Robbins Park in Maple Glen has big plans for an environmentally friendly update of its education center, and organizers are looking to a dinner in the park catered by the Co-op’s prepared foods department on Sept. 14 to help fund the project.

“Raise Your Fork” will feature a seasonal menu and craft beers from Ideal Brew. Proceeds will go toward the construction of the Living Building to replace the current Cheston Center. Students from Upper Dublin High School’s Project Based Learning Environmental Science Class worked on the design along with Green Building United Professionals and Re:Vision Architects of Manayunk. The students did the research and went over the steps needed to transform the center into a living building. They also met with municipal officials to learn about the building code, and what regulations might need to be overcome to bring the project to completion. 

The park comprises 38 acres in Upper Dublin Township, and includes paved and wood-chipped trails through forest and meadow, a spring-fed pond, and Rose Valley Creek, a tributary to Wissahickon Creek. It had its beginnings as donated land from the Robbins and Cheston Families in the 1970s. Current collaboration with the Upper Dublin School District allows every student to go there and connect with the science curriculum.

Tickets for the dinner are $60 per person and can be purchased via Paypal on the park’s website at https://sites.google.com/udsd.org/robbins-park/park-events. The deadline for purchasing tickets is Sept. 7.