Earth Month
UD's Earth Month celebration features festival, films, talks, Green Expo
11:28 a.m., April 4, 2016--After months of planning by students, faculty and staff, this is what it all comes down to: The University of Delaware’s Earth Month celebration aims to draw attention to issues of environmental sustainability and environmental justice.
The schedule of events is available on the Earth Month 2016 webpage, compiled by the Earth Month Working Group of the University’s Sustainability Task Force.
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Officially, Earth Day is Friday, April 22, but events are planned throughout the month.
“This year we had the added bonus of working with staff from the Institute for Global Studies, who had designated April as Arctic Month,” said Katie Morrison, assistant director in Residence Life and Housing and co-chair of the Sustainability Task Force. “The two observances dovetail nicely and our coordination has resulted in an especially rich schedule of Earth-related events throughout the month.”
Highlights include the third annual Lights, Camera, EARTH! film festival, which begins at 3 p.m., Friday, April 8, and continues through Sunday evening, April 10. The festival features six films on the theme of climate change, each followed by a faculty-led discussion.
On Saturday, April 9, the star and co-producer of A Sea Change will make a guest appearance for a question-and-answer session following the screening of the film. The festival is co-sponsored by the Environmental Humanities Program in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN).
Students for the Environment will also host a film screening on April 14 at 6:30 p.m. Bag It: Is Your Life Too Plastic? begins as a film about plastic bags but evolves into a wholesale investigation of the effects of plastic on our oceans, environment and bodies.
On April 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., UD alumnus Brian Atwater, this year’s Franklin medalist in the earth and environmental sciences, will be honored with a special symposium titled “Rising Seas and Extreme Events on Vulnerable Coasts.” Atwater received his doctorate in geological sciences from UD in 1980 and has had a distinguished career with the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Sustainability Task Force will host its annual Green Expo in the Trabant University Center concourse on Friday, April 22, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Any group or unit on campus is welcome to present information about how they are improving their community by minimizing environmental impact; use this online form to register.
That evening, April 22, a special event titled “Music, Liberation, and the Environment: It’s a Global Thing” will be held outside Mechanical Hall from 4-7 p.m. The event will feature performances by internationally recognized Native American hip hop artist Frank Waln, along with Gambian performer Egalitarian, and Wilmington’s own Richard Raw.
The performances will be preceded by a panel of UD faculty and staff discussing environmental justice and sustainability, including Michelle Bennett, UD’s sustainability manager, Elaine Rosa Salo, associate professor of political science and international relations, and Jeffrey Richardson, interim director of the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Program and instructor in Black American Studies. The event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by Global Arts, Black American Studies, University Museums, and the Center for Black Culture.
Students will also have opportunities to make their voices heard through two competitions held during Earth Month: a student video competition and an environmental case competition.
Finalists for the case competition, sponsored by the Blue Hen Economics Club, the University of Delaware Consulting Club and DENIN, have been chosen and will present their ideas for ways to make the UD campus more sustainable in public presentations on April 27. The winning team or individual will receive a $500 prize as well as a $10,000 grant from the Sustainability Task Force’s Green Grants fund to implement their idea on campus.
Short, 30-second videos depicting actions students are taking to make their own lives more sustainable may be submitted to the DENIN Ambassadors’ video competition by posting on social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the hashtag #BeTheChangeUD through April 24. The winners of the video competition will be announced April 29.
Students will have two opportunities during the month to learn more about careers in the areas of environment and sustainability. A panel discussion and networking reception sponsored by the Career Services Center will be held from 5–7 p.m., April 21. A second panel discussion featuring sustainability professionals hosted by Bennett will take place from 6-8 p.m., April 26. Both events will be held in the Perkins Student Center.
The month-long celebration will conclude on April 30 with Ag Day, the annual festival hosted by the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources on the South Campus from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Members of the UD and surrounding community are encouraged to enjoy the music, exhibitors, vendors, food and fun available at this family-friendly event.
Article by Tom Aristone and Beth Chajes