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Renowned poet to speak on Earth Day
April 11, 2008
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver will give an Earth Day presentation Tuesday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Lagerquist Concert Hall.
Oliver is renowned for her evocative and precise imagery, which brings nature into clear focus and transforms the everyday world into a place of magic and discovery.
Tickets to her speech in Lagerquist sold out quickly. Those who do attend are required to present a PLU ID along with a ticket. A question-and-answer session and book signing follow Oliver’s presentation.
Oliver’s address is part of PLU’s annual Earth Week celebration from April 19 to 26. The student groups the Climate Change Ambassadors and Grass Roots Environmental Action Now (GREAN) have planned events throughout the week targeting global climate change and alternative forms of transportation.
The activities begin with a sustainability-themed Outdoor Rec backpacking trip to Lake Ozette April 19 and 20, co-sponsored by the ambassadors. During the excursion, Claire Todd, visiting assistant environmental studies and geosciences professor, and Brian Naasz, assistant chemistry professor, will discuss the impact of climate change on the Olympic Peninsula.
The week continues with the grand opening celebration of the PLU Community Garden on Sunday, April 20 at noon. The festivities include a ribbon cutting, tree planting and musical entertainment at the garden’s new plot on 121st Street behind Ingram Hall.
Additional Earth Week activities include Pierce Transit representative Lind Simonson speaking at a bus awareness event Monday, April 21 at 11 a.m. in Red Square; “Second-hand Clothes Day” on Wednesday, April 23, where students wear second-hand clothes identified by stickers from GREAN; and a showing and discussion of “An Inconvenient Truth” on April 23 at 9 p.m. in The Cave.
“The film is a really good way for visual people to get an idea of what’s really going to happen,” explained Karly Siroky, a Climate Change Ambassador. “You see the spikes in the graph, and you can’t deny it’s happening.”
Bikes are the focus of Thursday, April 24. From 11 a.m. to noon, the Central Pierce Fire and Rescue will sell fitted helmets for $6 and Jim Couch from Spoke and Sprocket will answer bike-related questions.
A bike parade at 11:40 a.m. will ride through campus along the Lute Loop route. That evening, PLU alum Drew Romberg from Old Town Bicycle will host a workshop about how to purchase, properly ride and maintain a bicycle at 7 p.m. in room 201 of the University Center.
For a complete schedule, visit GREAN’s Web site.
In an effort to keep the ideas from Earth Week on everyone’s mind, the ambassadors are also planning the “Amazing Bus Race” for Sunday, May 4 from 1 to 5 p.m.
Organized like a scavenger hunt, teams of students will visit various Tacoma-area locations by riding the bus only. The event is designed to show students how easy it is to get around on the bus and dispel student fears, said ambassador Jenn Engels.
For more information, contact grean@plu.edu or toddce@plu.edu.
University Communications staff writer Megan Haley compiled this report. Comments, questions, ideas? Please contact her at ext. 8691 or at haleymk@plu.edu. Photo by University Photographer Jordan Hartman.
Tickets to her speech in Lagerquist sold out quickly. Those who do attend are required to present a PLU ID along with a ticket. A question-and-answer session and book signing follow Oliver’s presentation.
Oliver’s address is part of PLU’s annual Earth Week celebration from April 19 to 26. The student groups the Climate Change Ambassadors and Grass Roots Environmental Action Now (GREAN) have planned events throughout the week targeting global climate change and alternative forms of transportation.
The activities begin with a sustainability-themed Outdoor Rec backpacking trip to Lake Ozette April 19 and 20, co-sponsored by the ambassadors. During the excursion, Claire Todd, visiting assistant environmental studies and geosciences professor, and Brian Naasz, assistant chemistry professor, will discuss the impact of climate change on the Olympic Peninsula.
The week continues with the grand opening celebration of the PLU Community Garden on Sunday, April 20 at noon. The festivities include a ribbon cutting, tree planting and musical entertainment at the garden’s new plot on 121st Street behind Ingram Hall.
Additional Earth Week activities include Pierce Transit representative Lind Simonson speaking at a bus awareness event Monday, April 21 at 11 a.m. in Red Square; “Second-hand Clothes Day” on Wednesday, April 23, where students wear second-hand clothes identified by stickers from GREAN; and a showing and discussion of “An Inconvenient Truth” on April 23 at 9 p.m. in The Cave.
“The film is a really good way for visual people to get an idea of what’s really going to happen,” explained Karly Siroky, a Climate Change Ambassador. “You see the spikes in the graph, and you can’t deny it’s happening.”
Bikes are the focus of Thursday, April 24. From 11 a.m. to noon, the Central Pierce Fire and Rescue will sell fitted helmets for $6 and Jim Couch from Spoke and Sprocket will answer bike-related questions.
A bike parade at 11:40 a.m. will ride through campus along the Lute Loop route. That evening, PLU alum Drew Romberg from Old Town Bicycle will host a workshop about how to purchase, properly ride and maintain a bicycle at 7 p.m. in room 201 of the University Center.
For a complete schedule, visit GREAN’s Web site.
In an effort to keep the ideas from Earth Week on everyone’s mind, the ambassadors are also planning the “Amazing Bus Race” for Sunday, May 4 from 1 to 5 p.m.
Organized like a scavenger hunt, teams of students will visit various Tacoma-area locations by riding the bus only. The event is designed to show students how easy it is to get around on the bus and dispel student fears, said ambassador Jenn Engels.
For more information, contact grean@plu.edu or toddce@plu.edu.
University Communications staff writer Megan Haley compiled this report. Comments, questions, ideas? Please contact her at ext. 8691 or at haleymk@plu.edu. Photo by University Photographer Jordan Hartman.