Campus to Mark Earth Day 2017 with Festival, Lectures, Green Commuting

UMass Amherst: News Archive

Sustainability and the formal launch of the School of Earth and Sustainability (SES) mark campus-related events on and around the celebration of Earth Day 2017.The official date of Earth Day, April 22, falls on a Saturday this year, so the campus’s Earth Day Festival 2017 will be celebrated on Friday, April 21 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on the Student Union North Lawn.
The festival will feature more than 30 student, faculty, staff and community groups showcasing some of the things they are doing to make the community more environmentally, economically, and socially just. In addition, the Farmer’s Market will be under the Earth Day tent.
New this year is the UMass Amherst Green Commute Day. In partnership with the Faculty Senate Health Committee and MassRIDES “Try it Day” campaign, the event is meant to encourage students, faculty and staff to try an alternative to driving alone to campus on April 21 by either biking, walking, carpooling or taking transit.
Commuters will be asked to log their green commute in the free MassRIDES NuRides online tool that helps find carpool matches and provides rewards for greener trips. MassRIDES will be signing UMass Amherst community members up for the green commute for three weeks leading up to Earth Day in the Campus Center Concourse.
Commuters and the entire campus community are invited to come the Earth Day tent on the Student Union North Lawn from 8-10 a.m. before the Earth Day Festival begins to grab their free coffee and donuts and participate in the Green Commute Day Sustainable Transportation Fair which will feature Campus Planning, Transportation and Parking Services, UMass Amherst Transit, ZipCar and Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Sustainable UMass.
Also at the festival in front of the Earth Day tent at 2 p.m., there will be a student performance art piece by “The Mourner.”  This cautionary tale presents a dystopian future based ...

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