Online Teach-in Marks 50th Anniversary of Earth Day
Photo by Carl Socolow '77.
Virtual sessions on sustainability aim to educate and mobilize Dickinson community
by Tony Moore
Earth Day, held April 22 each year, has been celebrating and inspiring people around the world to become active in the environmental movement since 1970. And with more than 75,000 partners in 190 countries, Earth Day has grown to become something of a phenomenon.
Dickinson has long been an Earth Day partner and a leader in environmental activism, both in the academic world and beyond. Recently, in fact, Dickinson became one of the first colleges in the country to achieve carbon neutrality. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the college will take its Earth Day activities online, featuring a daylong teach-in.
“Now, more than ever, it’s critical that we come together as inhabitants on this planet,” says Lindsey Lyons, assistant director of Dickinson’s Center for Sustainability Education. “Earth Day is a great reminder of how critical our resources are to our very survival and provides a great opportunity for reflection and visioning.”
The teach-in, to be held April 21-22, will explore challenges and opportunities for progress on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and actions everyone can take to make a difference. Courses such as Global Pandemic: What It Reveals About Prospects for a Sustainable World, Mobility! A Catalyst for Social & Environmental Justice and Creating Sustainable Communities Through Farming are open to all through Zoom.
“Dickinson’s virtual teach-in sessions will bring us together to educate ourselves and mobilize for action around the issues we face at Dickinson, in Carlisle and around the world,” says Lyons. “So we hope everyone will join Dickinsonians and members of our families and communities to learn how they can help promote action for social justice, economic opportunity and environmental sustainability.”
Each session will be offered through Zoom, and the program schedule is available online. (Please plan to join sessions 10 minutes before start times.)
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Published April 17, 2020