Wednesday
September 18, 2024 
New Hope-Solebury High School’s Environmental Club hosted its second annual EV Car Show and Earth Day Festival on April 27.
Drawing nearly 100 visitors, the event successfully showcased a diverse lineup of electric vehicles and earth-friendly vendors and activities to celebrate eco-innovation and community engagement.
The EV Car Show awarded prizes in a variety of categories, recognizing the Rivian R1S SUV as “Most Useful” and “Spectator’s Choice,” the Lucid Air for “Best Exterior,” the Mini Cooper SE for “Best Interior,” and the original Tesla Roadster as “Sportiest.” Also on display were a ZERO motorcycle, electric bicycle, and an EV scooter to illustrate the diverse possibilities for the future of transportation. There were also live demonstrations of vehicle-to-vehicle charging and the Ford F150 Lightning EV’s capacity to use its onboard battery as a power supply.
The Earth Day Festival component hosted a range of vendors celebrating nature and sustainability. The AARK Wildlife Foundation attended with a live redtail hawk, Waste Management showcased its energy-efficient trucks, and the Shade Tree Commission handed out fun tree jokes. Other highlights included an energy-efficient game led by the Environmental Advisory Council and an Arbor Day Proclamation, read by New Hope Mayor Larry Keller. Mama Dude’s Food Truck offered guests farm-to-table meals.
The event was further supported by fellow New Hope-Solebury High School Clubs, including the school’s debate team, which sold cotton candy made in a machine powered by an EV truck, the Sole Buddies Club, which sold baked goods and bracelets, and the English Second Language Club, which hosted friendly games of cornhole.
The EV Car Show and Earth Day Festival is one of many ways the New Hope-Solebury High School Environmental Club champions sustainability and environmental awareness. With approximately 20 active members advised by New Hope-Solebury science faculty members Leo Macdonald and Carey Lever, the students have also hosted campus cleanup events, participated in water sample surveys with the Aquetong Watershed Association, and presented for the Solebury Environmental Advocacy Council’s Sustainability Forum.
“I am proud of all the different vendors we were able to invite as I think it’s important to help support other sustainability-oriented groups within our community,” said the Environmental Club’s co-president, Rena Xu. “Our hope is to be able to invite more vendors from different sectors each year so that everyone who attends can find something that interests them – whether it’s a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, a volunteer organization, or something else.”
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