Students kick off Earth Week

About 100 shovels hit the ground at N.C. State’s Agroecology Education Farm Saturday, marking the beginning of N.C. State’s annual week-long Earth Day celebration.

Students, staff and faculty members joined together to plant seedlings that will later be harvested and served in dining halls on campus, according to Carla Davis, communications coordinator for the University’s Sustainability Office. 

Will Hildreth, vice president of WESA and senior in plant and soil science, attended the event and praised those who participated.

“It was good to see so many people out there willing to contribute to a new project. There was a lot of enthusiasm and an emphasis on community.”

Davis said that the event was important because the University has never before had food grown on its campus served in dining halls. 

“It’s a great first step to incorporating more local, sustainable food on campus,” Davis said.

Students who want to make having local food in dining halls an everyday reality can sign the “For the Farm Pledge,” which documents their support for a campus farm. The pledge can be given in person at any of the Earth Day events or online at http://go.ncsu.edu/forthefarm. 

From Barn to Brick

This year’s Earth Week theme is “From Barn to Brick: Sustainable Food and Agriculture at N.C. State.” As the name suggests, campus events will focus on educating students about the importance of local, sustainable food, Davis said. 

“The reason we want to select this local food topic is because N.C. State’s roots are in agriculture, and one of N.C.’s biggest economic contributions is agriculture,” Davis said. “We also want people to learn that local and sustainable food is better for us, the environment and the economy.”

On Tuesday there will be “Grow Your Wellness” on the Brickyard from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. At the event, students will be able to explore the “seven dimensions of wellness.” There will also be a “Reduce Your Waste Challenge” in which students will learn how to diminish both their waste and their waistline. 

Later that day, students will also have the opportunity to attend a Norman Borlaug lecture on food security and climate change. Frances Seymour, the former director of the General Center for International Forestry Research, will be the speaking at 3:00 p.m. in the Hunt Library Auditorium. 

The Earth Day celebration, the largest event, will be held Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Brickyard. More than 75 vendors and student organizations are expected to be at the festival. 

“Students will have opportunities to try local foods, buy fair-trade items and learn how to live more sustainable lifestyles,” Davis said.  

One of the student organizations attending is Students for Organic Urban Living (SOUL). SOUL maintains an organic garden on centennial campus. The group was started after receiving a Green Brick award a few years ago, said Ezekial Overbaugh, co-manager of the SOUL Garden and senior in plant biology.

After distributing food to volunteers as compensation for their work, SOUL donates the remainder of their food products to the Interfaith Food Shuttle. 

“It’s a fun idea to be able to grow your own food and give back,” Overbaugh said.  

SOUL members will be hosting a table along with the Wolfpack Environmental Student Association (WESA). The student organizations will host plastic jousting and trivia, among other surprises, Heather Troutman, WESA’s Treasurer and senior in environmental science, said. 

“We want to bring awareness to single-use waste and energy use in a fun way,” Troutman said. “We also want to educate students and make important information available to everybody.” 

At 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Witherspoon Student Cinema, there will be a screening of the film Fresh, which concerns sustainable agriculture. Following the film will be a discussion from panelists. Among the panelists will be a farmer, a chef, a person involved in food policy and a recent N.C. State grad who works at Lowe’s Foods as the local food coordinator, according to Davis. 

Closing out the week of events will be the Farm Feast. Fountain Dining Hall will be closing its doors and moving outside from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for dinner. All local food will be served and the bluegrass band Mandolin Orange will perform. Students can use their meal plan or purchase dinner for $10.  

The 2013 Green Brick Awards will be presented at the Farm Feast as well. 

The city of Raleigh will also be hosting an Earth Day music festival Saturday.  “Live and Local on Hillsborough Street” will feature live bands throughout the day at different venues of Hillsborough Street. 

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will be hosting its annual “Planet Earth Celebration” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday as well.