Earth Week continues with tree giveaway

Rainy conditions and cool weather plagued the outdoor Earth Week Celebration on Tuesday, but the message of sustainability and eco-friendliness could not be overshadowed.

A group of six IU students created the event for an Event Planning and Program Development R367 class service-learning project, which included tree giveaways. The project was created with the help of Bloomington Parks and Recreation.

The main purpose of the event was for lesser-known “green companies to promote themselves,” said senior Breanne Clark.

Working with the “very hands-on” project from start to finish was nice, said senior Zachary Smith.

Bloomington Parks and Recreation helped provide the location, tents and tables for the organizations, said Steve Cotter, the natural resources manager for the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department.

Several types of businesses contributed to the event, but Smith said every bike shop in town got involved.

Bloomington environmentalists who work with local organizations shared their knowledge and concern with attendees.

The Environmental Management Association at IU gave out free trees, including black gums, flowering dogwoods and white oaks. Eighty to 100 trees were handed out to attendees by the association and Hoosier National Forest.

The association had a table set up with a poster stating why trees were important for the environment. Their reasoning included that trees provide shade, which can save households up to $250 a year, purify the air and absorb pollutants and lower the amount of pollutants in sewer systems, saving saves communities millions of dollars in water treatment costs.

The association was selling T-shirts and bags embroidered with the statement “Earth Day Every Day,” an overall theme of the event.

The Local Growers Guild, a corporation of growers, retailers and commission members in southern Indiana, was promoting local organic foods.

The Local Growers Guild promotes the message that it is easy to eat local, organic foods.

“We are here to promote how people can access local foods throughout the year,” said Katie Zukof, assistant director of the Local Growers Guild.

The Center of Sustainable Living promotes plausible and efficient efforts, such as Bloomington transportation initiatives and a community bike project, to support the reduction of wasting resources.

The center is hoping to make campus, Bloomington and Indiana more sustainable.
IU is “very much behind” in sustainability efforts considering the fact that IU just hired a sustainability director, said Lucille Bertuccio, president of the Center of Sustainable Living.

“IU should have been working toward sustainability 20 to 30 years ago,” Bertuccio said.

She said IU’s and Indiana’s improper use of substances such as coal and fertilizer harms the community and needs to be ceased immediately.

“Nature knows the answers,” Bertuccio said. “It’s been here for 4.6 billion years.”
General Motors was also at the event and showed two vehicles, a hybrid truck and hybrid Chevy Malibu.

The company has received a lot of recognition, such as an award for reduction in energy from the Indiana government, for their eco-friendly vehicles, said Jeff Hummel, senior environmental engineer of GM out of Bedford.

Many attendees were glad to see something happening for Earth Day.

“There is a real need for people to understand how to save the environment,” Bloomington resident Nancy Wroblewski said.