Camarillo, Calif., April 15, 2015 – CSU Channel Islands (CI) enters Earth Week with a national award and an Earth Day celebration that grew from one booth in 2014 into a 30-display extravaganza in 2015.
Earth Week lasts from April 20 through April 24 with Earth Day falling on April 21 and Arbor Day on April 24.
On Tuesday, April 21, CI’s Central Mall area will feature the “Dare to Live Bare” Earth Day Extravaganza from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The first CI Earth Day Extravaganza in 2014 consisted of one booth. But this year, aerial arts performers will twirl in the sky while guests can visit 30 earth-friendly exhibits such as Oxnard’s Community Roots Garden; Tesla Motors and Wholly Hemp, a Camarillo-based skin care product line that contributes 25 percent of its profits to developing countries.
Students in CI’s University Experience Program are responsible for creating this year’s celebration. CI lecturer Jessica Hasson taught a course in which 22 students spent the semester planning for the event, which also includes yoga, henna tattoos, tie-dye stations, a trading post, a deejay and human bowling.
The students came up with the “Dare to Live Bare” theme, which challenges citizens to seek ways to live in concert with the earth, rather than against it.
“The students are calling people to adopt a conscientious way of living,” Hasson explained. “Dare to return to the bare necessities, inviting people to work with the earth, not against it.”
The last day of Earth Week, Arbor Day, on April 24, carries special meaning for the campus, too. For the third year in a row, the Arbor Day Foundation has named CI a “Tree Campus” in honor of its commitment to planting and nurturing its trees.
Tree Campus USA is a national program launched in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota to honor colleges and universities that promote healthy trees and encourage students, staff and faculty to join in the conservation effort.
CI was the first of the 23 CSU campuses to earn the Tree Campus USA designation in 2013. This year the campus was one of 245 recognized nationwide.
“Over the past quarter, the Grounds department has continued to establish the additional plantings that were installed this past autumn,” said Raudel Bañuelos, Director of Facility Support for CI. “Including the 516 trees planted during the Alcoa Foundation and American Forests Global ReLeaf event.”
The ReLeaf Event is an annual tree-planting initiative sponsored by the Alcoa Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Alcoa, in partnership with American Forests Global Releaf.
CI has 2500 trees of 123 different species in its cultivated areas. The Grounds department plans to continue refreshing the campus landscape during the spring by filling empty planters and replacing trees that did not grow successfully.
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About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands(CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting CI's Social Media.