Several events are being offered throughout the week of April 18-22 to help St. Thomas and the wider community celebrate Earth Week.
In honor of Steve Hoffman, a professor of political science who died last year, all members of the St. Thomas community are encouraged to participate in a "Flip the Switch" event and turn off the lights in the office or classroom on Friday, April 22, from 12:30-1 p.m.
The Office of Sustainability Initiatives (OSI) will host events throughout the week that will both highlight work already being done within St. Thomas' community and share opportunities for faculty, staff and students to become more involved with sustainability work.
Pandora Thomas, OSI's keynote speaker, will give an address on "'We are the Ones': Celebrating Culture and Diversity within Sustainability." Her talk, free and open to the public, will be Monday, April 18, from 7-8:30 p.m. in O'Shaughnessy Educational Center auditorium. Thomas will speak about her experience as a co-creator of Pathways 2 Resilience, a re-entry programs that works with formerly incarcerated individuals from select California prisons to teach them permaculture skills.
Thomas also will lead a sustainability leadership workshop for students on Monday, April 18, from noon-1:30 p.m. in the Anderson Student Center, Room 202. Several students from the Sustainability Living Learning Community will be in attendance, and spaces are still available. Interested students should RSVP to Elise Amel. Lunch will be served.
St. Thomas students also will be sharing their own work throughout the week. Environmental science and environmental studies seniors will present their capstone work Thursday, April 21, from 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. in Murray Herrick Campus Center, Room 206.
The Sustainable Communities Partnership (SCP) will have posters in the rotunda of O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library throughout the week. The posters will represent the work the program is doing this semester. SCP connects St. Thomas courses with city-identified sustainability projects. This semester, SCP spans across 10 disciplines, 12 classes and 14 projects with Elk River, Delano and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization.
For faculty members who are interested in learning more about SCP, faculty currently involved with the program will share their experiences with their projects on Friday, April 22, from 3-5 p.m. in LIB 303. Refreshments will be provided. RSVP to Maria Dahmus. Space is limited.
