2013 Events

Earth Day Fair on April 22
Environmental Science and Sustainability Certificate students show off their work with table displays and presentations. The Eco Club will lead an "up-cycled" craft workshop and sell fair-trade goods from Guatemala. Raffle drawings will be held throughout the event, for great prizes like a messenger bag, recycled fleece blanket, and memberships to Sierra Club and National Parks Conservation Association. A great event for kids and community members - please join us!

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Previous Events

Learn about our 2008-2009 events

Sex and the Single Salamander:  Amphibian NightWalk

Sex and the Single Salamander:  Amphibian NightWalk
Thurs. April 8, 7-9 pm
Why did the amphibian cross the road? Explore vernal pools, swamp edges and side streams as our local frogs and salamanders slither, crawl and call for mating partners.

Screening of the film “Taking Root”

Screening of the film “Taking Root” about Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangaari Maathai  Tues. April 6, Pierce Hall. 
Discussion with filmmaker Alan Dater. Taking Root tells the dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai whose simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard the environment, protect human rights, and defend democracy—a movement for which this charismatic woman became an iconic inspiration. Watch the trailer.  

Earth Week 2010 April 19-26

Making Connections, Taking Action: Wildlife, Climate, People!

	Sustainability Fair  Wed. April 21, 2010 11 am – 2 pm, Pierce Hall Student projects, info. about sustainability, recycled-items, hand-made pottery, organic cotton t-shirts, free food!
	Keynote speaker Sy Montgomery: Wed. April 21, 1-2 pm, Pierce Hall Wildlife from the Amazon River Basin to the Gobi Desert: Adventures of an Author-Explorer Writer Sy Montgomery brings her keen wit and ecological insight to FP, as she regales the audience with tales of pink dolphins in the Amazon, man-eating tigers in India, Siberian cats in Afghanistan, kakapos of New Zealand islands, and moon-faced bears in Indonesia.
	ECO Club Native Plant Garden planting Thurs. April 22 Outside Pierce Hall. Get your hands dirty and plant some native perennials, to attract wildlife and add to the biodiversity of the FP campus
	ECO Club Lights Out! And Low-Carbon Dating, Music Festival and ECO-Action Tent, Events on Mon. 4/19, Tues, 4/20, Fri. 4/23, 12-2 pm
	Steve Mueller, President, International Woodfuels Mon. April 26, 1-2 pm, Pierce Hall Wood Biomass as a Sustainable Heat Source

Climate Action Day Friday, Oct. 23, 2009 12:00-4:00

This Day of Action was organized by www.350.org. This group works to promote awareness of the need for immediate action to reduce greenhouse gases. The number 350 is significant because 350 parts per million (ppm)  is the “safe” amount of CO2  that we can have in the air in order to maintain the climate more or less as we know it today. For most of human history, there has been 275 ppm CO2. Today, we are at 387 ppm CO2.

	12-3:00 p.m. Actions in the Courtyard (in front of library) Pierce Hall if raining
	3:00-4:00 p.m. Speaker: Will Steger, Famous Arctic/Antarctic Explorer Climate Change through the Eyes of an Explorer: The Road to Copenhagen

Action students, faculty and staff took to participate:
	Bring one large bag of recyclables Why? Because disposing of garbage in a landfill or by an incinerator, instead of recycling it, produces greenhouse gases. The bags of recyclables will be used to form a large “350” on the ground, and a photo will be taken of it and posted on www.350.org.
	LIGHT BULB EXCHANGE: Take one energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulb,  replace an old-fashioned incandescent bulb.  Return the old bulb to the Climate Action Tent to get credit.  Why? Because some of our electricity comes from burning coal, which creates greenhouse gases.
	RECYCLED T-SHIRTS PAINTING and CLOTHES LINES:  Bring an old t-shirt and update it with fabric paint and climate action ideas; hang your t-shirt on an old-fashioned clothesline, give out clotheline and clothespins to people who might want to dry clothes that way.  Why? T-shirts are educational, and drying clothes on a line instead of in a dryer uses less electricity (our electricity is produced by burning coal, which creates greenhouse gases)
	PHOTO CONTEST: Bring your still camera or video camera, and document the actions and the ideas around climate change. Take pictures of Climate Action Day events, including one photo of students talking to the speaker, Will Steger. Upload 3 to 5 of your best photos to WebCT. Why? Use art to educate and communicate!
	SIDEWALK CHALKING/EDUCATIONAL POSTERS: Decorate the sidewalks or create small posters with “fun facts” (or scary slogans!) about climate change. Materials provided.
	TAKE A HIKE to the old French Farm property across Rte 119, learn about the old farm, effects of logging, forestry, and climate impacts. Shuttle leaves at 12 pm and 1 pm, one hour. Limit: 10 people per hike. Why? Learn how human use of land affects climate! Wear appropriate clothes, shoes.
	ROAD-SIDE/WOODS CLEAN-UP: Pick up litter along Ingall’s Road, Mountain Rd., trails, etc. Why? Because litter shows disrespect and can harm wildlife! Recycle cans/bottles! Gloves, bags provided.

Other Events

	Forum on Future of Campus Lands 12/4/09  6pm Pierce Hall Students, faculty and staff will discuss ideas for the future of FPU’s Rindge campus, which is over 1200 acres. The results of the forum will be compiled into an outline for a Master Land Use Plan.  Without a good plan, actions of different individuals or groups can conflict, such as logging in an area used for student research or building athletic fields in sensitive wildlife habitat.  We focused on the question: How can we make decisions that will respect individual rights and desires, but will also support the goals of the community?
	Climate Action Plan Forum Mon. 11/23/09  12:30-1:30  Pierce Hall Sustainability Coordinator Michelle Comeau will present the Sustainability Council’s draft Climate Action Plan, and will lead a discussion of the ideas in the plan. Bring your own ideas too!
	Steve Remp, CEO Sea Wind PLC:  Moving from Oil to Sea Wind Fr. 11/20/09  2 pm SeaEnergy PLC (formerly Ramco Energy PLC) is an offshore wind development company, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.  In September 2009 the Board of Ramco Energy PLC made the strategic decision to exit its oil and gas investments over time and focus purely on its offshore wind business.  Mr. Remp will outline the benefits of offshore wind as a a source of renewable, clean electricity and discuss the new era of “green jobs” in the energy business.