Earth Day events planned all week
Nick DeMoss
Issue date: 4/22/09 Section: News
For the UA community, one Earth Day just isn't enough - UA students and staff will be participating in an entire week's worth of activities.
UA student organizations began celebrating Earth Day Saturday, with events lasting until Sunday. The kickoff event was a plant sale sponsored by the UA Horticulture Club along with the Landscape Architecture Club and GroGreen, a student organization dedicated to organic gardening. About 500 people attended the sale, said John Gardner IV, horticulture club member. Gardner is the greenhouse manager and former president of the horticulture club.
Gardner said his hope is that, in the future, the horticulture club will be able to do more for the environment. For now, the plants left over from the plant sale are donated to the Bella Vista Gardeners Club to be distributed.
The Agricultural Research and Extension center will offer a tour today of its biodiesel facility, where the waste vegetable oil from Chartwells food services is made into biodiesel fuel. Those attending are encouraged to take the gray bus route from the station next to the Arkansas Union. Tours will be leaving at 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Earth Day will be busy for the UA Sustainability Council, said Nick Brown, executive assistant for sustainability.
At 8 a.m., representatives from the U.S. green buildings initiatives will be presenting plaques at Duncan Avenue Apartments, certifying them as "Green Globes" buildings because of their energy-efficient and environmentally friendly design. The apartments are the first buildings on the UA campus to receive the designation, but will certainly not be the last, Brown said.
"We're proud to build to those standards. It's an important and useful building standard. Every building from now on will be certified to the highest standards," he said. The next building to be affected will be the Garland Avenue parking deck, which is under construction.
At 1 p.m., the winners of the "Recyclemania" student recycling competition will be announced in Room 508 of the Union.
UA student organizations began celebrating Earth Day Saturday, with events lasting until Sunday. The kickoff event was a plant sale sponsored by the UA Horticulture Club along with the Landscape Architecture Club and GroGreen, a student organization dedicated to organic gardening. About 500 people attended the sale, said John Gardner IV, horticulture club member. Gardner is the greenhouse manager and former president of the horticulture club.
Gardner said his hope is that, in the future, the horticulture club will be able to do more for the environment. For now, the plants left over from the plant sale are donated to the Bella Vista Gardeners Club to be distributed.
The Agricultural Research and Extension center will offer a tour today of its biodiesel facility, where the waste vegetable oil from Chartwells food services is made into biodiesel fuel. Those attending are encouraged to take the gray bus route from the station next to the Arkansas Union. Tours will be leaving at 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Earth Day will be busy for the UA Sustainability Council, said Nick Brown, executive assistant for sustainability.
At 8 a.m., representatives from the U.S. green buildings initiatives will be presenting plaques at Duncan Avenue Apartments, certifying them as "Green Globes" buildings because of their energy-efficient and environmentally friendly design. The apartments are the first buildings on the UA campus to receive the designation, but will certainly not be the last, Brown said.
"We're proud to build to those standards. It's an important and useful building standard. Every building from now on will be certified to the highest standards," he said. The next building to be affected will be the Garland Avenue parking deck, which is under construction.
At 1 p.m., the winners of the "Recyclemania" student recycling competition will be announced in Room 508 of the Union.
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