Each April, the world unites to honor Earth Day and Arbor Day — both celebratory days acknowledging Mother Earth and the fragility of the environment.
Delta State continues its long tradition of environmental awareness in conjunction with Earth Day and Arbor Day through Green Week, to be held on campus April 21-25.
Under the direction of Steve McClellan, vice president for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer at Delta State, a committee representing a number of campus departments has created the Green Week schedule to highlight methods of reducing waste and consumption, drawing attention to green spaces and Earth-friendly activities on campus, and getting students and faculty involved.
“Instead of celebrating them as individual days, we decided to hold small events throughout the week to help renew awareness of our responsibility to respect the Earth with which we have been blessed,” said McClellan.
“As a whole, the employees at Delta State have a great understanding of the need to take care of our Earth,” added McClellan. “It is our goal to not just celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day, but to also further educate people on little things we can do that have a major impact.”
Lacey Fitts, Science Education program coordinator, is looking forward to the featured activities scheduled throughout the week.
“Delta State has a long history of celebrating Earth Day, beginning when President LaForge was student body president,” said Fitts. “We will highlight the Delta State Wiley Community Garden by recruiting volunteers and letting people know how the garden is being used by different groups on campus.
“Delta State Facilities Management will be setting up tire inflation stations, collecting old cell phones, and the university will be donating collected items to the St. Gabriel Mercy Center in Mound Bayou.”
In an effort to remain environmentally conscious, the committee agreed that no paper would be used in preparation of events. The schedule for the week is as follows:
Support all week!
· Wear green everyday
· Save energy by using the stairs instead of the elevator
· Ride a bike, walk or carpool to campus each day
· Print only when necessary
· Turn off computers at the end of each day
· Use only re-usable containers for beverages and lunch
· Spread the word! Mystery walkers may give you a prize
Tuesday, April 22
7:30 – 9 a.m. | Walter Sillers Coliseum, Library Rear Parking Lot, Facilities Management
· Air For Spare
- air up your tires for better fuel mileage and reduced oil consumption
· Reuse to Reduce -
donate gently used items to St. Gabriel’s
· Cell Support
- drop off old cell phones to support an Earth Day fund for next year
11 a.m. | Caylor 205
· Environmental Celebration – join us to listen to experts speak about celebrating our Earth and learn more about the community garden
Wednesday, April 23
7:30 – 9 a.m. | Walter Sillers Coliseum, Library Rear Parking Lot, Facilities Management
· Air For Spare –
air up your tires for better fuel mileage and reduced oil consumption.
Extended hours at facility plant (7:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.)
· Reuse to Reduce -
donate gently used items to St. Gabriel’s
· Cell Support
– drop off old cell phones to support an Earth Day fund for next year
11 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Roberts-LaForge Library
· Walk to Lunch – take a stroll down Court Street for a discounted lunch to save fuel and enjoy the air
4 p.m. | Garden Work Day at Wiley Community Garden
· Garden cleanup – garden maintenance, transplant seedlings from the greenhouse and work on signage
Thursday, April 24
7:30 – 9 a.m. | Walter Sillers Coliseum, Library Rear Parking Lot, Facility Plant
· Air For Spare
– air up your tires for better fuel mileage and reduced oil consumption
· Reuse to Reduce
– donate gently used items to St. Gabriel’s
· Cell Support
– drop off old cell phones to support an Earth Day fund for next year
Friday, April 25
11:30 a.m. | Faculty/Staff Apartments
· Arbor Day Donation – celebrate a tree donation from Delta State retirees at the employee apartments
While Delta State makes an effort to remain environmentally friendly throughout the year, McClellan said April is a special reminder of the obligations the campus and community have.
“We all must commit the time needed to take care of our Earth,” he said. “If we, the managers of Earth don’t, who do we think will?”
www.deltastate.edu/greenweek
