“A healthy planet starts with a healthy self” is the inspiration behind this year’s annual Earth Day Festival at UC Santa Cruz.
The festival will wrap up UCSC’s Earth Week activities and is scheduled to be held on April 22 at the Oakes Lower Lawn from 12–5 p.m.
“The Earth Day Festival culminates a week of sustainable events,” said Samuel Moll, festival organizer and environmental programs coordinator for the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Internship Program.
Hosted by College Eight, the event is sponsored by the Student Environmental Center (SEC) and the Education for Sustainable Living Program (ESLP). The event is open to the public and there is no cost to attend the zero-waste festival and all activities, which include meditation instruction and the OPERS rock wall. A free lunch will also be provided by the ESLP with donations provided by Alba Organics and Staff of Life.
The festival will feature over 18 campus organizations advocating different environmental causes. Several of the event’s activities, which include instruction in hypnotherapy, tai chi, yoga and self-care workshops, will take place in a geodesic dome.
Local bands Fossil Traits, Boostive, the Weatherveins and the Abbot Family Band will take the stage for live performances powered by the audience, who will generate electricity through bike pedaling. Energy-generating bikes were purchased from Berkeley-based bike energy company, Rock the Bike, with a grant from the SEC.
Moll said he hopes students will come out for Earth Day and gain a better understanding of how they can lead more sustainable lives through simple commitments.
“The term sustainable is used so much and we are constantly being berated on reusable bags and bottles, eating local, no-GMOs, et cetera — which are all important issues, but their prevalence causes most of us to block them out of our heads,” Moll said. “The media frenzy tells us to do so much that we do not take care of ourselves. Earth Day will show how living simply is the best solution.”
