Students and Faculty to Celebrate Earth Day, April 21
JONESBORO – Environmental and climate literacy will be the theme Friday, April 21, when Arkansas State University joins others from across the globe to celebrate Earth Day. A-State’s 11th annual Earth Day program will be held near the fountain west of the Carl R. Reng Student Union, and will run from 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Following an 11 a.m. welcome from Dr. Doug Whitlock, Arkansas State chancellor, the program will include highlights of area school activities and interviews by KASU’s Johnathan Reaves with officials from Johnson Controls and the A-State EnvironMentors. KAIT-TV will also broadcast live from the event.
Reaves will serve as the emcee for the event, which will feature vendors, activities and refreshments. Complimentary hot dogs, chips and drinks, donated by Sodexo, Frito Lay, the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and Textbook Brokers will be available, along with vendor door prizes.
Vendors scheduled to display a variety of informational items include First Security Bank, Marck Industries, Inc., Johnson Controls, Interstate Batteries, Suddenlink, Clean Solutions, Forrest L. Wood Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center, Gearhead Outfitters, Northeast Arkansas Bicycle Coalition, Northeast Arkansas Roadies, Northeast Arkansas Master Naturalists, Nirvana Hot Yoga, and Craighead County & Jonesboro Public Library.
In addition to the EnvironMentors, other A-State organizations scheduled to host booths include the stormwater committee, Red Wolves for Red Wolves, Natural History Collections Curation Club (NHC3), Marine Biology Club, Pre-Dental Club, Society of Physics Students, the student chapter of American Chemical Society, and Facilities Maintenance.
A tree planting will serve as a living memorial of Earth Day 2017 on the A-State campus. The site is located near the overpass of the Marion Berry Parkway, and donations for trees will continue throughout the Earth Day events. A $200 contribution will sponsor a tree, its planting and recognition on a plaque to be placed near the trees.
Charitable gifts should be made payable to the A-State Foundation (reference “Facilities-Earth Day Account”). Checks may be delivered or mailed to Advancement Services in the Cooper Alumni Center (P.O. Box 1990, State University, AR 72467) or presented to the A-State Earth Day booth.
For more information contact Jennifer Bouldin, professor of environmental biology, jbouldin@AState.edu or call (870) 972-2570.
The observance of Earth Day is the idea of San Francisco activist John McConnell and Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. Both had an interest in environmental issues. In 1970, each requested Americans join in a grassroots demonstration. McConnell chose March 21 (the spring equinox) and Nelson selected April 22. Millions of people participated, and today Earth Day continues to be widely celebrated with events on both dates. The most common form of celebration is to plant new trees for Earth Day.
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