“Greater Monadnock Earth Days” Celebrated at Franklin Pierce University
Apr 16, 2013
Franklin Pierce University will celebrate “Greater Monadnock Earth Days” in collaboration with three neighboring institutions of higher education. The two weeks of events are designed to celebrate the Earth and community; activities include film screenings, presentations, trail hikes, outdoor service projects, and children's activities.
Festivities will kick off at Franklin Pierce University’s campus in Rindge with an Earth Day Fair. Franklin Pierce’s Eco Club will offer an “up-cycled” craft workshop, where participants can learn how to create purposeful pieces of art using fabric, glass, aluminum, and other recyclable materials. Project displays by Environmental Science and Climate Action Certificate students will cover a range of topics from extreme weather events and preparing for climate change, to invasive species and wildlife conservation. Solar car races, a temporary amphibian petting zoo, making electricity with bicycle power, and building a miniature eco-village using boxes and blocks will offer hands-on activities. Fair-trade coffee and handmade goods will be for sale, and a raffle drawing will be held every half-hour for environmentally friendly prizes. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for two new custom outdoor recycling bins, donated by Monadnock Disposal Services, will be held at 1 p.m. near the Campus Center boardwalk; one free raffle ticket will be given to everyone who attends the ceremony. Earth Day Fair: April 22, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Spagnuolo Hall.
A series of campus garden “building parties” will begin on April 22 and continue each day through April 26. Two raised garden beds are planned on the south side of the Campus Center overlooking Pearly Pond and will be used to grow vegetables and provide an outdoor instruction and gathering site for classes and groups. Additional native flowering and fruit plants are planned for adjacent areas. In conjunction with the garden events, The New England Center for Civic Life, The Sustainability Center, and Freshman Composition II classes will present “Digging In: A Deliberative Dialogue Forum,” a culmination of students' semester-long exploration of their relationships with food and sustainability. Digging In: A Deliberative Dialogue Forum: April 23, 7 p.m., Spagnuolo Hall.
Earth Days at Franklin Pierce concludes with an Eco Club sponsored screening and discussion of Trashed: No Place for Waste. The film features Jeremy Irons and examines what happens to the tons of waste that goes unaccounted for each year. The screening event includes a short film featuring Franklin Pierce Sustainable Lifestyle Housing students, highlighting what everyday actions students can take to reduce their environmental impact on campus. Coffee and refreshments provided. Trashed: No Place for Waste screening & discussion: April 26, 7 p.m., Cheshire Hall Community Room.
For more information about attending or volunteering at the Earth Days events, or participating in sustainability projects at Franklin Pierce beyond Earth Days, contact Jess Gerrior, Sustainability Coordinator, at sustainabilitycoordinator@franklinpierce.edu or 603.899.4175. The Greater Monadnock Earth Days series of events, including events at Keene State College, Antioch University New England, and Marlboro College, is also on Facebook, where community members are encouraged to RSVP, invite their friends, and find a ride share.
