The Hastings College Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) will hold a series of events in April to celebrate sound science in policy-making and environmental sustainability, all leading up to Earth Day on April 22. All events will be held on the campus of Hastings College and are free to the public unless otherwise noted.
To kick off the month, SEAC will host a Trashion Show on Wednesday, April 12 at 7:00 p.m. in French Memorial Chapel. Student contestants will model outfits created using recycled trash, with awards for the top three.
The build up to Earth Day will also include talks by environmental entrepreneurs on Wednesday, April 19 at 7:00 p.m. in the Morrison-Reeves Science Center. The session features Hastings College alumni Devin Paszek ‘08 and Jeff Berggren ‘10 who discuss their environmentally-minded career paths, and Paszek will hold a Talon Talk with an owl, hawk and falcon.
Berggren is the Nebraska program manager for GenPro Energy Solutions, a solar energy company. Paszek is a licensed falconer and is the executive director of Nature’s Educators, a nonprofit focused on wildlife education.
With a theme of supporting sound science and policy making, Earth Day festivities on April 22 will kick off at noon in the Steinhart Plaza with a March for Science, which will lead participants across campus, west on 7th Street to Burlington Avenue, before heading north and then back to campus along 9th Street. The march will include organizations concerned with climate action and social justice.
Following the march will be a workshop on best practices for communicating with elected representatives in the Hazelrigg Student Union, featuring experts Drs. Robert Amyot and Lucas Sabalka.
Amyot is an associate professor of political science at Hastings College and will be presenting on current environmental legislation and how to communicate with Nebraska’s elected representatives. Sabalka works as an applied mathematician with a technology incubator in Lincoln and will present on effective communication strategies and climate action. The workshop will also feature a breakout session with the Nebraska Appleseed project on social justice action.
A family-friendly showing of the award-winning BBC television series Planet Earth will be held in the evening on Altman Lawn, beginning at 8:00 p.m. In case of inclement weather, the event will move to the gymnasium of the Kiewitt Physical Education Building.
At the end of the month will be a special showing of The Messenger at the Hastings Museum on Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30, both at 2:00 p.m. The Messenger discusses the importance of songbirds amidst recent declines in population, and why to protect wildlife such as these.
Saturday’s showing will be followed by a question and answer session with Mary Brown, a research assistant professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and a consultant for the film. Before Sunday’s showing the Hastings Museum will host Kelsey King from the Crane Trust for a special tour of the Museum’s bird collection at 1:15 p.m. Tickets for the film are $5.50 for general admission and $4.00 for Hastings College staff and students; tickets for both the film and the Museum on Sunday are $10.50 for the public, $7.00 for Hastings College staff and students.
Full Schedule
- Wednesday, April 12, 7:00 p.m. – Trashion Show, French Memorial Chapel
- Tuesday, April 18, 12:00 p.m. – Green technology demonstration, Hazelrigg Student Union
- Wednesday, April 19, 7:00 p.m. – Hastings College Environmental Entrepreneurs, a discussion with alumni, Morrison-Reeves Science Center
- Thursday, April 20, 12:00 p.m. – Carbon footprint estimates, Hazelrigg Student Union
- Saturday, April 22
- 12:00 p.m. – March for Science, meeting at Steinhart Plaza
- 2:00 p.m. – Communication Workshop, Hazelrigg Student Union
- 8:00 p.m. – Planet Earth showing, Altman Lawn
- Saturday, April 29, 2:00 p.m. – The Messenger showing, Hastings Museum (ticket required)
- Sunday, April 30, 2:00 p.m. – The Messenger showing, Hastings Museum (ticket required)
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With 64 majors and 15 pre-professional programs, Hastings College has been named among “Great Schools, Great Prices” by U.S. News & World Report and a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review. For more, go to hastings.edu.
