While Earth Day is officially April 22, 2013, every day is Earth Day in Dartmouth’s Sustainability Office.
In a small, efficient Steele Hall office in which three people work, Director of Sustainability Rosi Kerr ’97 talks about events surrounding Earth Day, known at Dartmouth as Earth Week.
“Earth Week is a time for both action and reflection,” says Kerr. “It’s a chance to thank everyone who has helped make Dartmouth more sustainable and an opportunity for us to engage the community in dialogue on how Dartmouth can continue to solve challenges here and be part of solutions in the world.”
This year’s dialogue and events include the Dartmouth Sustainability Awards, the Sustainability and Social Justice Dinner, and a talk with James McCarthy, the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard University and a member of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
“We are all part of the Earth and the Earth plays an important role in the well-being of all living things,” says Anne Kapuscinski, the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of Sustainability Science and the chair of the Environmental Studies Program. “Earth Week reminds us that we need to care for it as it cares for us.”
“I’m most excited about the unique ways in which the sustainability community is going to be collaborating with other organizations on campus to spark new ideas and partnerships for a more just world,” says Anna Morenz ’13, who works as an intern for the Sustainability Office.
McCarthy will speak at 3 p.m. on April 22 in Fairchild Tower.
The third annual Sustainability and Social Justice Dinner, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on April 25 in the Hanover Inn Ballroom, will feature a panel of environmental author Terry Tempest Williams, Sarah Alexander ’14, Nikkita McPherson ’13, and the Executive Director of COVER Home Repair Rob Schultz. COVER Home Repair is a White River Junction, Vt.,-based company that weatherizes homes for low-income families and individuals.
Williams has authored or edited 16 books, and is the recipient of the 2006 Robert Marshall Award from The Wilderness Society, the society’s highest award given to a citizen. Williams served as a Montgomery Fellow in 2006 and 2010.
The second annual Dartmouth Sustainability Awards ceremony takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. on April 26 at the Top of the Hop and celebrates students, faculty, and staff members who have advanced sustainability efforts on campus. Nominees for the awards were submitted by peers from across campus.
“Sustainability progress at Dartmouth has been the combined effort of so many amazing people in the Dartmouth community,” says Kerr.
For a full calendar, visit the Dartmouth Sustainability website.
