Earth Day

Published 4:03 pm Tuesday, April 21, 2009

By Staff
Programs this week highlight environment
Beaufort County Community College plans ‘green’ events
By MIKE VOSS
Contributing Editor
Beaufort County Community College and Eastern Elementary School in Washington are celebrating Earth Day this week with a variety of activities.
Earth Day, set for Wednesday this year, will celebrate its 39th anniversary. Earth Day traces its roots to a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment on April 22, 1970.
BCCC’s Earth Day celebration, its second ever, runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday in and around Building 5. It will feature displays and projects by students, faculty and staff. The celebration, which includes live music, will focus on environmental- and conservation-themed presentations by students in biology and academic-preparatory courses.
Topics to be discussed at the celebration include beekeeping, calculating an area’s carbon footprint, vegetarianism and veganism, the college’s ride-sharing program, butterfly gardens and the college’s paper-recycling efforts. Campus police will demonstrate their electric vehicle.
The Pamlico-Tar River Foundation, the Cypress Group of the Sierra Club, Goose Creek State Park and Beaufort County Community Gardens are expected to participate, Casey said.
The BCCC celebration includes free samples of food from around the world and a swap meet so people may trade their “unwanted junk,” said Judy Meier Jennette, the college’s public relations coordinator, in an e-mail.
Eastern Elementary School plans to celebrate Earth Day on Friday.
Several volunteers and organizations will be at the school to help educate children about protecting the environment, he said. Details about the school’s all-day celebration were not immediately available.