From North Iowa Area Community College, www.niacc.edu

Student Activities
NIACC Celebrates Earth Day through Variety of Events
Apr 15, 2010

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North Iowa Area Community College will join the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day with a full slate of events scheduled throughout the week of April 19 through April 24.

“Departments across the campus are planning events that we hope are fun for the students and staff,” Tony Pappas, NIACC director of Facilities Management and NIACC Sustainability Council chair, said. 

Started in 1969, Earth Day was envisioned as a short-lived project by Gaylord Nelson, a Senator from Wisconsin, to ‘light a fire for the environment in Washington.’  Since that time, Earth Day events have become an annual celebration of environmental caring for the past 40 years.  The events planned by NIACC will serve as part of a global celebration in honor of this milestone anniversary for Earth Day.

Sunday, April 18 – NIACC Student Senate Ditch Clean-Up – NIACC Student Senate members will celebrate Earth Day by participating in a ditch clean-up. 

Monday, April 19 – Clothes Swap - Clean out your closet and bring your used, clean clothes to the NIACC Activity Center, Room 211, from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. to participate in the Clothes Swap.  Clothing will be sorted and ready for trade or purchase at 1 p.m.  If you bring clothing, you can trade for other items; if not, the cost is 25 cents per item.  All extra clothing will be donated to local charities.

Tuesday, April 20 - Prairie Burn Day - Come join in a prairie burn on one of NIACC's prairies.  Before the burn, participants will meet at McAllister Hall, Room 104D at 4 p.m.  It is recommended that participants wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts for helping with the burn.  Also, if you have gloves and metal rakes, bring those along. This event will be weather dependent and may be re-scheduled.  If you have questions about the burn, call Craig Zoellner at 422-4134.

Thursday, April 22 - 40th Anniversary of Earth Day
9 a.m. to Noon - Prairie Plants Quiz – Stationed at the NIACC Activity Center will be a prairie display where you can try your hand at the Prairie Plant Quiz!  There will be a photo display of various prairie plants and you will have a chance to take a quiz.  Prairie seeds will be awarded for the best quiz scores.

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Earth Day Photo Contest - Two awards will be given - People’s Choice and Best Overall photo.  Students and staff can submit a photo entry, complete with name and telephone number included on the photo, by noon on April 19 to the switchboard located in the NIACC Administration Building.  Photos are to be 4” x 6” or smaller and should have a focus on Earth Day activities or environmental scenes.  All submitted photos will be displayed on April 22 in the Activity Center for public voting to determine the People’s Choice award.  A team of judges will determine the winner for the Best Overall photo and the winner will be announced the day of the event.

It Adds Up - Students and staff produce an enormous amount of garbage each week.  It Adds Up will give you a chance to enter a guess on the total weight of one week’s worth of garbage.  To help calculate your guess for the weight, a display of these garbage bags will be set up in the courtyard by the Activity Center.  The entry coming closest to the actual weight of this garbage will win an Earth Day prize of compact fluorescent light bulbs.

What’s Your Carbon Diet? - After placing your best guess for the garbage weight, you can take a video quiz to determine your carbon diet number.  An interactive video will be on display, with an easy-to-use program, that will let you build a skillet dinner and tell you how much carbon was required to prepare your meal.

Join Us In The Fight – As an Energy Star partner we made a fundamental commitment to protect the environment through the continuous improvement of our energy performance. We believe that an organizational wide energy management approach will help us enhance our financial health and aid in preserving the environment for future generations.  Students and Staff can stop by our display booth in the Activity Center on April 22, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. to find out how they can be part of the solution!

Build Your World Cookie Contest - Sponsored by the NIACC Food Service, students will design and frost a cookie to look like the Earth.  Cookies and frosting will be provided for students to express their creative side and show support for Earth Day.  Cookies can also be entered into a contest for the best designed cookie.  There will be two chances to enter the contest – one at the NIACC Activity Center from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., and one at the NIACC Dorms from 2p.m. - 4 p.m.  Five of the most creative entries will earn a first-place prize of $5.50 Food Court certificates and 10 runners-up will also be chosen from the two contests. 

1 p.m. – 2 p.m. - Singer Amber Norgaard – Amber Norgaard is a rising star, whose music is reminiscent of Joni Mitchell. She was voted the 2007 Up and Coming Artist of the Year at the Tucson Area Music Awards (TAMMIES), has received several honors from international songwriting competitions, and placed second out of nearly 100 bands at the 2007 Winery Music awards in Paso Robles, California. From 1 p.m. - 2 p.m., Amber will perform a repertoire of songs at Café Bean, located in Beem Center, and from 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. she will perform “Music as a Healing Art and Instrument for Social Change” in Room 104E at McAllister Hall on the NIACC campus.  Come and hear Amber’s message at one, or both, of her performances.

Friday, April 23 - NIACC Pond Kayaking Day - Come over to the NIACC shelter house from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and try out a single or a tandem kayak!  There is no charge to use the kayaks and all students are invited to have some fun with kayaks on the NIACC ponds.  

Fishing Skill Contest - Try your luck at the fishing skill contests and a chance to win a prize.  This contest will be held at the NIACC shelter house from noon - 1 p.m.

Saturday, April 24 – Mason City Citywide Clean-up Day – Beginning at 9 a.m., NIACC students, staff and faculty will clean up the ditches, along Highway 122, from College Drive to the Winnebago River Bridge.  The clean-up will start at the intersection of College Drive and Highway 122.  “Many hands make the work go faster,” said Craig Zoellner, Student Environmental Group faculty leader.  Come prepared for the weather and to pick up trash. 

“We’ve recognized Earth Day since 1993, and we’ve added more events to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day,” said Zoellner.  With the combination of all the offered events, there is something for everyone to help as a volunteer, have some fun, and show their support for Earth Day.  “Our goal is to raise environmental awareness. We hope that our activities inspire and engage students and staff to make innovative changes in their daily activities that will save money and reduce our environmental impact,” said Pappas.   

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