In anticipation of Earth Day on April 22, the Environmental Responsibility Committee of LUCC held an event entitled “eARTh” in the campus center April 14.
Environmentally-themed art, made by Lawrence students, was displayed while students could sample local food, make collaborative sculptures and watch the movie “Planet Earth.”
Funded by the Alysa Paul Maria Fund, this event combined both environmentalism and creativity into one cohesive eARTh celebration.
After a rather successful environmentally-themed art show put on by Jordan Severson ’11 last year, the ERC decided to turn it into an annual event. The art from this year will be on display in the campus center from now until Earth Day in order to keep people thinking about their impact on the environment.
Senior Lorraine Skuta, chair of the ERC said, “The purpose of doing what we were doing today was to show that [the environment] doesn’t have to be this very tense, unpleasant topic. It can be something that is creative. It can be something fun like watching a movie. You can get good food that is local.”
Students enjoyed local Wisconsin cheeses and fresh potato salad, among other food, from the Green Gecko Grocer and Deli and drank Stone Cellar Brewpub soda made fresh earlier that day. The local food also provided a unique opportunity for international students to sample homemade Appleton and Wisconsin delicacies.
Though this event was primarily focused on celebrating Earth Day, the ERC works throughout the school year to “provide opportunities to promote understanding and awareness of environmental responsibility within the Lawrence Community,” according to the LUCC website.
With other Lawrence Earth Week activities wrapping up, Skuta finds that Lawrentians can incorporate environmentalism into all aspects of their daily life.
“It shouldn’t be about a single event or a week,” said Skuta. “These are messages that people should take with them after they come and see what the artists on campus have expressed, and seeing [“Planet Earth”] and eating this food. This should be something that we would hopefully like them to carry with them for at least the rest of the school year and begin changing them as a person.