Happy Earth Week!
Spring has come to Fayetteville, and we are celebrating our favorite holiday, Earth Day, with a week full of events. The Office for Sustainability is thrilled to bring you the annual Earth Day Vendor Fair once again. Others on and off campus are hosting their own events, adding up to a week full of sustainability activities to promote environmental awareness and-being.
Events
Sustainability Capstone Project Exhibition & Reception
Capstone posters are now displayed in the International Connections Lounge of the Arkansas Union. Each student has completed a research project, community service project, or internship related to sustainability. If you would like to learn more about the students’ projects or the Foundations of Sustainability Minor, there will be a reception honoring the students’ achievements from 6:00 to 8:00 PM on Tuesday evening before the posters are taken down. Students will be present to answer questions and discuss their projects with attendees. Light refreshments will be served.
Zero Waste Event Seminar
The Student Sustainability Club is hosting an educational to promote the university’s goal of reaching Zero Waste by 2021. This goal was adopted by Chancellor Gearhart in 2007 and is defined as diverting 90 percent of the waste on campus from reaching the landfill. All students are welcome to attend.
At this event, the members of the Student Sustainability Council will explain how registered student organizations and campus groups can host their own Zero Waste Event. Any RSO or campus group can register to host such an event through the Office for Sustainability’s website. The event will serve as an instructional seminar for organizations interested in hosting a zero waste event.
Tuesday, April 21st, 5:00 – 6:00 PM
Arkansas Union, Room 308
Earth Day Vendor Fair
The Earth Day Vendor Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Union Connections Lounge. Local businesses, organizations, university departments and RSOs will be present to distribute information about their organizations, promote their work and share their accomplishments with the campus community.
Hosting Earth Day events every year is a part of the University of Arkansas’ American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. These events contribute to boosting awareness of sustainability issues and the U of A’s commitment to becoming a Zero Waste institution by 2021.
Tri Cycle Farms Community Night at the Greenhouse Grille
Come celebrate Earth Day Eve at the Greenhouse Grille. Buy dinner at the Grill and 10% of proceeds go to Tri Cycle Farms.
Tuesday, April 21, 4:00 – 9:00 PM
Greenhouse Grille
481 S School Ave Fayetteville, AR 72701
Second Annual Tomato and Herb Sale
The Plant Pathology Graduate Student Association is hosting a fundraiser this week! This will be the association’s second year selling several tomato varieties and herbs. The group will be located at the North Campus farm location in the greenhouses on the left located down Cassatt Drive, east of Garland Avenue on April 23 and 24.
The tomato varieties include:
- Burpee Big Boy
- Cherokee Purple
- Arkansas Traveler
- Brandywine Pink
- Bradley County
- Patio Princess, cherry tomato
They will also have Genovese basil, peppermint, and rosemary herbs.
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
Mullins Creek Cleanup
The Office for Sustainability is partnering with the Beaver Watershed Alliance to promote Creek Cleanup on Mullins Creek in the afternoon. Mullins Creek runs from the north end of campus to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, between Lot 56 and Razorback Field. The creek is one of many that empty into Beaver Lake, the source of the university’s drinking water.
Anyone who wants to help with the Creek Cleanup, can contact the Office for Sustainability at sustain@uark.edu for more information.
Wild About Earth Day: Litter Cleanup Event
Come out and join the City of Fayetteville on Earth Day for “Wild About Earth Day”—an afternoon of cleaning up litter along the Fayetteville portion of the Razorback Greenway.
The event is kicking off at the Marion Orton Recycling Center on North Street with a proclamation by Mayor Jordan at 12:45, though volunteers can show up any time until 4:30 to pick up supplies at this location.
Volunteers will check in at the recycling center, receive supplies and be assigned a trail segment, where they will then go to pick up litter along the trail with other volunteers. After the litter has been picked up and bagged, each section will have a drop off point to place the full trash bags.
Wednesday, April 22nd, 12:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Marion Orton Recycling Center
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Bayyari Elementary Community Garden Workday
This event was rescheduled due to rain on April 18th. We will be preparing the garden beds to be planted by adding compost and mulch. We will also be organizing the shed, painting signs, planting herbs, and hopefully setting up the drip irrigation system.
Be sure to bring a water bottle and work gloves if you have them. Dress in layers because the weather could go either way.
Saturday, April 25th, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
2199 Scottsdale Ave
Springdale, AR 72764
Campus Prescription Drug Take-Back Day
April 24th, 2015 is a day before the Statewide Prescription Drug Take-back. We are hosting this event for students so they have the opportunity to safely dispose of their used, expired, and old medications. Volunteer duties will include helping students drop off medicine, passing out flyers, setting up, tearing down, an easy way to get 4 service hours right on campus!
Friday, April 24th, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Arkansas Union Mall
Fayetteville Trail Surveys
Enjoy the great outdoors and chat with friendly people. Spend a couple of hours on Fayetteville’s scenic trails. Two locations will be available one at Lake Fayetteville and another on Frisco Trail just south of downtown.
Volunteers be asking trail users to stop and fill out brief surveys to gather information related to demographics and public opinion. Volunteers are needed for two-hour slots.
April 23-26, 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
125 W Mountain Street
Fayetteville, AR 72701
East Fork of the White River Cleanup
BWA is hosting a cleanup of the East Fork of the White River to remove trash and bulky waste before it flows into Beaver Lake! The event will take place on Saturday, April 25th from 10 am to 2 pm. Volunteers will meet at Bunch Park in Elkins at 10 am where they will be directed to various cleanup locations, and will return at 1 pm for a free meal and door prizes. All supplies including trash bags, gloves, and trash pickers will be provided. Contact alli@beaverwatershedalliance.org or by calling (479) 750-8007 with questions.
Saturday, April 25th, 10 AM – 2 PM
Bunch Park, Elkins, AR 72727
Job & Internship Opportunities
ASG Director of Sustainability Position Opening
The U of A Associated Student Government is now accepting applications for the 2015-2016 Sustainability Director position. This is a great opportunity to make a difference on campus.
Assistant Project Manager for Environmental Dashboard at Oberlin College
The Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College invites applications for “Assistant Project Manager for Environmental Dashboard”. This is a full-time, one-year, non-continuing, grant-supported position with the potential for renewal. The hire will assist in development, management, assessment and communication related to “Environmental Dashboard.” This novel technology combines environmentally and socially contextualized real-time feedback on resource consumption and environmental conditions in buildings and cities with pro-environmental images and text drawn from community members (see www.oberlindashboard.org). The goal is to develop, test and disseminate this as a technology and approach that enhances “systems thinking” and pro-environmental identity and that can be adopted by communities throughout the United States.
Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities
Fayetteville Public Library
They Fayetteville Public Library is inviting UA sustainability students to get involved by volunteering at the library. Volunteers can set their own hours and choose from a variety of programs and departments.
Margaret Burdette, Manager of Volunteer Services
Fayetteville Public Library
401 W. Mountain St., Fayetteville, AR 72701
direct phone – 479.856.7104 | library phone – 479.856.7000
www.faylib.org
Habitat for Humanity ReStore
The ReStore is a discount home improvement center that sells donated home improvement merchandise at reduced prices to the general public. 100% of the profits support Habitat for Humanity of Washington county. We have a small staff and rely on volunteers for ReStore support.
Customer service is the primary focus for our ReStore Volunteers. Our ReStore staff will assign jobs as needed.
1421 E. 15th St.
Fayetteville, AR 72701
TriCycle Farms
Tri Cycle Farms, located at the corner of Sycamore and Garland Avenue, is a centrally located urban farm on the blue and red bus routes (free parking is also available at the Trinity United Methodist Church). The mission of Tri Cycle Farms is to “build community through soil,” and the nonprofit (via fiscal partnership with the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology) is working broadly with other like-minded organizations in the region to strengthen food security. Tri Cycle Farms has ongoing “Farm to Table” programs, gardening classes, volunteer opportunities, chicken husbandry, herb walks, a composting system, and new plans to develop a farmer’s market with the Trinity United Methodist Church, which is directly across the street from Tri Cycle.
Contact Don Bennett at fayettevilletricyclefarms@gmail.com or 479-966-0572, or Joanna Pollock at jbperson@uark.edu or 708-828-5695 for more information about how to get involved or tour Tri Cycle. You can also find Tri Cycle Farms on Facebook.
The content of this post does not constitute an official endorsement by the University of Arkansas or the Office for Sustainability. All announcements are for informational purposes only.
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