Earth Week In full swing

In honor of one of its Earth Week theme, “Think Global, Act Local,” SUNY Fredonia is expanding many of its events to incorporate the entire Dunkirk-Fredonia area. In the midst of its third annual celebration of Earth Week, Fredonia is encouraging people to “Be the Change” they wish to see in the environment.

With previous Earth Week celebrations attracting over one-thousand attendees, it is hoped that the numbers will continue to rise. “People have a lot of fun getting involved,” said Christina Jarvis, professor of English and FACE Sustainability Coordinator. Participation in events “continues to build on each other,” being involved in one event encourages students to be involved in another.

Starting the week’s festivities off early, the Environmental Film Festival was held on Friday evening to raise the public’s awareness of leading environmental issues. Over the weekend, many local families were able to get involved in the celebration during EarthFest, which was held in downtown Fredonia. The community was able to team up with students to clean up local streets during “Spring Cleaning” on Sunday.

Drawing attention to another matter, Monday’s “Dumpster Dive” was held in the Williams Center Courtyard by Campus Climate Challenge. Separating dumpster contents allowed students to see how many things had been thrown out that really could have been recycled.

Sherri Mason, chair Earth Week events and chemistry professor, believes Earth Week allows students to give back to the community.

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in the donations to the Rural Ministry and to the recycling bins at dorm cleanup time,” she said. Mason added that donations will be collected on a monthly basis after Earth Week.

Upcoming events are reaching out to a variety of different interest areas. Today, speakers from various disciplines will express the importance of eco-friendliness relative to their own concentrations. These “Eco-talks” will be held from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. in the Williams Center Multi-Purpose Room.

“The talks are meant to bring in numerous demographics of people that are interested in many different subjects and get the individuals involved on both sides of the presenting,” said Alex Staunch, junior biology major presenting at the event. Staunch will be discussing Invasive Species, “The second highest threat to biodiversity,” at 10. a.m.

Informational tables will also be set up during the talks. Students against cancer will be offering a free Earth Week t-shirt to students who correctly guess the number of cigarette butts collected across campus. The event is intended to help students recognize not only the negative effect of smoking on a person’s body, but also the negative effect it has on the environment.

Two of the week’s biggest events will take place tomorrow to mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Guest speaker Lois Gibbs will speak on her experience living in Love Canal, a neighborhood built atop a waste dump in Niagara Falls.

“As executive director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, Lois Gibbs continues to support individuals and communities affected by hazardous waste and contaminants as she campaigns for responsible and safe development concerning the environment and public health,” said David Rankin, political science chair and director of FACE. The talk will take place in the Rosch Recital Hall from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

To celebrate Earth Day, many local retailers will eliminate the use of plastic bags for the entire day. With non-biodegradable plastic bags being one of the leading forms of pollution, retailers will encourage customers to use reusable and paper bags instead. Thirty business including Walmart, Tops and the Home Depot will take part.

Mason hopes Earth Week is an eye opening day for members of the community and students.

“The campus as a whole is making a shift,” Mason said. “We’re becoming more aware, we’re changing our practices, we’re doing things differently.”

Mason believes Fredonia’s sustainability efforts, including Earth Week, has caused a positive change on campus.