Eco fairs, several speakers and a BioBlitz are among educational and entertaining environmental events that will be held to celebrate Earth Week April 18-23 at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point campuses. The following are free and open to the public.
The keynote speaker on Earth Day is Heather Berklund, chief state forester with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. She will speak at 1 p.m. Friday in the Dreyfus University Center (DUC) Theater, focusing on the effects of climate change on forestry practices in the state and Earth Day/Arbor Day history). Berklund, who graduated with a degree in forestry from UW-Stevens Point, is the first woman in Wisconsin to hold this leadership role after more than 20 years of forest management and fire control experience in the state.
On Tuesday, April 19, a panel of local sustainability leaders will offer insights from their experiences from 2:30-4 p.m. in the Laird Room of the DUC. Panelists are Cara Adams, farm and business manager at Central Rivers Farmshed; Nick Hylla, executive director of Midwest Renewable Energy Association; Kelly Adlington, Curbside Compost Program coordinator; Trevor Roark, Curbwise LLC owner and pilot; and Dan Dietrich, Wisconsin co-coordinator Citizens’ Climate Lobby and leader of Stevens Point chapter.
An eco-fair will be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday, April 20,in the DUC Laird Room. Student and community organizations committed to sustainability will provide eco-friendly crafts and activities with the theme “Working as One.” The student organization Environmental Educators and Naturalists Association (EENA) has sponsored the fair since the 1970s.
A bee campus fair will be held from 3-6 p.m. Thursday, April 21, in the Museum of Natural History, Albertson Hall. UW-Stevens Point was the first university in the state to be designated a Bee Campus for bee-friendly habitat. Information booths, painting solitary bee houses and museum exhibits will be available.
“Chalk the walk for Earth Day” will occur on all three campuses with the theme “your personal connection to nature.” The community is inviting to observe or participate in this creative activity. Chalk will be available at:
- UW-Stevens Point at Marshfield – week-long activity in front of Everett Roehl STEM Center.
- UWSP at Wausau – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, April 21, on 7th Avenue between the main entrance and Center for Civic Engagement.
- The Stevens Point campus – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, April 22, on sidewalk in front of Old Main.
On Saturday, April 23, a BioBlitz will be held at the Central Wisconsin Environmental Station near Amherst Junction. Community members are invited to discover the wide variety of life that lives at this UW-Stevens Point field station. Learn species identification skills and more about biodiversity and conservation. The student-led event is from 1-2:30 p.m. For more information or to register, contact Paul List plist878@uwsp.edu.
A viewing of The Lorax, Dr. Seuss’s environmental cautionary tale, will be at 6 p.m. Monday April 18, in the Encore, DUC. During the week, various groups will participate in trash pickup in the community and on campuses.
“Earth Day celebrates one of the most fundamental things in all our lives, the planet we live on. “Sometimes we forget to take a minute to appreciate everything that it gives us. In reality, Earth Day is every day,” said Abby Kreger, student communication specialist in the Office of Sustainability and Earth Week coordinator.
Earth Day was founded April 22, 1970, by U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin as a peaceful teach-in to raise environmental awareness and protection. UW-Stevens Point has held educational environmental events each year since. For more details, see Office of Sustainability social media channels.