Earth Week Celebrations at The Beach highlight campus engagement in sustainability
When it comes to celebrating the Earth, one day simply isn't enough and this year’s Earth Week at the Beach showed the campus community how to do it right! Spearheaded by campus organizations including Sustain U, Sustainable Transportation, Beach Pride, Student Sustainability Coalition and the Office of Sustainability, Earth Week at the Beach featured a wide variety of eco-friendly activities and special events with something for just about everyone. Whether you were a freshman studying Environmental Science, a Dance grad student with an interest in urban gardening, or a community member hoping to connect with local environmental organizations, Earth Week had you covered!
This year, Earth Day fell conveniently on Monday, April 22nd, kicking-off Earth Week with a bang. The first event in the lineup was Beach Pride’s Earth Week Kick-off at the USU Southwest Terrace, an event that featured eco-friendly giveaways and sustainable crafts. From creating fashion-savvy jewelry out of upcycled materials or repurposing recycled tins into decorative pots, attendees had a chance to rethink how we utilize day-to-day items in a sustainable way. Attendees also had the opportunity to speak with campus and local organizations to learn about their environmental efforts in the community and how to get involved. Monday’s festivities concluded with a special screening of Wall-E at the USU Auditorium, where movie-goers enjoyed munching on organic popcorn and caught a photo-op with a life-size artwork of Wall-E made from recycled materials found in ASI’s Recycling Center.
GREEN was the appropriate theme of the Earth Week festivities’ second day, beginning with a Compost 101 Workshop, organized by Sustain U. The workshop featured informational modules on the benefits of composting, composting efforts on campus, and more importantly, how YOU can start your very own composting regimen at home. The theme of plants and composting carried over into the evening with the Plant-A-Plant event sponsored by the Student Recreation & Wellness Center, Sustain U, and Beach Pride. At this event, attendees planted their very own herbs and veggies to take home in a nifty macramé hanger.
At the heart of Earth Week was CSULB’s biggest sustainability event of the year, the Green Generation Mixer & Sustainability Project Showcase. Hosted by the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden, the President’s Commission on Sustainability and the Office of the Sustainability, the 8th annual Mixer brought together students, faculty, staff, and Long Beach sustainability leaders for an evening centered on sustainability efforts on campus and the Long Beach community. Attendees enjoyed vegetarian bites, theatrical and dance performances, and jazz tunes throughout the evening. The highlight of the event, the Sustainability Project Showcase, celebrated the innovation of CSULB students and faculty via research-based, creative, and technical projects from an array of disciplines that explore sustainability topics and solutions.
Hosted by Sustainable Transportation, Thursday’s event featured an out-of-this-world Trivia Tournament for Earthlings, where participants had a chance to test their eco-expertise while enjoying free, vegetarian pizza at the popular venue, The Nugget. From campus sustainability initiatives to global implications related to our carbon footprint, teams went head to head to earn the title of Sustainable Earthlings (and a coveted $200 gift card to Sprouts).
To conclude the Earth Week festivities, the Student Sustainability Coalition hosted its second annual State of the Environment Conference in the USU Ballroom. This day-long, zero-waste conference brought together the greater campus community for an expert-panel discussion of sustainability and environmental issues that are affecting the “state of the environment,” and our frontline communities. After a vegan taco lunch and a musical performance by indigenous singer-songwriter Kelly Caballero, attendees enjoyed a keynote from a small-scale organic farmer and sustainability educator Rishi Kumar, a screening of the new documentary film, “The Need to Grow,” followed by a Q&A with the films’ producers.
Want more? Browse through our Earth Week Facebook album here.
Still craving more eco-friendly opportunities after Earth Week? Here are some ways to stay involved until next year’s Earth Week:
- Sign-up for our monthly sustainability newsletter to stay-up-to-date with campus sustainability, community events, job/internship opportunities and more! You can also follow us on social media!
- Join our Eco-Ambassador volunteer program. We offer opportunities throughout the year to help with outreach, zero waste, and more!
- Enroll in a sustainability-centered course. You can check out a full listing of courses offered throughout the academic year here.
- Join a campus organization that align with your environmental issues. From the Sustainability Student Coalition to Engineers for a Sustainable World, there’s a club out there for everyone!
- Attend Sustainability Month in October. Can’t wait until April? We got you covered for a month-long of sustainable events including Eco-Crafts, eco-fairs, and more!
- Make a pledge to more sustainable! Whether you choose to carpool once a week or switch to a reusable water bottle, there are many ways that you can lead a more eco-friendly lifestyle on campus and at home.
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