Letter to the editor: Celebrating Earth Day: The Aggie way!
It seems like everyone posts about Earth Day around April 22nd, but do you know how Earth Day started or how you can celebrate it in a meaningful way?
Earth Day was founded in 1970 when Senator Gaylord Nelson thought that a national movement would help pass environmental legislation. He was right! 20 million Americans marched on the first Earth Day and paved the way for important environmental legislation like the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act.
Today, Earth Day is celebrated around the world on every continent. At USU, we celebrate Earth Day with a week full of events. Students learn how to live sustainably through activities, fun events, and service.
This year the USU Christensen Office of Social Action and Sustainability will be hosting celebrations for Earth Day. Earth Week starts on April 17th and goes through Earth Day, April 22nd. Come and join your Aggie to learn how to live more sustainably!
A little more on USU’s COSAS Office before introducing the fun and informative events that will comprise Earth Week: The COSAS office is newly formed this year and was born out of a combination of the Val R. Christensen Service Center and the Student Sustainability Office. Their mission is to get students engaged with the community and the environment. They offer many amazing opportunities to get involved in and outside of Earth Week, so be sure to check out their website at www.usu.edu/social-action-sustainability or visit them in person in the TSC 316A.
To kick off the week on Monday, we will be learning about consumerism and hosting a clothing swap, making reusable food wraps, and painting pots for succulents from 5-8 pm in the TSC.
On Tuesday we will be focusing on environmental awareness and having a movie night and pizza in LIB 154 at 7 pm.
On Wednesday we are focusing on transportation, starting with Bike to Breakfast hosted by Aggie Blue Bikes. Later, come join one of our knowledgeable professors at 11 or 1 for a Paleoclimate walk from the Geology building.
On Thursday we will have a day focused on food! We will start out by helping in the Cache Community Garden and then Thursday evening at 5 we will have a walk around campus to learn about edible campus plants.
Friday will be our big Earth Day celebration where you can donate food to the Cache Valley Food Pantry to earn prizes, learn a flow with the Yoga Club, swap plants with the Plant Science Club, or come support local businesses.
On Saturday, we will have a hike and practice Leave No Trace principles with Stokes Nature Center.
We have an awesome lineup this year and are excited to see you there; you won’t want to miss out on such great events!
As Aggies, let’s protect where the sagebrush grows and do it our way: together!
This letter to the editor was submitted by Emily Cannon, Anna Durrans and Abigail MacKay for their class, ENVS 4700 Communicating Sustainability.
— cannon.emily333@gmail.com