Earth Day event planned at A-State for area students

Earth Day event planned at A-State for area students

22/04/2024

JONESBORO – An annual Earth Day celebration will be held at Arkansas State University on Friday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The theme of the event is Planet versus Plastics.

“We celebrate Earth Day every year because it focuses on the things we work on all year long, like trash pickup and keeping campus beautiful, but also our focus on sustainability,” said Melissa Dooley, director of Environment, Health and Environment. safety.

The event is intended for school-aged children from kindergarten through 12th grade.

A Paragould petting zoo and farm will bring live animals to the event, including a kangaroo. Dooley said the petting zoo will have options for students to pay to purchase bags of food to feed the animals and take photos with the animals.

“Kids just love animals and when we start talking about protecting the Earth and doing what we need to do, we often focus on ourselves as humans. We’re not the only ones here. The kids see that more than we do as adults, so it’s always nice to have the animals here as a reminder,” said Dooley.

Numerous groups and clubs will have tables at the event, including students from herpetology, entomology and mammalogy.

“The Paragould Public Schools environmental club will be there this year. The Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce Green Business Committee and the Keep Jonesboro Beautiful Commission will have a booth,” Dooley said.

The event’s emcee will be KASU News Director Brandon Tabor.

Dooley said they hope the event will be educational and fun for all who attend.

“This is the only stone we have to live on and we have to take good care of it,” he said.

The following week, a secondary event focused on A-State students will be held from April 29 through May 3. “Don’t Toss it, Recycle it” will focus on encouraging students to donate unwanted clothing, small appliances and bicycles that they would otherwise leave behind at the end of the semester.

Dean B. Ellis Library