The Sustainability Club has begun creating the agenda for Earth Week 2018, with an array of activities available for Lakers to get involved. Earth Week will run April 22-28, with collaboration from many different departments and clubs on campus.

The club is collecting empty plastic bottles for a repurposing activity. They plan to use the plastic bottles as pots for plants, and will conduct an herb-growing activity with students on April 26.

This refurbishing project will help to eliminate some of the 50 billion plastic bottles that Americans throw away each year. Anyone can bring empty, rinsed, plastic bottles and put them in the bin outside of Zurn 215. Alternatively, Sarah Bennett, Sustainability Coordinator, can be contacted to arrange a pickup.

In addition, the Sustainability Club is involved in hosting the National Water Dance on April 14 at Dobbins Landing and the Erie Maritime Museum. This is a fusion of arts and science promoting water conservation issues. The artist-driven collective of dancers and educators confront critical water issues facing the United States, with performances that call for action.

Earth Week offers an extensive list of other activities to engage students from all departments. Lois Gibbs will deliver the 17th Annual Sister Maura Smith Earth Day Lecture on April 23 in Taylor Little Theatre. Her presentation will discuss “Love Canal 40 Years Later: What Have We Learned and Where Do We Go from Here?” The lecture is presented by the Charlene M. Tanner Speaker Series and co-sponsored by the Mercyhurst Sustainability Office and the Evelyn Lincoln Institute for Ethics and Society.

April 23 will involve a green eating event with vegan snacks in the Zurn and Hirt lobbies. April 24 will bring a recycling and composting event to the Student Union, with tote bags being handed out. On April 25, MSG will hand out Mercyhurst reusable water bottles at the filling stations across campus to cut down on our plastic bottle waste, and will also host a “Trashion Show” in the SU that evening. Finally, following the SpringFest celebrations on April 27, a morning ‘Great Campus Cleanup’ will take place from 10 a.m. to noon.