Conservation, global warming and the environmental dangers of factory farming will be some of the major topics broached during this year’s event-packed Earth Week, which runs April 22-29 at various locations throughout campus.
Organized by Lafayette Environmental Awareness and Protection (LEAP), Earth Week will feature lectures, a raptor exhibit, a creek clean-up, and a slew of outdoor fun.
“Earth Week is so meaningful to me because it provides an entertaining opportunity for the entire campus and Easton community to learn about how we can improve the world around us and maintain a healthy and long-lasting environment,” says organizer Sarah Smith ’07 (Gap, Pa.), a biology major with an environmental science minor.
Smith plans to pursue a career in either environmental research or education, which is the main reason she is so dedicated to Earth Week.
Earth Day was established April 22, 1970 when 20 million people from coast to coast came together to promote a safe, healthy environment and to show ways in which the average person can make an impact. Earth Week extends this idea into a longer campaign.
Of the numerous events next week, Smith feels the Great PA Clean-up along the Bushkill and the Two Rivers Area Bird & Natural History Trail are of particular importance because “they incite a greater appreciation for and awareness of our local natural areas.”
“All of the Earth Week events promote environmental awareness and/or environmental appreciation,” says Smith. “I hope the Lafayette community becomes more educated about both helpful and detrimental environmental practices, and becomes aware of how amazing and entertaining nature can be if we help to preserve it.”
Besides Earth Week, LEAP also participates in an on and off campus recycling program and a campaign to bring wind energy to campus. The group’s web site also offers news, information about events, and conservation tips.
Earth Week schedule of events:
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April 22 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.: The Great PA Clean-up in the Bushkill Creek Watershed. Projects will include litter clean-up, invasive species removal, and native plant restoration along the lower Bushkill between 3rd and 13th streets in Easton. Volunteers should meet on the steps of Farinon College Center to carpool.
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April 22 from 1 – 5 p.m.: An Earth Day Celebration on the Quad. Activities include tie-dying, a hemp jewelry making workshop, flower planting, volleyball, and live music by Mark Rust from 2- 4:30 p.m. Rust, from Woodstock, N.Y., performs on an array of instruments including guitar, banjo, fiddle, hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer, and spoons. Songs include “This Land Is Your Land,” “They Put Up a Parking Lot,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” and “The End of Innocence.”
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April 24 from 12 – 1 p.m.: Pennsylvania Raptor and Wildlife Association: Interactions Between Humans and Wildlife on the Quad. Bald eagles, hawks, owls and turkey vultures will be on display.
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April 24 from 7 – 9 p.m.:
Potluck dinner and screening of End of Suburbia in Oechsle Hall room 224.
End of Suburbia explores the “American Way of Life” as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply.
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April 26 from 12 – 1:30 p.m.: A brown bag lecture by Bill Sweeney of Jacobsburg Environmental Center focusing on the American Conservation Movement in Hugel Science Center room 103.
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April 27 from 12:15 – 1:00 p.m.: A brown bag lecture on the complexities and implications of global warming by Dru Germanoski, Dr. Ervin R. VanArtsdalen ’35 Professor and head of geology and environmental geosciences, in Van Wickle Hall room 108.
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April 27 from 7 – 8:30 p.m.: Harold Brown from Farm Sanctuary will discuss
Factory Farming and the Environment in Colton Chapel. As Outreach Coordinator for Farm Sanctuary, Brown is coordinating a campaign to encourage farmers to adopt sustainable farming practices and hosts the
AskFarmerBrown.org website.
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April 28 from 6 – 10 p.m.: An Earth Week Party in the backyard of McKelvy House. There will be free food, tie-dying, volleyball, and other fun outdoor activities.
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April 29 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.:
A Walk on the Two Rivers Area Bird and Natural History Trail. The Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center staff will lead a nature hike with the goal of getting students and faculty connected to some of Easton’s natural areas. To sign-up, contact
smiths@lafayette.edu by April 26.