Remaining events include street clean-up, film screening, tree planting ceremony and festival

In celebration of Earth Day, the Environmental Affairs Board is currently hosting Earth Week, a week-long string of events to educate community members about and promote increased involvement in environmental issues.

All events are Dr. Seuss-themed, with each day named after a Dr. Seuss book title, and will conclude this Saturday on April 26. The Environmental Affairs Board, also known as the EAB, started off with an event called “Oh the Places You’ll Go” last Sunday, featuring a sunset hike to the rocky Lizard’s Mouth landmark in the Santa Ynez Mountains. Today’s event is titled “Wacky Wednesday,” which encourages community members to turn off their lights at 7 p.m. for Earth Hour.

All of the events are free, open to the public and will culminate in the Isla Vista Earth Day Festival on Saturday at People’s Park. The festival will feature live music from eight different bands, over 24 local vendors, displays of art projects and an array of different activities, from face painting to hoola-hooping.

EAB Earth Day Co-Coordinator Heather Vest said this year’s events are Dr. Seuss-themed to bring back a youthful vibe designed to remind the community that regardless of age, each member can make a positive impact on the environment.

“We want to express to UCSB students and the community that we can still be young at heart, and that no matter how old you are, you can still produce a change,” Vest said in an email.

Previous events included Monday’s “Oh, the Plastic You’ll Save” where attendees were able to turn plastic bottles into art at the Arbor, and an event called “Hop on Pop” that took place yesterday. During “Hop on Pop,” EAB showcased a documentary film called “We Feed the World,” which highlighted topics of food commodification, food production and world hunger.

According to Ashley Audycki, outreach and education coordinator for the Isla Vista Food Co-op, the reason behind the screening of “We Feed the World” was to emphasize the relevance and pertinence of sustainability topics on a global level.

“I think feeding the world and the growing population are two really, really important issues, and it’s a great film as well,” Audycki said.

Asami Osato, a third-year environmental science major and Sustainability Intern with the UCSB Residential Dining Services, said events highlighting the relationship between food and environmental awareness can be beneficial and enlightening for community members. Osato said although UCSB is a highly eco-friendly and sustainability-oriented campus, it oftentimes becomes easy to forget the impact of food, such as food waste, on the environment.

“A lot of people don’t think about the food aspect and how food has such an impact on all our lives, and has an impact on our health as well as the environment,” Osato said.

A “One Fish-Two Fish” kayaking trip was also booked onto the Earth Week schedule for yesterday’s activities, but the trip was cancelled due to scheduling errors, according to Vest.

Tomorrow’s activities consist of an Adopt-A-Block competition at 2:30 p.m. titled “And to Think I Saw It On Del Playa Drive.” There will also be an event titled “Hopper Humperdrought…?,” which is a screening of documentary “Last Call at the Oasis” covering the issue of a global water crisis. The screening will take place at 7 p.m. at the Isla Vista Food Co-Op. Finally, the last event before the Earth Day Festival will be “I am the Lorax” a tree-planting activity at 4 p.m. at I.V. Food Co-op.

According to Vest, Earth Week has been set up in collaboration with multiple organizations on and off campus and was specifically designed to be welcoming and easy to attend for any and all members within the community.

“We want everybody to know that they are welcome at every single event and that it is never too late to get involved in the events or EAB in general,” Vest said in an email. “We welcome all and thank everyone that attends.”

Students took a sunset hike to Lizard’s Mouth to start off Earth Week. The Environmental  Affairs Board hopes to educate community members and promote environmental issues.

Students took a sunset hike to Lizard’s Mouth to start off Earth Week. The Environmental
Affairs Board hopes to educate community members and promote environmental issues.

Photo Courtesy of EAB Earth Day Facebook

A version of this story appeared on page 1 of Wednesday, April 23, 2014’s print edition of the Daily Nexus.

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