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UB to celebrate Earth Day
From Mt. Trashmore to the annual appearance of UB’s solar-powered smoothie cart, the UB community will take part in a variety of activities this week leading up to Earth Day on Friday.
This year, Earth Week activities are being sponsored by the undergraduate Student Association’s Environmental Affairs Department and UB Green.
Activities are open to all members of the UB community. To raise awareness among undergraduates, any UB undergrad participating in any Earth Week event can enter SA’s raffle for a hybrid bike—a cross between a mountain bike and a road bike—which cyclists say is an ideal choice for commuting to classes.
At noon today, UB Improv, a student comedy group that has appeared before packed audiences on campus, will perform improvisational skits about the environment in the Student Union Flag Room. A screening of the film “HOME” by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, which uses aerial-only footage to showcase the beauty of the planet and humanity’s impact on it, will take place from 3-4:30 p.m. in the Student Union Theater.
Earth Day will feature a host of activities (weather permitting) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow on the Special Events Field, between the Commons and Clemens and Baird halls, North Campus.
True Blue, the student-run school spirit group, will organize games and activities, such as pick-up soccer, football and Frisbee. Picnicking will be encouraged. Members of Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW), winner of the 2011 UB Student Organization Award for Excellence in Academics and Service, will bring out their solar-powered smoothie cart and sell drinks. All proceeds go toward the club’s environmental projects, including the design of a hydroponics station to grow plants vertically. ESW also will build its annual “Mt. Trashmore,” which illustrates the amount of trash that UB produces in just six hours. Organizers say it’s a shocking demonstration of the need to boost recycling.
Participants are encouraged to wear green for the environment, and those who sign a pledge for sustainability will get a chance to blow a vuvuzela on the Special Events Field during “Blow Your Horn for the Environment.” SA will provide materials for participants to make eco-pots, plant wildflowers and play environmental trivia games.
Inside the Student Union lobby, UB Green will host a clothing swap from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Participants can bring up to 10 pieces of gently used clothing. Clothing that is not traded will be donated to the City Mission.
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