerJawn, the largest Black-woman owned regenerative produce farm in America, shared the heat- and drought-resistant fruits and vegetables from around the world she’s been cultivating. Students sampled cucamelons, crunchy fruits that look like miniature watermelons, and efo shoko, a leafy green similar to spinach that’s native to Nigeria. She also gave away ripe summer tomatoes, which many students ate like apples while walking around the Fair.

Jordan Kane from the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability talked with students about how to apply for the Philadelphia Climate Resilience Youth Council, which will be part of the City’s Climate Services and Resilience Planning process.

GSF alum Jamey Delaplane ’85 tabled on behalf of Protect Our Winters (POW), an environmental advocacy group that brings together outdoor enthusiasts, athletes, and eco-conscious brands to make changes on the individual and systemic levels. POW works with national and local policy makers and partners with young athletes who use their social media platforms to activate the younger generation. Delaplane, an avid skier and hiker, is the Chair of POW Action Fund. He said that POW’s strategy to frame climate change in terms of outdoor activities helps reach more people.

“We ask people: Are you an outdoor lover? We find that this crosses political boundaries and can create cross-partisan citizen engagement," he noted.

The Partnership for Delaware Estuary display, which included volunteering info and a large map displaying the entire Delaware watershed area, made an impression on Mark Croxford, who teaches Upper School environmental science. 

“It’s really interesting to see on their map how the Delaware Estuary covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware,” he said. “It’s a totally different political viewpoint to think about how the states are connected through the watershed.”

 As students visited each table, they collected stickers; five stickers earned them a free 30-day pass for Indego, Philadelphia’s bike share program. 

Levenstien spent much of the Fair at the EAC’s table, collecting sign-ups for new club members. She and the other EAC organizers felt that the Fair was a resounding success.

“We’ve been working on this since June—there were a lot of meetings and a lot of spreadsheets!” she said. “It was really rewarding to see it all come together today.”

As a thank-you to the exhibitors, EAC students prepared gift bags which included a handwritten note and upcycled pouches made from retired GFS vinyl banners, some of which were over 10 years old. They worked with Ecologic Designs to repurpose the material into memorable keepsakes.

Francine Locke, GFS Director of Sustainability, said that the Fair was better than she could have imagined. And while she helped with the planning, she insisted that it was the EAC students’ will and effort that pulled it all together. 

“They were involved with every aspect, from coordinating logistics, to contacting exhibitors, and setting things up today,” Locke said. “It’s amazing how much they were willing to offer and give; they’re not just dreaming about making changes around sustainability—they’re fully participating and organizing.”