Santa Monica College Celebrates Earth Week April 23-27

Santa Monica College – which is known as one of the “greenest” campuses in the state – will celebrate Earth Week April 23-27 with a wide range of activities, including a festival with a sustainable transportation theme and eco-raffle including a new commuter bike and bike safety gear.

The week will also include keynote speaker Van Jones, who will talk on “Green Jobs and Beyond;” the presentation of “EcoHero Awards;” and a community ride to a Santa Monica beach cleanup.                                 

The scheduled events, all of which take place on the main SMC campus, 1900 Pico Blvd. (except the beach cleanup), are:

         • Monday, April 23 from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Screening of the film, “Your Environmental Road Trip.” Called to action by a planet in peril, this film highlights three friends as they hit the road – traveling with hope, humor, and all of their garbage – to explore every state in America in search of the extraordinary innovators and citizens who are tackling humanity's greatest environmental crises. Screening will include a Q-&-A with the film’s director. Humanities & Social Science Lecture Hall 165.

• Tuesday, April 24 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Earth Week Keynote Lecture, “Green Jobs and Beyond,” by Van Jones, Senior Fellow at American Progress and expert on green-collar jobs. Jones will talk about the growing new movement spreading all across America to reform our economy and improve the lives of middle-class Americans and the planet. Jones is a globally recognized, award-winning pioneer in human rights and the clean energy economy and author of the recently released New York Times Best Seller, “Rebuild the Dream.” SMC Theatre Arts Main Stage.

         • Wednesday, April 25 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: EcoHero Awards Luncheon, honoring SMC grounds department manager Tom Corpus and the SMC student recycling team for their work in supporting the Organic Learning Garden and implementing “Green Zones at SMC,” which will use all electrical equipment and organic integrated pest management. The recycling team will be recognized for its effort in implementing SMC’s Zero Waste program and maintaining SMC’s recycling system.

         • Thursday, April 26 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Earth Day Festival/Sustainable Transportation Celebration, with its theme of bicycles and alternative transportation. The festival will feature eco-themed music and art, free food, eco-friendly art tent, and raffle.  Santa Monica City Manager Ron Gould and SMC President Dr. Chui L. Tsang will end the event with a presentation on the SMC-Big Blue Bus “Any Line, Any Time” program. The Quad.

         • Friday, April 27 at 10a.m. to 1 p.m.: Community Bus Ride and Beach Cleanup with Heal the Bay. The SMC community will come together in a day of service and cleanup of a local beach. Volunteers will meet at the SMC Center for Environmental and Urban Studies and take the bus to the cleanup site.

         SMC is becoming increasingly known for its sustainable practices. It was named a winner of Santa Monica’s 2009 Sustainable Quality Awards for its progressive environmental practices and programs that range from education to recycling to transportation.

In particular, the college has been cited for its Center for Environmental and Urban Studies; its partnership with the non-profit Sustainable Works, which offers students extra credit by participating in extracurricular environmental workshops; its leadership in recycling, highlighted by its worm composting project that turns three tons of SMC cafeteria garbage each year into clean and organic fertilizer and pesticide; and its “Any Line, Any Time” program that offers free transportation to all students, faculty and staff on Big Blue Bus lines.

 The college also has the largest solar panel installation in the city of Santa Monica and recently launched two “green” job-training programs – one in solar installation, the other in recycling and resource management.

SMC Earth Week events are sponsored by the EcoAction Club, SMC Associated Students, SMC Associates, and the Center for Environmental and Urban Studies.  All events are free and open to the public. For information on Earth Week events, visit www.smc.edu/earthweek or call (310) 434-3909.