Celebrate The Environment!

Kean University is no stranger towards becoming greener, and with Kean's Blue Goes Green campaign, many students and faculty gain more knowledge of the environment and practicing sustainability. Last year, Kean expanded the "World-Class Education" of students by creating the School of Environmental and Life Sciences (SELS). In doing so, Kean has become the first school in the State of New Jersey to offer a B.S. in Sustainability Science. The major focuses on three centralized areas: environment, society, and economy, and further knowledge of these areas will be celebrated during Earth Week 2010, a week-long festivity of fun activities occurring April 19, to April 23, 2010! Kean is one of many campuses that will be holding numerous events during this week. Some of these events include boat rides, a river clean-up, planetarium shows and celebration of science. The bulk of the events will be occurring on April 22, 2010, which is Earth Day. This year will mark the 40 year anniversary of Earth Day, which was founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson to help raise awareness about the Earth and its safety. Earth Day started when 20 million people participated in environmental activities across the United States and since then, the day has grown to be celebrated across the globe in over 184 countries.

The events of Earth Week will kick off on Monday, April 19, 2010. On Tuesday, April 20, the Second Annual Clean-Up and Restoration sponsored by the AmeriCorps will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on and around the Elizabeth River. The Elizabeth River is located between Kean's main and East Campus and documentation of the plastic and trash from the river as well as measuring the quality of the water will be recorded. A clean-up and planting of flowers around the residence halls from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. will also take place on Tuesday in the residence hall quad area. On Wednesday, April 21, 2010, Science Celebration Day sponsored by the EpsilonCorps, will be held. Over 500 middle and high students from local schools will come to the university to gain knowledge on pursuing a career in science. A special show featuring reptiles and snakes, and planetarium shows are scheduled for this day and clubs and organizations are encouraged to volunteer and assist with activities for the students.

Thursday, April 22, 2010 will be jam-packed with events, activities, displays and a poster session to celebrate Earth Day. Activities include poster presentations of environmental research being conducted by students on campus from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. From 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., fair activities will occur outside and inside the UC. At 12:30 p.m. there will also be tours of the compost facility, which will run until 2:30 p.m. From 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. there will be a Food, INC screening in the Little Theatre located in the UC and to end the day at 5 p.m. there will be an awards ceremony for the contest winners of the High School Sustainability Essay Contest. Friday, April 23, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. there will be boat rides with the US Army Corps of Engineers on the Elizabeth River/Arthur Kill Watershed. Shuttle service from Kean University to the marina can be arranged through geology and meteorology professor, John Dobosiewicz. "Earth Week is about becoming more aware of all sciences and math," stated Dr. Dobosiewicz. "Then, we can apply the science and math to the planet."

For more information on Earth Day and how to volunteer, contact Dr. Daniela Shebitz at dshebitz@kean.edu, Dr. Nick Smith-Sebasto at nsmithse@kean.edu, or Dr. John Dobosiewicz at jdobosie@kean.edu. Also visit http://www.kean.edu/earthwk/ or check out @kuearthweek on Twitter for more updates.