BRIDGEPORT, CT – Housatonic Community College (HCC) is celebrating Earth Day (April 22nd) with a series of engaging activities throughout April, all designed to raise our collective environmental awareness. Initiated by HCC’s STEAM Center of Excellence, with significant support from Pitney Bowes, Avangrid, and Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company, the lineup of fascinating events creates a month-long lesson on protecting our planet.
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) education is a strong focus at HCC. The college offers over 40 associate degree and certificate options, and boasts an innovative STEAM Center of Excellence on campus in Bridgeport, CT. Pitney Bowes, Avangrid, and Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company, are all long-time champion supporters of students in STEAM at HCC, and have helped to make HCC’s STEAM Center of Excellence possible.
With a theme of “Day of Action: Growing Gardens and Building Birdhouses”, all events are presented online and are free of charge. Please visit https://www.housatonic.edu/EarthDay for all events, here is the lineup:
Starting April 9: Three Online Guest Interviews, available online through April 22
HCC Academic Affairs Dean Robin Avant presents “The What, When and Why of Growing Edible Gardens”. As an author of the book The Spirit of Gardening: Gardening for New Bees The life revealed through gardening!, Avant will discuss the basic gardening concepts you need to know for a successful edible garden.
HCC Associate Professor of Nutrition/Biology Janet Yarrow, MS, RDN will discuss “The Future of Foods”. From genetically modified foods to lab-produced meat imitations, our food supply is changing. We are standing at the crossroads of the future of foods – do we take the path of technologically enhanced foods or return back to our roots and embrace regenerative farming practices that honor Mother Earth?
Author Richard Hubbard will discuss his new book, “A Plant Based Journey to Health”. During this interview, Richard shares his personal journey of switching to a fully plant-based diet. He will share what motivated him to make that change, along with the health benefits he experienced.
April 19: Film Screening of “An Inside Look at the Greening of Pitney Bowes”. The environment and sustainability are top priorities at Pitney Bowes, watch how their team’s roles, career journeys and sustainability initiatives put into practice what they preach. The film will be available online through April 22nd.
April 21 – April 22: HCC Students will celebrate Earth Day by painting birdhouses and potting vegetable seedlings. Children enrolled in HCC’s Early Childhood Laboratory School will plant on campus in HCC’s hexagonal raised beds. For safety reasons, these events are closed to the public.
April 22: Film screening of the award-winning film: “The Biggest Little Farm”. With breathtaking cinematography, captivating animals, and an urgent message to heed Mother Nature’s call, the film provides a vital blueprint for better living and a healthier planet. Presented by Housatonic Museum of Art, the film will be available online from April 22 through April 24, and can also be accessed on the museum’s website: www.Housatonicmuseum.org.
“Housatonic has a rich history of celebrating Earth Day, and this year we are proud to continue that tradition. Through these stimulating events, we seek to educate and inspire our entire community to protect the environment, and we are grateful to our generous supporters for helping to make them possible,” said Dr. Dwayne Smith, CEO Housatonic Community College.
“Pitney Bowes is proud of our long-standing partnership with Housatonic Community College and our support of HCC students. Pitney Bowes demonstrates its commitment to sustainability by doing the right thing the right way in our business, and by helping to prepare students for essential careers in the STEAM fields. We are pleased to celebrate and support HCC’s Earth Day and STEAM efforts this year,” said Allison Bresloff, CSP, Pitney Bowes Vice President, Global Environmental, Health & Safety.
Beyond these Earth Day celebratory events, sustainability is emphasized at HCC year-round. The college was named a Certified Wildlife Habitat with the National Wildlife Federation, and participates in an edible campus project that boasts gardens with raised beds, fruit trees, and fruit shrubs that provide a foraging experience for students and supports fresh produce for the cafeteria. Courses in gardening, herbalism and plant civilization complement these efforts.
For questions or more information about these Earth Day events, contact Professor Janet Yarrow via email at jyarrow@hcc.commnet.edu.
