Earth Day Tampa Bay 2011 by LindseyVolt
On April 23, the Tampa Bay Sierra Club and the University of South Florida’s Office of Sustainability will be hosting the 41st Earth Day Tampa Bay celebration.
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s natural environment. Earth Day was founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson and was first held on April 22, 1970.
Earth Day Tampa Bay typically attracts several thousands of participants. This year’s theme, “pride of place,” is intended to promote the community’s pride in its local environment.
According to the event’s website, “the festival will feature exhibitors, demonstrations, arts and crafts, community groups, live music, food, and children’s activities—all aimed to help Tampa Bay’s residents create a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Businesses will demonstrate new products that will focus on ways to ‘go green,’ and nonprofit organizations will be on site to provide helpful information.”
“It’s important for students to celebrate Earth Day and all the great things we are doing to help the planet’s health,” said Christian Wells, the director of USF’s Office of Sustainability.” Wells believes attending this event will show students local green businesses and inform them about what others are doing to create more sustainable communities.
“This year, the event has moved to the USF Botanical Gardens, where it will be bigger and better, with an expanded set of exhibitors,” Wells said.
Some exhibitors that will be attending are: HumanWear, Neem Tree Farms, The Moses House, Sweetwater Community Farm, HerbalWise, Florida Voice for Animals, Lettuce Eat Healthy, Sweet Whimsy and Dirt and Love. There will be more than 100 exhibitors at the actual event, all of which who want to promote greener, more sustainable lifestyles.
One of the exhibitors is actually a group of students from USF’s Ethics of Food Production class. Along with their professor, Sara Callahan, they will be raising awareness about the abuse of the environment and its inhabitants by the agro-industrial complex.
“[The agro-industrial complex] is the conflation of agriculture with industry, the privileging of efficiency and profit over sustainable and ethical farming practices,” Callahan explained. “We will be creating awareness of the social implications of the unsustainable practices of industrial and factory farming.”
Students can get involved by volunteering at the event.
“Simply email [the Office of Sustainability] and tell us your interest in helping out. It’s that easy,” Wells said.
Earth Day Tampa Bay 2011 will be held the day after Earth Day (on April 23) at the USF Botanical Gardens from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission and parking are free for all guests.
For more information, visit: www.usf.edu/earthday.