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Amanda Hemmerich
SPEA Earth Week
alhemmer@indiana.edu
603-321-2003

Last modified: Monday, April 14, 2008

SPEA Earth Week events scheduled at IU Bloomington

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Environmental Management Association, an organization of SPEA graduate students, have planned a weeklong series of events commemorating and celebrating Earth Day.

SPEA Earth Week will take place April 16-22 and will feature a series of educational, service-oriented, awareness-raising, and entertaining events. IU students, faculty and staff and the Bloomington community are encouraged to attend. Events will include:

Wednesday, April 16

SPEA Earth Week Open Mic Night -- The event, sponsored in conjunction with the SPEA Earth Week Poetry Forum, will be held at 7 p.m. in the atrium of the SPEA building, 1315 E. 10th St. Free food will be provided, and attendees are encouraged to share original poetry, environmentally-themed poetry, or their musical talents. For more information, contact Julie Graf at grafj@indiana.edu. For more information on the SPEA Earth Week Poetry Forum, visit https://www.myspace.com/speapoetryforum.

Thursday, April 17

Service Day at WonderLab -- An outdoor volunteering activity will take place from 1:30 p.m.-4 p.m. Meet at WonderLab, 308 W. Fourth St. in downtown Bloomington, at 1:30 p.m. to help weed, trim and garden. WonderLab will supply gloves, tools, snacks and expertise from Master Gardeners. Participants should RSVP by April 14 to Alison Behling at abehling@indiana.edu.

Green Cinema -- Join EMA at the Grad Pad (Room M088, Indiana Memorial Union) for a showing of the film Planet Earth! At 8 p.m. Popcorn and refreshments will be provided!

Friday, April 18

Adopt-a-Trail and Adopt-a-Road -- EMA maintains a trail at Griffy Lake Nature Preserve and keeps a stretch of High Street (between Third Street and Moore's Pike) trash-free through Monroe County's Solid Waste Management District. Meet EMA representatives at 3:30 p.m. in the back SPEA parking lot to caravan to the sites.

Saturday, April 19

SustainIU -- SustainIU is a community event focused on promoting sustainability within Bloomington. The event will consist of two components: a series of panel discussions about sustainability at IU and the Sustainability Expo. The panel discussions will take place from noon-3 p.m. in Whittenburger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union. The panels will feature IU administrators, faculty and staff, as well as representatives from local government and members of the community.

The Sustainability Expo will take place at SPROUTS Garden at the corner of Eighth Street and Fess Avenue, immediately following the panel discussions. The Expo will consist of student groups, community groups, academic departments, and other organizations presenting eco-educational, interactive displays focused on climate sustainability at IU. Groups interested in presenting should contact Alexis Suskin-Sperry at sustainIU@gmail.com.

Monday, April 21

Plenary Session, "Why Sustainability Makes Sense for Business and Government" -- Join an engaging panel discussion with Mike Molnar, director of environmental policy & sustainable development at Cummins Inc. in Columbus, Ind.; John Hamilton, chair of the City of Bloomington Sustainability Commission and president of City First Enterprises; and moderator Professor Phil Stevens. This event is sponsored by EMA and SPEA and will take place in the SPEA Atrium, 1315 E 10th St., at 5 p.m.

Panelists will discuss sustainable business practices that positively impact the bottom line, how governments can measure sustainability, and the politics of sustainability. Also, the first 50 people to arrive will receive a tire gauge in commemoration of Earth Week. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that gas mileage can be improved by around 3.3 percent by keeping tires inflated to the proper pressure. Properly inflated tires are safer and last longer.

Tuesday, April 22

Backyard Habitat and SPEA Grounds Clean-up -- EMA stewards several landscaped beds around the SPEA building as part of the National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Habitat program. The beds are home to native Indiana wildflowers and prairie grasses that provide ecosystem services and improve overall air, water and soil quality. This year EMA has worked to maintain the plots and identify species. Help EMA celebrate the unveiling of improvements to the Backyard Habitat sites. Meet in the SPEA atrium at 5 p.m.

Weeklong

Visit the atrium in the SPEA building for week-long displays including a recycling display, a trash timeline, and a poetry display. EMA will also be selling Earth Day shirts and tote bags and passing out event information throughout the week.

For more information on SPEA Earth Week events, contact Amanda Hemmerich at alhemmer@indiana.edu.