By Rachel Luchmun
Farm work, campus tours, lunch and an electric vehicle showcase will be highlights of Earth Days 2012, held on April 23-27.
Earth Days 2012 aims at showcasing the different activities available on campus that promote sustainability.
“The goal is to promote awareness and celebrate the environment,” said Kevin Clark, co-chair, Student Sustainability Committee.
According to Kim Criner, student Sustainability affairs coordinator, the advantage of having a series of Earth Days, as opposed to just one, is to show that sustainability is an ongoing process.
“Sustainability is much more than just ‘I’m an environmentalist’ or ‘I’ll save the planet,’ but there’s lots of different things involved in terms of food systems and waste streams, our transportation infrastructure and all of these things that we all rely on, and sustainability is necessary,” Criner said.
On April 23, the campus farm will hold a farm work day where students can help with the spring planting. Lunch will be provided for participants who RSVP to the event, although everyone is encouraged to show up. Criner said farm work days typically give out a strong sense of community.
“We kind of get dirty and then sit around and get to know each other,” Criner said. “It’s a really nice community thing for campus because you see faculty come out there, students from different disciplines and organizations and they just all come out there and play on a farm, so you really get the sense of community.”
On April 24, sustainability tours, scheduled at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., will showcase on-campus locations such as the campus farm, solar power training facility, composter and more. The departure will be from the COM plaza steps.
On April 25, a recycling and waste audit will be held in the fountain square by the library. Volunteers will sort through trash cans and recycling bins to see whether both are used effectively.
“What we’ll be doing is kind of sorting them to see what ended up in the trash that could have been recycled and what ended up in the recycling bin that does not belong there,” Criner said.
A three-course lunch, cooked by Chef Tim Johnson with ingredients from the campus farm and other local sources, will be held on April 26 in the Regnier Center. Presentations about student sustainability projects on campus will also be held then. Student tickets cost $10 for the event, while faculty and staff tickets cost $15. $3 per ticket will benefit the Student Environmental Alliance (SEA).
“The lunch is a club sponsored event, so [the $3] will go in our account for next semester,” said Melissa Wilson, president, SEA. “We might use it to get the word out about us and get rid of the past perception that we just are an organization that picks up trash.”
On April 27, an electric vehicle showcase will be held in the COM plaza. A bicycle shop will also be offering bicycle repairs. At 12 p.m., the 2008 movie “Wall-E,” along with a shorter movie, “The Story of Stuff,” will be shown.
“[Wall-E is] a great film, but we’re also getting at the meaning behind it, the very real context that we throw things away without realizing that we are going to run out of space to put them,” Criner said.
Volunteers are needed for the farm work day and the recycling and waste audit. For more information, to RSVP to events and to purchase tickets, go to http://blogs.jccc.edu/sustainability/events/earth-days-2012.
Contact Rachel Luchmun, managing editor, at rluchmun@jccc.edu.