Earth Day Celebrations!

Yes, there’s still snow piled up everywhere, and we haven’t seen the sun in weeks, but spring is only 20 days away! With early spring comes Earth Day, and in 2010 we’re celebrating the 40^th anniversary. Earth Day was started in 1970 by a professor named Gaylord Nelson. He wanted to have a special day to promote awareness of the Earth and its environment. This was one of the key events that started the American environmental movement and got us to push for a healthy, clean planet. Earth Day has become more than a national holiday, and people all around the globe celebrate it every year.

Although Earth Day should be everyday, April 22 gives us a chance to have special events and activities. On Thursday, April 22 the Macoskey Center and Slippery Rock University will be celebrating Earth Day in a new and exciting way. Since President Robert Smith signed the Campus Climate Commitment last semester, sustainability has a whole new meaning to SRU. The commitment includes making changes to campus that will help reduce the effects of climate change, create guidelines for a new sustainable campus, aid offsetting carbon emissions, and more. The signing of the commitment gives us reason to celebrate; Earth Day is the perfect time to make students and the community aware of Slippery Rock’s newest environmental endeavor.

The Robert A. Macoskey Center has been a part of SRU since 1990, and with the new focus on sustainability, we can put our resources to good use. Earth Day 2010 will be the beginning of what is called, the Slippery Rock Sustainability Festival. The festival is being organized by many groups and organizations on campus. The Macoskey Center will be joining: Leave It Green, the Lowry Center’s E-team, the Art department, the Allied Health department and other divisions of campus to put on a campus/community-wide event. The festival will begin on Thursday April 22, and continue through Friday and Saturday.

Earth Day is normally celebrated on campus, but this year we plan on amping it up and getting more than just a few students involved. The Macoskey Center will be setting up in the quad on Thursday to start the activities out. We will be bringing our portable solar power trailer to play music and offer activities which will attract students to learn about the festivities. Students will be able to get involved in the implementation of the new “green-roof bus shelter”. As well, a key event for RAMC is the reopening of the Harmony House on Saturday, April 24^th.

Other events for the sustainability festival include: speakers, an Empty Bowls event with a film about Haiti, and film screenings focused on different aspects of environmental issues. The film screenings will also have related workshops and panels. There will be live bands daily, and campfires at the ski lodge. All student groups and departments have been asked to become involved by getting students to submit poster presentations and other environmental projects. There will be a ‘critical mass’ bicycle awareness ride on Friday, and the Green Bike Initiative will be lending out bikes. Saturday’s events will focus on family friendly activities, a keynote speaker, and more. *All of the donations will be going toward Haiti relief efforts.

I am really looking forward to Earth Day 2010, and hope that everyone is interested in being a part of this wonderful festival. I’m pleased to see people involved in making Slippery Rock become a closer community that cares about making a difference!

Spread the word, and if anyone wants to become involved, please contact the Macoskey Center or Leave It Green. I am working on both committees, so you can contact me directly at: raw8227@sru.edu.

~Ruth Watson

RAMC Environmental Education Work-study Staff