ASU gets down to Earth in April

In celebration of Earth Day on April 22, Arizona State University is turning all of April into Earth Month 2013. The Tempe and Polytechnic campuses will feature multiple events such as workshops, lectures and film screenings. All events are open to the public.

“ASU’s Earth Month helps us celebrate our connections to the natural resources and ecosystems on which we depend,” says Nick Brown, ASU’s director of University Sustainability Practices. “In an urban environment, it’s easy to overlook our interdependence on natural systems, and observations like Earth Day remind us of our need for good land stewardship.”

ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability will be hosting two Wrigley Lecture Series events in April – the first featuring England's climate change expert Sir Crispin Tickell and the second featuring science historian Naomi Oreskes. The speakers will discuss a range of topics from our human future to who is responsible for climate change. The institute is also organizing Sustainability Series discussions with Local First Arizona’s Kimber Lanning and ASU’s Morrison Institute co-founder Richard Morrison.

Several film screenings are part of Earth Month 2013. Narrated by Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Ashley Judd, Van Jones and Isabel Allende, “A Fierce Green Fire” explores the birth of the environmental movement and covers its five-decade history. “A Place at the Table: One Nation, Underfed” analyzes hunger across America through the eyes of people experiencing it themselves. Nutrition policy analysts, sociologists and activists share their expertise throughout the film.

There are several events taking place on the Tempe campus, such as an organic food eating contest and an Earth Week Festival. Enjoy local produce and body care products at the Farmers Market @ the ASU Tempe Campus. The Polytechnic campus is hosting several workshops on managing and harvesting backyard date palms.

“Active engagement on sustainability issues by the majority of our campus users is one of ASU’s four major sustainability goals,” Brown says. “Earth Month inspires us to do a little more on behalf of our children and future generations.”

ASU's Earth Month 2013 also showcases events outside the university community, including workshops at Community Christian Church, Valley Art Theater, Tempe Center for the Arts, and West Desert Village's House of Refuge. Participants can improve local community gardens and dive deep into southwest storytelling.

“We remain inspired about things that truly resonate with our realities,” Brown says. “If Earth Month speakers, writers and events inform us about the true need to recycle, conserve energy, reduce water use and live a simpler lifestyle, we’ll continue to do those things throughout the year. The durability of a message, and our willingness to act on it, are as good as our recognition of the Earth Month message as a fundamental truth.”

To RSVP and see a complete schedule of events, visit: http://sustainability.asu.edu/events/rsvp/earth-month-2013.