Eco-Action, Penn State's environmental club, welcomed about 200 students and community members with veggie burgers, environmental speakers, music and crafts at Penn State's Earth Day celebration Saturday.
For the first time, the annual celebration was moved from the HUB lawn and held instead at the Center for Sustainability, located down a gravel road off of Porter Road. "Instead of just having it on HUB lawn, we wanted to show an environmentally responsible and sustainable way of living and the technologies available for people," Eco-Action vice president and Earth Day coordinator Katie Stoner said.
Officials said moving the celebration to a new area was to make the event a more actively scientific and spiritual repayment to the natural earth.
Some visitors lounged on the lawn in front of the solar-powered stage while students from Horticulture 497A (EcoRoof Technology) "greened" the roof of the Center for Sustainability yurt: a small hut that houses 2002 Penn State graduate Dave Lettero as part of his master's thesis.
Greened roofing can greatly reduce severe sewage overflow in major cities across the country, Horticulture 497A professor Rob Berghage said.
A student of the class, Kim Hassler (senior-landscape contracting) stepped back to admire the yurt. "It's long overdue for stuff like this at Penn State," she said. "This event crosses bridges of a lot of different people."
One of the day's main events included mounting a 30-foot-tall wind generator, which is the final element of Lettero's home.
"The generator will act as a supplement to the solar power and will be able to generate power at night [for the yurt]," Lettero said.
For entertainment, alternative/folk rock band PetaL initiated the line-up of local musicians early in the day. Lead singer Aziz referred to the celebration as "a party with a cause."
"The idea of being a part of something so positive as well as getting a chance to play is good. It's an ideal sort of event in my opinion," PetaL member Jamie Rounds (senior-science) said.
In collaboration with Eco-Action, various clubs and organizations provided visitors with information for environmentally friendly engagement.
The College Democrats manned a booth to petition against the construction of a landfill in Snow Shoe and neighboring Rush Township.
"The risks [of the landfill] outweigh the benefits," College Democrat member Ryan Guice (junior-electrical engineering) said.
Janet Riggio, a State College resident and Earth Day volunteer, assisted visitors with making various earth-based crafts, including weaving dream catchers and painting cardboard. All of the crafts were made with all natural material including soil paint, willow branches and earth toned yarn.
"I've had some really bad dreams lately and I really like arts and crafts," Alexa Dugan (freshman-geography) said as she picked out her yarn colors.
The new location of the Earth Day celebration allowed for visitors to experience activities in a relaxed environment.
"This is a symbolic representation of some of the best collaboration and funding for the center. It's a great way for faculty and students to work together," Lettero said.
