Duke to Hold Earth Day Festivities on April 20

Duke University will hold its annual Earth Day Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, April 20, on the Student Plaza outside the Bryan Center on West Campus. The event is free and open to the public.

 The festival will feature alternative-fuel vehicles, seedling giveaways, a farmers market, an outdoor recreation clinic presented by outdoor outfitter REI, displays of fuel cell and biofuel technology, a climbing wall and a prize raffle.

 Local businesses, nonprofit organizations and student groups will staff more than 50 information booths, and locally produced sustainable-lunch options will be sold.

 "Our goal is to emphasize the small changes that members of the Duke and Durham communities can make in their daily routines to live a more sustainable lifestyle," said event coordinator Jason Franken, a graduate student at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences.

 Greenhouse gas emissions and energy use at the festival will be offset through the purchase of renewable energy certificates, and all waste will be recycled or composted, "so the entire event will have zero net impact on climate change in North Carolina," Franken said.

Earth Day Festival sponsors include the Nicholas School, Sustainability@Duke and the Office of the Executive Vice President, the Duke Graduate Professional Student Council, Duke Recycles and the Duke University Greening Initiative.

The festival is the culmination of Earth Month activities at Duke. Other activities include public forums, guest lectures and volunteer outreach opportunities designed to promote sustainability on campus and encourage greater interaction between campus groups and community organizations.

For more information about Earth Day and other events during the month, visit http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/earthmonth/ or contact Franken at (773) 477-5718 or earthmonth@nicholas.duke.edu.