Earth
Day Festival About More Than Green
It’s
about the Earth, therefore it’s about
everything—the health of humans, animals
and plants, global social interaction, the long-term prospects for a viable planet
on which to live.
The annual Earth Day Festival
at Smith, which takes place on Saturday, April 23, (April
22 is Earth Day), offers an eclectic, cross-disciplinary,
entertaining smorgasbord of activities and opportunities
that entail far more than just environmental issues.
The
festival, which is free and open to the public, takes place
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Chapin Lawn (rain location: Scott
Gym).
Festival organizer
Emma Wade ’13,
a member of the Smith Green Team, emphasizes that this year’s Earth Day Festival
goes beyond previous efforts in representing a diverse array of what is happening
on campus.
“Earth Day is not only about Green events,” she says. “It’s not only about environmental
responsibility but also social and cultural responsibility.”
In that way, the Earth Day Festival
reflects a tenet of the Smith education—that
Smith students will build the necessary skills to lead international lives and
become global citizens, says Wade. “One reason we’re here is we want to figure
out how all these [liberal arts] tools and concepts contribute to the bigger
picture.”
Toward that end, a cross-section
of student organizations—Smith Democrats, SmiTHrift,
Smith Students for Social Justice and Institutional Change—will be represented
at the festival, and workshops on issues across the academic board will be offered.
Of course, traditional environmental
groups will be present as well. The Bike Kitchen will offer
cycling maintenance tips. The Smith Community Garden will
transplant seedlings. Students will discuss reusing commencement
regalia, the Smith Green Energy Challenge, water conservation
on campus, and more.
If for nothing else, says Wade,
come to the festival for the fun. Eat local food, play recycling-themed
games, and take part in the Free Box Frenzy.
Accompanying
all the activity will be Big Tree, a San Francisco-based
indie pop band perfect for the occasion. The band members
travel in their own vegetable oil-powered bus and will lead
a workshop on how to convert vehicles to vegetable oil power.
Earth Day has grown into an
international phenomenon since its founding in 1970 by Gaylord
Nelson, a U.S. senator from Wisconsin. Many credit the annual
designation as the birth of the modern environmental movement.
The Smith Earth Day Festival
is the Green Team’s culminating event. |
