Earth Day activities scheduled for this week
April 21, 2014
Purdue's West Lafayette campus will feature several Earth Day activities this week, including a volunteer tree planting and a free lecture from Julian Agyeman, a key creator of the "just sustainabilities" movement. Events will begin on Tuesday (April 22), which is Earth Day, and will take place through Friday (April 25).
"Events are held worldwide each year on Earth Day to increase awareness and appreciation of Earth's natural environment," says Michael Gulich, the Office of University Sustainability's director.
"Purdue once again this year is offering a series of activities, discussions and entertainment to mark its significance. We invite our Purdue family and members of our entire community to tap into the many events that celebrate this special day of learning."
Agyeman, professor of urban and environmental policy and planning at Tufts University, contends that social and environmental justice within and between nations should be an integral part of the policies that promote sustainable development.
He will speak at 4:30 p.m. Thursday (April 24) in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. His talk is titled "Just Sustainabilities: Reimagining E/Quality and Living Within Limits."
All Earth Day-related activities on campus are free and open to the public. They include:
* Lectures and invasive species pull. Several service-learning lectures will take place from 8 to 11 a.m. on Tuesday (April 22) in Pfendler Hall's Deans Auditorium (Room 241). A free lunch will take place at 11-11:45 a.m., and then buses will take volunteers to an off-site location for an invasive species pull. Details of the lectures and activities are at www.purdue.edu/sustainability/events/index.html; click on the event.
The Office of University Sustainability is working in conjunction with NICHES Land Trust in Lafayette to offer this opportunity for students, faculty and staff. Attendees need not hear all lectures to participate in the invasive species pull. Registration for all the events is encouraged.
* Movie screenings. The 2012 documentary "Chasing Ice" will be shown along with the premiere of "Young Ice," which features the work of Paul Shepson, professor of analytical and atmospheric chemistry, to document melting sea ice in Alaska.
The screenings will take place at 6:30-9 p.m. Wednesday (April 23) in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. The Purdue Climate Change Research Center and the Center for the Environment are organizers for the event.
* Tree planting. Volunteers will plant a tree to mark Earth Day and Arbor Day from 10 a.m. to noon on Thursday (April 24) outside Knoy Hall. The tree planting will happen on the front lawn facing Grant Street.
The planting ceremony will began at 10 a.m. with brief remarks by Tim Detzner, campus arborist. Those interested in volunteering to help with the planting should contact the Office of University Sustainability at sustainability@purdue.edu.
* Bicycle awareness event. A bike-to-class awareness event will take place Friday (April 25) from noon to 1 p.m.
A brief bicycle ride will start at noon from the "Gateway to the Future" arch west of Neil Armstrong Hall. It will end at the "Unfinished Block P" sculpture just north of Stewart Center. A grab-and-go lunch will be available, and members of the Purdue Cycling Club will be on hand for free repairs.
Earth Day was first observed in San Francisco and other cities on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring. U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin led a separate Earth Day effort as an environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970.
Although early Earth Day activities primarily took place in the United States, Denis Hayes, the original national coordinator for the 1970 event, took Earth Day globally in 1990, when events were held in 141 nations.