The College of Charleston’s Office of Sustainability is hosting the inaugural Sustainability Week, April 2-5, 2012. The events include a Transportation Expo, a Local Organization Fair, screening of “Between the Harvest,” a trash audit, Local Farms Fair, and panel discussions. All events are free and open to the public.
The Transportation Expo will be held April 2 as the kick-off event to Sustainability Week. The Transportation Expo will promote the benefits of transportation modes outside of single-occupancy vehicles from 12-3 p.m. on River’s Green behind Addlestone Library. Highlighting the event will be a chariot race around River’s Green that will pit competing bike companies against one another for the coveted Loose Bolt Prize, followed by a bicycle workshop for students to learn the basics of bicycle maintenance. Leading local organizations such as Charleston Moves, CARTA, and the Department of Transportation within the Berkley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments will be on hand to educate students on ways to decrease their carbon footprint, save money, and shift how they view mobility. The new Bike Share and Ride Share programs will also be unveiled.
On April 3, the Local Organization Fair will take place from 12 to 3 p.m. on the Cistern Yard. There will be more than 20 local organizations including Charleston Parks Conservatory, Water Missions International, SurfRider, Pet Helpers, Local Lowcountry First, Grow Food Carolina, Keep Charleston Beautiful, Charleston Moves, and many more. The Fair is hosted by a collaboration of undergraduate student groups including Green CofC, Alliance for Planet Earth, Urban Agriculture, and CofC Clean Eats.
Also on April 3, there will be a screening and panel discussion of the documentary “Between the Harvest” from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the School of Science and Mathematics Building auditorium (Room 129). “Between the Harvest” is the story of Ostional, a remote coastal community in Costa Rica that relies on a legal harvest of sea turtle eggs for income. This short documentary is objectively told through the eyes of the local people and delves into the controversy of natural resource use, conservation, and sustainability. This screening of “Between the Harvest” will be followed with a panel discussion on current social and environmental themes revealed throughout the film. The panel includes Scott Drucker, director of “Between the Harvest”, Carlos Mario Orrego Vasquez, lead biologist, IUCN representative and director of Ostional Wildlife Refuge, Megan Westmeyer, Sustainable Seafood Initiative coordinator for the South Carolina Aquarium, and Annette Watson, Ph.D. assistant professor of political science at the College of Charleston. This event is hosted by Master of Environmental Studies Student Association, Marine Biology Graduate Student Association, and Peace Corps Masters International students.
Alliance for Planet Earth (APE) will host an all-campus trash audit on Cougar Mall from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on April 4 in Cougar Mall. From that point, APE will spend the day weighing all the trash from campus dumpsters and sorting its contents into its different categories of materials that could have been recycled (glass, paper, aluminum, plastic, etc.). At the end of the day, APE will weigh each category of materials and will be able to compare how much of what was thrown away was actually recyclable. APE’s goal for this project is to promote the importance of recycling through both the visual impact of seeing our waste first hand and by showing that the things that we throw away do no disappear forever.
Also on April 4, the Local Farms Fair will take place on George Street from 12 to 2 p.m. This information session will feature information tables from Pickney, Gruber, and Ambrose farms. Additionally, Clammer Dave and Lowcountry Local First will be attending the Local Farms Fair to discuss the importance of sustainable fishing and farming in Charleston.
Dr. James Gustave Speth will speak in the Stern Center Ballroom from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on April 4.
The distinguished environmental lawyer, advocate, and writer of “Building the Future One Community at a Time” will both present and host a Q&A session with audience members.
Finally, on April 5, the Greenbag Lunch series will be a panel including Dr. James Gustave Speth, Colonel Mark Mykleby, senior advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, environmental philosopher Dr. J. Baird Callicott, and environmental law and sustainability expert Dr. P. Brian Fisher. Seating begins at 11:30 a.m., with the discussion and Q&A taking place from 12 until 2 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided, but all audience members are encouraged to bring their own bagged lunch to the panel.
For more information on any of these events, please visit sustainability.cofc.edu or email sustainability@cofc.edu.
