PUHI — Kaua‘i Community College will do its part of a world-wide celebration and collective expression of public will to create a sustainable society as it hosts Earth Day 2009 and invites all to attend from 11:30 a.m. to 4
PUHI — Kaua‘i Community College will do its part of a world-wide celebration and collective expression of public will to create a sustainable society as it hosts Earth Day 2009 and invites all to attend from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 22, according to a press release.
“The goal is to hold a student-centered, community-involved event on campus to promote sustainable action,” said event co-chair, Scott Bacon.
A student who also chairs the KCC Environmental Club, Bacon has been working to reduce or eliminate plastic water bottles on campus.
“Plastic is not biodegradable and is not a renewable product, so we are promoting for everyone to use stainless steel bottles and refill these bottles instead of using more plastic bottles,” Bacon said. KCC Environmental Club and the Phi Theta Kappa Club will offer a table on Earth Day to promote the reduction of plastic bottle use.
Chancellor Helen Cox said, “One of the initiatives that I launched at KCC when I arrived is sustainability. I don’t mean we will just talk about it, but that we will examine our own practices to reduce our ecological footprint. And we will work with the community so that we can all become more informed about how to create a more sustainable Kaua’i and provide education and training to support current and developing green jobs. We all want a Kaua‘i that not only inspires as sustains us, but our descendants as well.”
More than 20 organizations actively working on sustainability for the island have been invited to exhibit or demonstrate under a large tent on the Campus Center lawn. Coordinated by the KCC Sustainability committee, some activities include:
— Demonstrations of renewable energy by Kauai Island Utility Cooperative
— Bring your old athletic shoes to recycle and qualify for a prize from the County Recycling Project
— KCC students will get free food served in environmentally sound containers
— Learn what you can to do help our island’s honeybees
— Learn how to reduce your waste to zero percent
There are organizations promoting the growing of food on our island, including our Farm Bureau and others that have been invited. Network with others to reduce the use of fossil fuels and encourage sustainable practices in the areas of building, planning, design, and water use.
Any organization that would like to be a presenter please contact event co-chairs Carol Bain 245-8346 or bain@hawaii.edu or Jimmy Trujillo 346-6625.
A campus map with parking and location information can be found at https://kccsustain.wiki.zoho.com/KCC-Map.html
Those interested in registering for a table should visit creator.zoho.com/edcoll/kccearthday
