As a junior at Temple, I have always known about the other Temple campuses through conversation. I’ve stumbled across the Center City campus just through my typical city adventures; I have accidentally put in orders at the Health Campus’ Starbucks multiple times, and I have driven by the Harrisburg Campus. The Ambler Campus has always been the odd one out, though. It is quite a challenge to accidentally pass by a campus that is implanted in the suburbs as someone who chooses not to leave Philly often.
With that, when Temple announced the opportunity to go to the Ambler campus for the semesterly day off for wellness purposes, I decided to go and absolutely loved it. My existing knowledge of what the Ambler campus had was limited. I knew that it was an environmental science-related campus and that I would likely feel culture shock from being in a concrete city to being surrounded by greenery.
I woke up bright and early on Wellness Day to catch the shuttle to Ambler that was provided by Temple. It was essentially a school bus that was packed to the brim, and I am not a morning person, so this was absolutely the least enjoyable part of my day. The bus ride was about 45 minutes, and I was very grumpy the whole time. It was a very noisy and bumpy ride, and a sensory nightmare, which was unfortunately internally heightened because of how early it was.
Once we got to the campus, I instantly felt better. The weather was absolutely perfect. It was a gorgeous and chilly fall day, and I found that the time of year this event landed on complimented the foliage perfectly. Upon walking to the check-in table, I was just immersed in stunning surroundings. They house many different kinds of trees and bushes which may not sound exciting, but it was absolutely beautiful. There were silos, cottage-looking buildings, and only one building (that I saw) that was more than two floors – a massive change to what I am used to in Philly.
At check-in, I was given a map of the campus and a list of events for the day. I was given a food truck ticket for lunch, that I could use on a Hispanic food truck or on a pizza. After that, I was ushered to the registration table to sign up for the bigger events, which included: succulent planting, a low-ropes course, a self-defense class, a nutrition/cooking class, yoga, and a guided arboretum/greenhouse tour. There were countless self-guided wellness opportunities that did not require a sign-up. These included: candle-making, Pai painting, coloring, gratitude exercises, an e-sports gaming lounge, a sensory area, and self-guided arboretum/greenhouse tours.
My partner was lucky enough to be pestered about going to this event with me, so we started by planning out our day. We signed up for succulent planting, which was scheduled for later in the day, but decided we wanted to go the self-guided route for the majority of our adventure so we could go at our own pace. Then, we made our way to the candle-making room, which was in Bright Hall, a very cottagey building. Candle-making was far more customizable than I anticipated. We picked our jars and scents, which both had a massive variety to choose from. Then, we filled our jars with wax and mixed our scented oils. After that, we were able to make our own labels for the candle, and then we left them on a table to harden and pick up later in the day.
Next on our agenda was to find a snack stand, which was conveniently placed next to the sensory area. There was an array of mini Zen gardens and a table of Play-Doh. It was far more exciting than it sounds. I was able to tap into a nostalgic fifteen minutes of just molding Play-Doh and I was mesmerized. I forgot to mention that a massive amount of serotonin that derived from my day was from the dozen therapy dogs that were strolling around campus with their owners. After socializing with approximately five precious dogs, we headed to the gratitude table.
At the gratitude table, we were able to choose a little notebook and look over a list of gratitude prompts. I chose the first prompt, which was to write ten things I am grateful for. Another activity at this table was to write a letter of gratitude to someone. They had quite the selection of adorable empty cards and envelopes, as well as a gold seal for your card. The cheesiness is strong within me, so naturally I wrote a letter of gratitude to my partner, even though he was right next to me. This table provided great reflection exercises, and the environment was perfect.
The gratitude table was placed near the painting station, and it looked wonderful. Unfortunately, my partner expressed that it would not bring him any sense of Zen, and would alternatively stress him out. Instead, we just observed for a moment before carrying on with our day of mindfulness, which imminently brought us to the e-sports lounge. Despite being a quaint campus, this lounge was amazing. They had about 12 complete Alienware desktops (headphones, keyboard, mouse, monitor, and computer). They had three flat screens, each with a different console. As a self-proclaimed dork, it was overwhelming and amazing. We stayed here for about a half hour, and both got absorbed in our games, mesmerized by the speed of the computers.
Once our mini-gaming session concluded, it was time for lunch! We headed back to the campus’s center-square, where the two food trucks were parked. We opted for pizza, which was delicious. We ate in Ambler’s Tyler School of Art & Architecture building, which was very fun to explore. As a Tyler student, it was a lot less extravagant than Main Campus, but that sense of modesty was actually very nice.
After lunch, we decided to take an autumnal stroll around campus, specifically through their gardens. It was all so beautiful, and a lot to take in. My favorite scene was a central fountain with identical gazebos on each side, it was absolutely stunning. There were so many winds in the road and paths to take, so I am not sure whether or not we saw everything, but I was overwhelmed with the beauty I did see. I am not much of a plant person, but I was utterly blown away by their Agave Americana, a plant that only blooms once a century, which can be found in their winter garden.
We made our way to the greenhouse lawn which is where we planted succulents. Once again, we were able to choose from a range of pots and succulents. This was a little messy for my liking, but it was great. The teacher was wonderful and was an Ambler graduate with a degree in horticulture, which is practicing garden cultivation and management and recognizing it as an art form.
Our final event of the day was a self-guided tour through the greenhouse. It was hard for me to not feel like I was in a mandrake nursery from Harry Potter, but I think that is part of the reason I was in awe the entire time. I am a huge succulent fan, so I loved their cacti section. More plants that stuck out were the “popcorn plant” which is a plant that has leaves that you rub and they oddly smell like buttered popcorn. It was a strange experience that added to the Harry Potter effect. There was also the corpse flower. Its stem can be up to four feet wide on its own! I think plants have such personality and beauty, which was something I had never been interested in until I visited Ambler.
It came time to start walking to where the bus would be picking us up. We were leisurely strolling and stumbled upon the mindfulness labyrinth, where a staff member enlightened us on her personal experiences with the Ambler Campus. She shared her connection to horticulture and how calming it is, and it was amazing to hear. She explained how she finds it difficult to be unhappy with surroundings like that of Ambler’s Campus – it is just that beautiful.
After realizing we were an hour early to the bus, we decided to walk around the main building and catch up on our homework in Ambler’s library. Similar to their Tyler building, the best word I can use in comparison to the Main Campus library is “modest.” Charles’ Library at Temple’s Main Campus is a bit flashy, in my opinion, whereas the Ambler Library was cozy and not overwhelming. There was only one other student there and it was completely silent, quite contrary to Charles’ Library. It was a wonderful cap to our amazing day. It was an incredible Wellness Day.
I feel like being in a city has made the grass feel greener, the trees look prettier, and the air feels cleaner when I am in an open and field-like setting. I have said that Philadelphia has my heart, but maybe it is just Temple that has my heart. That is a rather safe assumption considering the Rome and Tokyo campuses – that I have not yet explored – because if I experience any more euphoria.
than I did in Ambler (which is highly likely upon leaving Pennsylvania) then Philadelphia may just lose me altogether within the richness and vibrance of my surroundings!
With that, it goes without saying my Wellness Day encouraged some existential thought, but I think of it as part of my process. I absolutely adored my experience, and I cannot wait to return to the Ambler Campus someday soon, even if it is just for a study break in their library, just to take a break from the constant background noise in Philadelphia.