Lehigh to celebrate Earth Week 2009

	Students, faculty and staff browse through submissions at the 2008 Earth Day photography competition.

Lehigh University will celebrate Earth Day with a week of activities designed to “green” the campus and highlight environmental issues on a global scale. Although Earth Day is officially celebrated on April 22, Lehigh will host Earth Week from April 13-18 in order to accommodate the academic calendar.
Earth Week will kick off on Monday, April 13 with a lecture entitled “Maritime Menageries and Floating Flora: Long Distance Shipping and Invasive Species” given by Edward D. Melillo, visiting assistant professor of Franklin & Marshall College. The lecture, presented by the history department and the Environmental Initiative will take place at noon in Maginess Hall, Room 102.
One of the highlights of Earth Week will take place on Wednesday, April 15 at 11 a.m. on the UC front lawn when President Alice P. Gast will sign the Lehigh University Climate Commitment. The climate commitment will create institutional policies and procedures to manage the development and implementation of a university-wide plan that affirms Lehigh’s commitment to protect and improve the environment through our teaching, research, faculty, student and staff service, and administrative operations.
“The commitment includes things that will really help set the culture change for sustainability at Lehigh,” says Jason Slipp, senior instructional technologist for the College of Business and Economics, who served on a subcommittee of the Lehigh Environmental Advisory Group (LEAG) which drafted the Lehigh University Climate Commitment.
After the signing, stay for a free organic lunch on the lawn, music by Scott McKenna, and t-shirt giveaways. Lehigh and community organizations and businesses such as Vegan Treats, the Wildlands Conservancy, the Alliance for Sustainable Communities, Microfinance Club and the Community Service Office will be on hand to provide information on their products and initiatives. A tree planting ceremony will take place at 1:30 p.m.
Later that evening, hear the stories of the Maasai tribe’s struggles to survive the effects of global warming and climate change during a presentation entitled “Global Climate Change: Is There Hope for Kenya’s Maasai?” The event will take place at 7 p.m. in Linderman 200.
Other events throughout the week include promotions through Dining Services, an informational session on the new single stream recycling program, and plant pot decorating.
Lehigh’s Earth Week celebration will culminate with the Sundaze concert at Sayre Field by the Grammy Award-winning group The Roots on April 18.
A full list of Earth Week events is available online.
--Tricia Long
Photo by Douglas Benedict