This spring in Maine has been beautiful, the perfect spring to celebrate. April usually brings a host of good things, including USM’s annual Earth Day celebration, which is on-going this week.
All students are invited to this year’s Earth Day Picnic, taking place on April 22 on the Gorham campus. Most of the events take place at the USM campus, but this past weekend events were held at Monument Square in Portland as well.
The largest and most highly acclaimed Earth Day event took place last Friday at the Gorham campus with the signing of the Tailloires Declaration by USM President Richard Pattenaude.
The signing of the Tailloires Declaration is an important step to ensuring USM becomes and remains an environmentally sustainable campus, according to event planners.
Being environmentally sustainable is to be resourceful and thoughtful in choices about food, the kind and amount of materials consumed, and the proper disposal of both.
It also means that students and faculty alike become aware that negative effects on the environment have negative effects on them.
The University also planted five new trees at USM’s Gorham Arboretum. The planting of the trees at the Gorham campus Arboretum is symbolic of the renewed effort that USM is pledging to the environment this spring, according to event planners.
The arboretum was created in the aftermath of the Ice Storm of 1998, when the Gorham campus lost 175 trees, some of which were up to 125 years old. There are now over 300 trees in the arboretum.
The species range from local to exotic. A self-guided walking tour of 86 of the species is available for the public to enjoy during the Earth Day celebration this week.
Environmental Science and Policy Professor Samantha Langley-Turnbaugh is a co-founder of the arboretum along with USM Grounds Supervisor, arborist John Waters. Langley-Turnbaugh said there will be many more trees planted in years to come.
Also involved in the planning of the events are Dudley Greeley of the Environmental and Economic Sustainability Committee (EESC) and Brett Hallett of USM Recycles.
Greeley and Hallett have been highly involved in both the Great Sustainable Lunch and the Great File Fodder Spring Clean Out.
The Great Sustainable Lunch, provided by Aramark on April 22 at both campuses, features a lunch that is not only healthy and sustainable, but also especially delicious, according to Greeley.
The Earth Day Earth Fare specialty menu coincides with guidelines which will also be followed by several participating Portland area restaurants. The menu for a truly sustainable lunch includes at least one whole grain item, at least two vegetables, at least one organic item, produced locally, and involves the use of only recyclable, durable, or compostable food ware. The food is also portioned to leave less food on the plate.
The Great File Fodder Spring Clean Out will challenge groups of students and faculty to find all of the unused, unwanted recyclable paper products in their desks, closets, and file cabinets, and put them in a bin clearly marked for USM Facilities Management to pick up and recycle.
The group with the highest participation rate wins all expense paid refreshments for a future event or meeting. The competition is ongoing until Earth day, at which time a winner will be determined.
Other notable Earth Day events include the display of the USM solar boat, a hybrid gas/electric vehicle, a dumpster dive, a raffle, information on tap water, and food provided by Aramark.
Contact USM Recycles for more information at 780-4962.
Contributing writer Melanie Beaudette can be contacted at [email protected]