EARTH MONTH EVENTS - 2009

Celebrate Earth Day - Every day in April!

Join the Pace community in support of environmental education and learn more about how to protect the wonders of nature. Throughout the month of April the Environmental Center on the Pleasantville campus will be buzzing with activity and special events designed to promote an awareness about issues related to our natural environment.

April 20-24 - One Week for the World >> View the SEED schedule for April 22, 2009

Accounting Society Raffle

Drawing on April 15, 2009 at 1:30PM

Tickets are $2 each or 3 tickets for $5 Deadline to buy tickets is April 15 at noon.

Stop by an Accounting Society meeting – MLH on Wednesdays at 12:20PM, the Accounting Department, or the Environmental Center to purchase a ticket!

Raffle prizes include:
1 - Ipod Nano – donated by BDO
2 – Ipod Shuffles – Donated by E&Y
2 - $100 Amex Gift cards – Donated by PwC
3 - $50 Amex Gift cards – Donated by KPMG
1 - $50 Amex Gift Card – Donated by McGladrey

All proceeds benefit the Environmental Center at Pace University
Sponsored by Robert S. Pace Accounting Society

Evergreen Poems

Date: April 2
Time: 11:00AM-12:00PM
Location: Butcher Suite, Kessel Student Center, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace and Outside Community

Earth Day became ‘official’ in 1970. But, in truth, Earth Day has been celebrated by poets from ancient China to Elizabethan and 19th Century England to modern America. Celebrated in the lyrics and narratives of Li-Po and Shakespeare; Anne Bradstreet and Emily Dickinson; Frost and Millay. Poetry has been ‘evergreen’ long before the world talked of ‘being green.’ On April 2nd, Pace celebrates our good, green earth with good, green poems …grown from seeds to remembered flowerings. You’re invited to celebrate Earth Day …at Pace.

Poet Ira Joe Fisher --- author of Some Holy Weight in the Village Air and Remembering Rew --- will share his own poems and those of others as Pace turns green with hope as part of our 7th “Earth Month” celebration. 

For more information contact Angelo Spillo at aspillo@pace.edu.

Campus Clean Up

Date: April 3
Time: 11:00AM-12:00PM
Location: PLV Campus
Audience: Pace Community

The members of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee and the members of other groups throughout Pace University will be performing a campus wide clean up event in recognition of Earth Month and in addition to/prior to our Preview Day event. All are welcome!

For more information contact Rick Southard (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) at RS06059p@pace.edu.

“Dog Day Afternoon”

Date: April 8
Time: 12:30PM
Location: Environmental Center, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace and Outside Community

Because of overpopulation in the region, 10 years ago the Pace Pleasantville campus was inundated with 260 Canada Geese. Their residency caused numerous problems and they balked at all attempts to disperse them. Then along came Dell and Abby and away the geese went. Attend a herding demonstration to see how these two Border Collies and trainer James Eyring keep the campus “geese free”. Join us for this amazing presentation and watch how the dogs work.

For more information contact James Eyring at jeyring@pace.edu or 773-3169.

“The Wolf Still Wanders”

Date: April 8
Time: 7:00PM
Location: Willcox Gym, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace and Outside Community

Come see a live wolf on campus! On Wednesday, April 8th 2009, Atka one of the Arctic wolves from the Wolf Conservation Center will be at Pace University, Pleasantville in Willcox Gym at 7:00 pm. At this event you will learn how wolves are a vital part of our environment and that they’re not the monsters we make them out to be. It’s also a great opportunity to get face-to-face with a live wolf. How often do you get to do that? This event will be sponsored by N.AT.U.R.E. the environmental club at Pace. It will be free admission for all! Also, Free food will be available!

For more information call (914) 773-3789.

Birds of Prey Program

Date: April 9
Time: 7:00PM
Location: Goldstein Health and Fitness Center, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace and Outside Community

Join James Eyring, Assistant Director of the Environmental Center for an unforgettable night with hawks, owls and falcons. Learn about the role these predators serve in a healthy natural community and the Environmental Center’s work with birds of prey. Be prepared as several of these raptors zoom past you in free flight!

For more information contact James Eyring at jeyring@pace.edu or 773-3169.

Green Boutique

Date: April 13
Time: 10:00AM-3:00PM
Location: Environmental Center Cottage, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace Community

Connie Serafin, from Health and Wellness, wanted to see a clothing drive for the needy take place. The result is students from ENV 296QA will turn the Environmental Center Cottage into a “Green Boutique” for the day. This clothes exchange will promote the philosophy of reusing and recycling but will also help people in need by providing them with quality used clothing. Anyone wishing to “shop” may come and either trade an article of their own for something on the rack, or make a donation. All donations and left over clothing will go to community support groups for the needy.

Snacks and music for shoppers will be included!

You can help in two ways.  Provide any unwanted clothing, and come on April 13, to shop/trade. 
All items must be clean, not ripped or smelly.

We will take:

• Shirts, pants, dresses, and outerwear
• Linens (towels, sheets, pillow cases, curtains, blankets)
• Costume Jewelry
• Scarves
• Purses, belts
• Gently used or new shoes

Items must be delivered to the Environmental Center weekdays between 10:00am-4:00pm by April 6.  It is best to call ahead 773-3789.  Please box them if possible or have them in a bag.

For more information contact Angelo Spillo at aspillo@pace.edu or 914-773-3530.

Garbage Warrior Movie

Date: April 15
Time: 9:00-11:00PM
Location: Environmental Center Cottage, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace Community

Garbage Warrior is a feature-length documentary film telling the epic story of maverick US architect Michael Reynolds and his fight to introduce radically sustainable living space. Learn how he uses recycled material to build houses! An extraordinary tale of triumph over bureaucracy, Garbage Warrior is above all an intimate portrait of an extraordinary individual and his dream of changing the world.

This event is being sponsored by N.A.T.U.R.E. the Pace Pleasantville environmental Club.

Free refreshments will be served!

For more information contact David Spillo at ds13286p@pace.edu.

Daffodil Festival

Date: April 15
Time: 12:00-2:00PM
Location: Shirley Beth’s Way (Between Choate Pond and Lienhard Hall), PLV Campus
Audience: Pace Community

The Daffodil Festival is a welcoming of spring. Last fall close to 2,000 daffodil bulbs were planted on the Briarcliff and Pleasantville campuses. Now it’s time to highlight the hard work of students, staff and faculty and allow the entire Pace community to enjoy one another. Activities include a tree planting, students representing their clubs and organizations (with activities), musical entertainment provided by WPAW, an inflatable twister board for friendly competition, caricaturist , balloon artist, cotton candy machine and popcorn machine. In addition, there will be a honey bee exhibit with hives to illustrate the importance of bees in nature. Honey snacks will be served! We also anticipate holding a plastic bag drive for recycling and a loose change drive to raise money for Relay for Life.

For more information contact Ann Marie Perucci at aperucci@pace.edu or (914) 773-3195.

How Good Is Your Bottled Water?

Date: April 16
Time: 1:00-2:00PM
Location: Foyer-well outside bookstore, Kessel Student Center, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace Community

Put your opinion to the test! Is the bottled water you buy “better” than the water coming from your tap? What water is the best? Through an interactive demonstration, Dr. William Flank will provide some interesting insights about the quality of bottled water and related environmental issues.

For more information contact Dr. Hoegler at choegler@pace.edu or 773-3698.

Hudson River School Presentation

Date: April 16
Time: 10:30AM-12:00PM
Location: Butcher Suite, Kessel Student Center, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace and Outside Community

The former Hudson River School first found its origins among 19th Century American painters who popularized the rugged scenery along the Hudson River. Their interpretations of wilderness had a powerful religious theme and brought nature to the hearts and minds of many. Come and see the beauty and splendor of the early American wilderness as painted by these artists to be a lasting icon of American identity. Professor Mark Cassata will give a slide show presentation as he discusses the essence of their vision, and the changes in American values which eventually eclipsed the Hudson River School.

For more information contact Angelo Spillo at aspillo@pace.edu or 773-3530.

“It’s Easy Eating Green: The Hows and Whys of Eco-friendly Eating”

Date: April 20
Time: 4:00-6:00PM
Location: Tudor Room, Law School, White Plains Campus
Audience: Pace Community

ELS and The Center for Environmental Legal Studies Present: “It’s Easy Eating Green: The Hows and Whys of Eco-friendly Eating” a workshop by Jasmin Singer (National Advocacy Organizer, Farm Sanctuary) and Marisa Miller Wolfson (Director of Outreach, Kind Green Planet). Jasmin and Marisa have been raising eyebrows all around New York City with their unconventional, standing room-only workshops about compassionate, green living. With the help of willing audience members, they nimbly take on topics such as the cruelty, environmental degradation, and health risks associated with factory farmed food. But, unlike most workshops on these topics, they promise more giggles than tears and provide helpful information on alternatives to the Standard American Diet (SAD diet) that most of us grew up with. If you have a catcher’s mitt, bring it. Prizes will be flung.

For more information contact Jill B. Richardson at jrichardson@law.pace.edu.

Campus Interpretive Nature Walk

Date: April 21
Time: 10:00-11:00AM
Location: Meet at the Environmental Center, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace Community

This event is being moved to April 27th and will be combined with the Fit Walk scheduled for 11:30. Please join us then for a fit nature walk!

Screech owl nesting sights, and massive 150-year-old white pines, are just a couple of the natural wonders in our own backyard. Join James Eyring for an enthralling guided walk around campus to learn about some of nature’s gifts that we sometimes take for granted.

For more information contact James Eyring at jeyring@pace.edu or 773-3169.

Geocaching

Date: April 21
Time: 2:30-4:30PM
Location: Entrance 1, Meet at the steps of Dyson Hall, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace Community

Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for GPS users. Participating in a cache hunt is one way to take advantage of the wonderful features of a GPS unit while enjoying the natural wonders of a park. Join students and faculty for this “treasure hunt†to find these secret places. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards! This event will take place in Graham Hills Park directly across from the Pleasantville campus. GPS units and instruction on how to use them will be provided.

This event is co-sponsored by N.A.T.U.R.E. our Pleasantville Environmental Club

You must preregister as there is a limit to the number of participants. To get in on this adventure contact Prof. Farkas at dfarkas@pace.edu.

For more information contact Dan Farkas at dfarkas@pace.edu or 773-3396.

E-Waste: What to Do With It?

Date: April 21
Time: 4:00-6:00PM
Location: Tudor Room, Law School, White Plains Campus
Audience: Pace Community

What did you do with your old computer, old i-pod, old cell phone? Have you stored them away or thrown them away? Can you be more environmental and recycle old electronics?

Electronic Waste (E-Waste) is an emerging problem both domestically and internationally, involving issues of environment, human rights, and trade. Join ELS and ILS to learn about these issues from the experts: NRDC, EPA, and the Information Technology Industry Council.

For more information contact Jill B. Richardson at jrichardson@law.pace.edu.

Hunger Banquet

Date: April 21
Time: 6:00PM
Location: Gottesman Room, Kessel Student Center, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace Community

Through an interactive learning experience, Pace students, faculty, and staff will be separated into three socio-economic classes:  low income, middle income,  and high income.  The food that will be placed on each table will be representative of the food those individuals would most likely be eating if they were a part of that table’s socio-economic class.  The poor income class will share one bowl of rice and one pitcher of water, using just one utensil.  The middle income class will share three to four types of food, there will be plastic utensils for all, and a choice of drinks.  The high income class will be served dinner with fancy utensils and sparkling drinks.

Psychology of Civic Engagement, along with their co-sponsors, will have various restaurants donate food, which all attendees of the event will enjoy after the presentation of hunger in the world.

The Hunger Banquet will be an excellent learning experience and with your help will raise a significant amount of money to donate to the USA fund for UNICEF.

Please come out and show your support!

Admission is only $6 and is going to a great cause!

For more information contact C. Walther at cwalther@pace.edu.

Sustainable Food Fest

Date: April 22
Time: 11:00AM-1:00PM
Location: Dining Room “A” Patio, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace Community

Can you actually enjoy a meal without meat? What does meat have to do with a sustainable way of living? Come and learn while enjoying some great food for FREE! N.A.T.U.R.E. will sponsor this Sustainable Food Fest as part of our Earth Day celebration. There will be music along with environmentally friendly foods.

For more information contact David Spillo at ds13286p@pace.edu.

Coping: Climate Change and US

Date: April 22
Time: 11:30AM-12:15PM, followed by Q&A
Location: Patio outside of Gottesman (weather permitting) or Environmental Center Cottage/Classroom, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace Community

Humans have added so much new carbon dioxide and other “green house gases” to the atmosphere during the past century that we have altered Earth, and as our human population grows, we are causing further changes. Climate disruption, rapid loss of species and biological diversity, and pollution threaten human health and wellbeing. What should President Obama, the United Nations, New York State and each of us do about this? Environmental Law has charted an action plan to adapt to irreversible changes and mitigate or avoid the threats of even more several problems. What “tipping” points exist, and how will we know them? Ultimately, what must each of us do personally as a steward of the environment?

Biography: Nicholas Robinson helped to establish Pace University School of Law and founded its pioneering environmental law program in 1978. His children grew up visiting the Pace Environmental Center and farm in Pleasantville and he served in village, county and NY state governments to build up local environmental law for wetlands, parks and nature conservation. He helped launch the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, our nation’s environmental “magna charter” and helped draft the “World Charter For Nature,” adopted in 1982 by the UN General Assembly. He founded the Sierra Club’s International Program, serving on its national board of directors. He was twice elected to the highest international position in environmental law by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), building environmental laws around the world for 15 years.

For more information contact Angelo Spillo at aspillo@pace.edu or 914-773-3530.

Global Warming: Can We Recover?

Date: April 22
Time: 12:30-1:15PM
Location: Kessel Student Center Patio (Rain Location: Gottesman Room), PLV Campus
Audience: Pace Community

“Global Warming: Can We Recover?” is the final in a three-part series on peace and sustainability. Join us for a brainstorming session following Professor Charlene Hoegler’s  talk on Sustainability at 10:00am in Willcox 31 and Professor Nicholas Robinson’s talk on “Coping: Climate Change and the U.S.” at 11:30am on the Gottesman patio. Afterward, we will break into small groups on Gottesman patio to discuss what we can do to make a difference.

Facilitators:  Charlene Hoegler, Professor, Biology and Health Sciences; Nicholas Robinson, Professor of Environmental Law at Pace Law School; and Greg Julian, Professor, Political Science

All students, faculty and staff welcome!

Refreshments will be served, compliments of N.A.T.U.R.E.

Co-sponsored by the Peace and Justice Studies Advisory Board, Wave of Green, The Green Surge, The Political Science Department, Project Pericles, and the Office for Student Success

For more information contact Professor Fran Delahanty at fdelahanty@pace.edu or (914) 773-3625.

“The Lorax”

Date: April 22
Time: 1:00-6:00PM
Location: Gerber Glass Lawn, Law School, White Plains Campus
Audience: Pace Community

The annual ELS Earth Day celebration will kick-off with “The Lorax” presentation in the Tudor Room at 1:00 pm. We will then celebrate on the lawn with a vegetarian BBQ, beer, music, environmental information tables, BarBri raffles, and games until 6:00 pm.  The Westchester County Veggie Van will be on campus at 2:00 pm. This “mobile classroom” runs solely on vegetable oil. We will be selling ELS glasses for enjoying the beer, and t-shirts. Join ELS for this exciting celebration!

For more information contact Jill B. Richardson at jrichardson@law.pace.edu.

“Meet The Creatures”

Date: April 23
Time: 1:30-2:30PM
Location: Environmental Center Cottage, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace and the Outside Community

Celebrate ‘Take Our Children to Work Day’ with some creatures! Join James Eyring, Assistant Director of the Environmental Center, for a look at the Centers’ resident wildlife. Meet Oscar the Barred Owl and Mona the Burmese Python. All children and parents welcome!

For more information contact James Eyring at jeyring@pace.edu or (914) 773-3169.

CELF Students for a Sustainable Future EXPO

Date: April 23
Time: Public hours: 2:30-6:30PM
Location: Goldstein Health and Fitness Center, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace and the Outside Community

For 3 years The Pace Environmental Center has co-sponsored the CELF Students for a Sustainable Future EXPO designed to introduce middle and high school students to concepts of sustainable development.   >> View poster

The organization responsible for putting the Expo together is The Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation (“CELFâ€) a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to help students understand and appreciate the interconnections between a stable economy, healthy environment and equitable social systems and to establish sustainability as an integral part of every child’s K-12 learning experience.   CELF programs provide training and resources to equip students and teachers with the knowledge, skills and perspective to become productive members of a sustainable society. 

2009 Presentations:

In April 2008 this event was held in the gym of the Goldstein Health and Fitness Center.  The day involved over 1,560 students, teachers, and community business representatives and environmental organizations from throughout Westchester and Putnam Counties, as well as visitors from Dutchess County, New York City and New Jersey.

Many of the participants provided exhibits designed to include examples of: alternative energy; water conservation; socially responsible investing, corporate social responsibility; green products; fair trade and organic agriculture; green building; and much more.

Some details from 2008:

• Total attendance: just over 1,560 visitors
• Total number of schools that participated: 27
• Total number of booths: 50
• Closing remarks began with County Executive Andy Spano and included a panel discussion addressing the topic of collaboration between the business sector, government and education to support sustainability education.

For a complete list of the 2009 exhibitors visit: www.celfoundation.org/expo09/2009exhibitors.php

For more information contact Patrice Bressman at patti@celfoundation.org.

Get Fit with Nature

Date: April 27
Time: 11:30AM-12:30PM
Location: Meet at the Environmental Center, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace Community

Combination Event with Campus Interpretive Nature Walk that was orginally scheduled on April 21.

Help celebrate Earth Month by getting together with staff from the Health Care Unit for a “get fit” walk around campus. Come experience nature and enjoy a refreshing spring stroll on Pace’s beautiful campus. Refreshments will be served for those who complete the walk!

For more information contact Kathi Reczek at kreczek@pace.edu.

Science Barge

Date: April 27
Time: 9:00AM-12:30PM
Location: Environmental Center Cottage, PLV Campus (Field trip to Hudson River)
Audience: Pace Community

There is the coolest thing happening on the Hudson! A science barge that functions on sustainable technology! What does that mean? It means this floating lab is full of interesting things like solar panels, wind turbines, aqua- and hydro-ponic systems in a greenhouse, and rain catch and reversal systems. Come learn about some of these sustainable ideas in an ever "greening" world! A bus will leave from the Environmental Center at 9:00am and return from Yonkers at around 12:30 pm.

Space is limited so you must pre-register by emailing aspillo@pace.edu.

Peter G. Brown - Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy

Date: April 28
Time: 12:30-2:00PM
Location: Good Counsel Classroom Adjacent to PAE Pace University School of Law, White Plains, NY
Audience: Pace Community

Pace Law School Center for Environmental Legal Studies and Pace Academy for the Environment (PAE) are Proud to host a luncheon discussion and book signing with Peter G. Brown professor and author of Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy,  Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 2009

Peter Brown is a professor at the McGill University School of Environment.  In his book, to which many other thoughtful leaders have contributed, Professor Brown discusses how to talk to the public about economy and ecology, and how to move the public's reformed mindset to create new institutions required for a sustainable future. He asserts that it is now necessary to take direct actions if we are to turn away from the present disastrous course.  Professor Brown argues that the economic order alone cannot offer satisfactory answers to five simple questions about the economy:
 
--What is it for?
--How does it work?
--How big should it be?
--What is fair?
--How should it be governed?  
 
In answering these questions Professor Brown lays the foundation for a different economic order respectful of the earth and the whole commonwealth of life with which we share heritage and destiny.  
 
You must reserve your space which is limited for this very special event!  Books will be available for purchase and signing.

For more information contact Karen Ferro at kferro@law.pace.edu or (914) 422-4327.

Tree Planting Ceremony and Talking Circle with Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Lakota)

Date: April 28
Time: 3:30-5:00PM
Location: Meet at the Environmental Center, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace Community

“A capitalist looks at a tree and sees a chair. An environmentalist looks at a tree and sees a natural resource to protect. An Indian looks at a tree and sees a brother.”

Join us for a tree planting ceremony led by Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Lakota) who will play traditional flute and lead us in a talking circle after the ceremony to explore Indigenous ways of thinking. Tiokasin is from Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota and currently lives in NYC where he hosts a weekly radio show called “First Voices Indigenous Radio” on WBAI 99.5 fm. Later this same evening, he’ll be hosting a very special film screening of “Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai” at 7:00pm in Leinhard Lecture Hall.

For more information contact tbasile@pace.edu.

Film screening of “Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai”

Date: April 28
Time: 7:00-10:00PM
Location: Leinhard Lecture Hall, PLV Campus
Audience: Pace and the Outside Community

Don’t miss this award-winning brand new documentary that illustrates the inter-relatedness of social justice, women’s rights, democracy and environmentalism. It’s about the work and vision of Wangari Maathai who is the 2004 Nobel Prize winner and an outspoken activist in Kenya. The film will be introduced by Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Lakota) and followed by a panel discussion led by Pace students, faculty and local grassroots activists.

For more information contact tbasile@pace.edu.

“Breakfast With the Birds”

Date: April 30
Time: Coffee and bagels: 7:00-7:30AM, Walk: 7:30-9:00AM
Location: Rockefeller State Park Preserve
Audience: Pace Community

Pace University and Rockefeller State Park Preserve would like to invite you to come enjoy Breakfast with the Birds. We will start out at 7:00 with coffee and bagels before heading out on the carriage roads of the Preserve to see what birds are active in the woodlands, fields, and wetlands. So bring your binoculars and a field guide to birds for a fun morning of birding. The Preserve is located only about 3 miles from Pace, and directions will be provided.

Please pre-register by sending an email to aspillo@pace.edu.

For more information contact Angelo Spillo at aspillo@pace.edu or 914-773-3530.