The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University Plan Earth Week Events April 15-22

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Students, faculty and staff at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University will celebrate Earth Week, April 15-22, with a variety of events, projects and activities aimed at helping people reuse consumer products, recycle disposables, rethink their lifestyles and refocus their attention to environmental issues.

The schedule is designed to celebrate the earth's natural resources, build awareness about environmental issues and educate participants about how to improve and protect the environment, said Derek Larson, CSB/SJU assistant professor of history, director of the environmental studies program and coordinator of Earth Week events.

More than 80 student volunteers will work during the week to promote recycling and earth-friendly lifestyles. Students will sponsor a sculpture contest on April 22, in front of Idzerta House on the CSB campus. Contestants will recycle "found objects" to create their sculptures.

Students will be selling t-shirts and canvas bags made of organic cotton and adorned with a student-designed Earth Week logo. They also will be giving away pencils made from recycled blue jeans.

As a research project, one group of students will conduct a traffic count to estimate the number of students who drive to SJU, instead of using inter-campus bus transportation. Another student is spearheading a service project to encourage recycling with a clothing drive organized with the campus bookstores. People who donate clothing at the bookstores will receive discount coupons.

Earth Week is sponsored by the CSB/SJU environmental studies program, with funding from the Lancy Foundation. Additional funding is provided from a grant from the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs through its Upper Mississippi River Basin Sustainability Project.

The Earth Week schedule is as follows:

Evening events, open to the public and free, are scheduled for 7-8:30 nightly in SJU Quad 346 (Little Theater):

April 15: "National Parks and the Environment" - Dr. Derek Larson, an environmental historian, will present a video on Yosemite National Park and comment on the state of the environment in our national parks.

April 16: "The State of Wind Energy" - John Dunlop, regional representative for the American Wind Energy Association, will give a talk on the status of wind energy, why it should be developed, and how it might be applied at SJU.

April 17: "Building Green" - Keith Nichols, architect at Walsh Bishop Associates and member of the American Institute of Architects Committee On The Environment, and Peter Potvin, principle and registered engineer at LKPB Engineers and member of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers, will offer an introduction to sustainable issues in building design and discuss how architects and engineers are working to create buildings that are built of sustainable materials, work with the natural environment and use less energy.

April 18: "Healthy Homes" - Pam McAlister will talk about the process of designing and building a "healthy home" free of chemicals and other toxins, based on her experience acting as her own general contractor and as an advocate for human-friendly construction.

April 19: "Energy Problems - Energy Solutions: Must You Starve Without A Job While You Freeze In The Dark In Order To Save The Planet?" - George Crocker, executive director of the North American Water Office, will present a talk based on the work of the North American Water Office, which was chartered in 1982 to educate people about solutions to environmental problems caused by society's wastes, with a particular focus on electric utility wastes and the disproportionate impact they have on indigenous people, people of color and people living at a subsistence level.

April 20:

9 a.m.- SJU Arboretum Annual 5-K Timber Dash

11 a.m. - SJU Arboretum tree planting. Meet at the new Science Center.

2 p.m.- SJU Alumni Lounge. Roundtable discussion on the state of Minnesota's environmental movement, featuring representatives of Minnesota environmental organizations.

3:30 p.m.- SJU Alumni Lounge. Keynote address, "There is no Downstream," by Joseph Rossillon. A resident of Emporia, Kans., Rossillon is past president of the Freshwater Foundation in Navarre, Minn.

1-5 p.m.- SJU Arboretum kiosk. Wetland tours, bird watching and pine tree seedlings give-away, throughout the afternoon.

April 21:

10:30 a.m - . Abbey/University Church - Fr. Daniel Durken OSB, will celebrate a special Mass with the theme "The Good Shepherd" focusing on stewardship of the earth.

April 22:

Service projects planned throughout the day at Saint John's University, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint Joseph, including tree planting, trash pickup.

4 p.m- CSB fishpond. A ceremony coordinated by Annette Atkins, professor of history, will celebrate the arrival of spring with the seasonal re-introduction of fish to the fishpond.

4:30 p.m- Haehn Campus Center lawn. CSB picnic will feature music and food served on recyclableFrisbees.

The College of Saint Benedict for women and Saint John's University for men are partners in liberal arts education, providing students the opportunity to benefit from the distinctions of not one, but two nationally recognized Catholic, Benedictine, residential undergraduate colleges. Together, the colleges challenge students to live balanced lives of learning, work, leadership and service in a coeducational environment.