Earth Week Celebrates Appreciation of Environment and Resources

Lafayette Environmental Awareness and Protection (LEAP) invites all members of the campus community to roll up their sleeves and get involved in this year’s Earth Week celebration April 15-29.

The Pennsylvania Raptor and Wildlife Association presentation originally scheduled for Monday, April 16, has been moved to Wednesday, April 18, due to inclement weather.

This year’s Earth Week features a full schedule of exciting events, including a presentation by the Pennsylvania Raptor and Wildlife Association, brownbag discussions with environmental experts, hiking and camping excursion, an Earth Day party, Bushkill Creek clean-up, and tree planting for Arbor Day.

“These events focus on the larger picture – how what we do here on campus can affect, for better or worse, both people and the ecology downstream, in other parts of the U.S., and across the globe,” says Earth Week coordinator Sarah Smith ’07 (Gap, Pa.), a biology major. “By encouraging environmental appreciation, whether it be of bald eagles or of a nice quiet walk through the woods, we learn to value those aspects of the environment more, and therefore try to do what we can to preserve these treasures. Lafayette students have already shown an overwhelmingly positive response by switching from incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs, so why not celebrate with some free food, fun animals, and interesting talks?”

For more information on Earth Week events, visit LEAP’s web site or email Smith.

Earth Week schedule of events:

• April 16: Planting flowers downtown with kids from 4-7 p.m., meet on the steps of Farinon at 4 p.m. to carpool downtown. ContactCaroline Richardson ’10 (Monmouth Junction, N.J.) to participate.
• April 18: Pennsylvania Raptor and Wildlife Association presentation; noon-1 p.m. on the Quad. Bald eagles, hawks, owls, and turkey vultures will be part of the association’s presentation on the interactions between humans and wildlife. The birds will help the audience learn about current environmental issues during this educational program. Bring your own lunch.

• April 19: Bill Sweeney, naturalist at Jacobsburg Environmental Center, will discuss ecology and the environmental movement noon-1 p.m. in Hugel Science Center, room 103. Lunch will be provided.
• April 19: Activist Picnic from 3-7 p.m. on the Quad. Join SSJ, ALF, Amnesty International, LEAP, and EWB in an afternoon of fun and food, and learn about each group’s activism on and off campus.

• April 20: David Sunderlin, assistant professor of geology and environmental geosciences, will present “The Sixth Extinction? A Geologist’s Perspective” noon-1 p.m. in Hugel Science Center, room 103. There have been five mass extinctions in Earth’s history, and Sunderlin will discuss how humans could be inducing a sixth. Lunch will be provided.

• April 21: Hiking and camping at Hickory Run State Park. Students can spend Saturday hiking in the park and camp out in tents overnight. Students will depart Lafayette at 2 p.m. Saturday in front of Farinon College Center. Those interested in participating must contact biology major Jessica Majewski ’07 (East Granby, Conn.) as soon as possible.

• April 22: Earth Day Party; 1-3 p.m. on March Field. LEAP invites the campus community for an afternoon of free food, tie dye, hemp jewelry, volley ball, Frisbee, and other fun outdoor activities.

• April 28: Bushkill Creek Clean-up. Interested students will help clean up the creek and make the Bushkill Creek Watershed a better place with David Brandes, associate professor and acting head of civil and environmental engineering. Students will meet at 9:30 a.m. in front of Acopian Engineering Center and carpool to the site. Interested students must contactMichael Adelman ’10 (Clarks Summit, Pa.) as soon as possible.

• April 29: Arbor Day Tree Planting; time to be announced. Plant trees with LEAP and Easton Shade Tree Commission as part of a belated Arbor Day celebration. Interested students must contact English major Abra Berkowitz ’09 (Sharon, Mass.) as soon as possible.