Earth Day is an annual celebration that is taking place this year on April 22nd. On this day, there are events worldwide to encourage and support environmental protection. Earth Day was originally proposed by an activist named John McConnell as a way to honor the Earth. McConnell was a peace activist who believed that Earth Day would be a great way to promote peace through celebrating the Earth’s beauty.
Every year, DePauw puts on an entire week of events and celebrations for Earth Week! The first major event is the keynote speaker that will be presenting on Wednesday the 24th.The speakers this year are Grand Chief Stewart Phillip and Joan Phillip. The event is called “Walking Together: Implementation, Exercise and Recognition of Inherent Indigenous Title and Rights,” and it will be taking place in the UB Ballroom at 4:15 p.m. The Phillips work for environmental protection, environmental justice, and Aboriginal land rights, and they will be speaking about these experiences.
Since it’s Earth Week, there will also be opportunities to spend time outside—because what better way to celebrate than by being outdoors? On Saturday the 27th there will be a bike and hike event on People Pathways, a local recreational trail for walking, running or biking. This event is called the “Clean City Bike ‘n Hike for Conservation” and will be happening from 9-11 a.m.
Another opportunity to get outside is the Earth Day 5k, which is a race in the Nature Park hosted by the Environmental Fellows Program. Registration is at 1.pm. and the race starts at 2 p.m. It’s free and a great way to get some exercise in and enjoy the lovely Nature Park!
If you’re sad that Earth Week is only for one week, don’t worry! There’s another event happening the week after, on Tuesday the 30th. Denise Abdul-Rahman will be speaking in the UB Ballroom at 4 p.m. about environmental justice. She is the NAACP Indiana Environmental Climate Justice Chair and works to advocate for communities that are impacted by environmental and climate degradation.
I encourage you to attend some of these events to celebrate the beautiful Earth that we live on and to have discussions about important issues that people and the climate are facing today. Happy Earth Week!