Join the students, faculty and staff at Beaufort County Community College for a celebration of all things green as BCCC observes Earth Day on Tuesday.

The Earth Day celebration runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the central campus area adjoining Building 9 on the BCCC campus. The celebration will feature displays and projects from BCCC students, faculty and staff and live music.

Earth Day participants will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from local environmental and conservation groups, learn practical ways to protect and preserve the environment, recycle items like old eyeglasses and glean information about earth-friendly products available locally, according to event organizers. They will have the chance to learn about careers in environmental-related industries.

Among those organizations scheduled to participate are the Betsey Bailey Nelson Animal Control Facility, Beaufort County Traditional Music Association, BioNetwork Bio Processing Center, Capt’n Rhett’s Seafood, the N.C. Estuarium, Forest Hills Plants and Nursery, JFK Architecture, Pamlico-Tar River Foundation, The Herb Shop, Southside Farms and Wainwright Honey.

April 22 marks the 42nd anniversary of the first Earth Day celebration, generally regarded as the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide environmental protest “to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda.”

On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Denis Hayes, the national coordinator, and his youthful staff organized massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment.

The first Earth Day led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species acts.

For more information about the Earth Day observance at BCCC, contact Sandria McFadden, director of BCCC’s Career Center at 252-940-6353 or visit BCCC’s website at www.beaufortccc.edu and click on the Earth Day icon.