University of the Ozarks plans to celebrate Earth Week 2013 with a variety of events ranging from lectures to art shows to festivals, all promoting environmental issues and awareness.
Earth Week 2013, April 12-19, will kick off Friday, April 12, at 6 p.m. with the Ozarks Variety Show, a talent show featuring an assortment of acts by Ozarks students. It will be held at Legion Island on Spadra Creek in downtown Clarksville.
The variety show acts as the official opener of the city’s Spring Greening Festival, which continues Saturday, April 13, with live music, great food, booths by local vendors and student organizations, and the "Book It Downtown" 5K race benefiting the Johnson County Library.
On-campus Earth Week events begin Monday, April 15, with an Environmental Economics presentation at 11 a.m. in Baldor Auditorium, followed by the annual tree planting ceremony, hosted by the Planet Club and Dr. Douglas Jeffries, on the campus mall at noon. Later that afternoon there will be a Spadra clean-up event hosted by Ozarks Outbackers, starting at 4 p.m.
Several guest speakers will be on campus throughout the week offering a wide-range of lectures and presentations concerning stewardship of the earth.
On Tuesday, April 16, the Planet Club will host John Pennington from the Arkansas Earth Day Foundation at noon in the Ozarks Outdoors Basecamp and Lynne Slater from H.A.W.K (Helping Arkansas’ Wild Kritters) at 6 p.m. in the Baldor Auditorium.
Wednesday, April 17, will feature the annual Earth Day Chapel service, led by Dr. Delia Hoak of the Illinois River Watershed Program. That night, recycled art and nature photography take center stage in the Rogers Conference Center with the Recycled Art/Nature Photo Exhibit at 6 p.m., followed by the Recycled Fashion Show at 7 p.m. The fashion show features dress models in outfits made entirely of recycled materials.
The week wraps up with Greg Pool of Wal-Mart, hosted by Phi Beta Lambda, speaking about renewable energy and emissions at noon on Thursday, April 18, in Baldor Auditorium.
Friday, April 19, offers an opportunity to get back to nature and enjoy a little outdoor exercise with Campus Activities Board’s rock climbing wall on the campus mall, followed by an Ozarks Outbackers camping trip and cleanup at Horsehead Lake. The camping trip group will leave from Ozarks Outdoors BaseCamp at 4 p.m.
A full schedule of events is below. For more information about any of the week’s activities, contact Lauren Ray at lray103@ozarks.edu.