Earth Day events planned at Avery Point, Storrs

The University will celebrate Earth Day with collaborative events at its Storrs and Avery Point campuses on April 21-22.

The Avery Point Earth Day celebration will take place Monday, April 21, from noon to 2 p.m. on the gazebo lawn. The event will move to Branford House if it rains.

Activities will include: a free locally grown organic lunch, tree planting ceremony, hybrid car display, kite flying competition, information booths, and free compact fluorescent light bulbs.

The Storrs Earth Day Spring Fling will take place all day Tuesday, April 22, the official Earth Day, with a celebration on Fairfield Way from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The rain date will be April 30.

Events will include: a locally grown and organic cook-out featuring local burgers, hotdogs, mushroom burgers, Mountain Dairy milk, and UConn ice cream; live music from noon-1 p.m.; alternative energy displays and free bike tune-ups; educational tables featuring various organizations, including the Willimantic Waste Paper Co., which will collect plastic bags for recycling; games, including a recycling relay and “think outside the bottle tap vs. bottled water taste test;” an outdoor market featuring locally grown organic food and eco-friendly clothing vendors; sneaker recycling collection outside Gampel Pavilion.

Also, a sustainable living fair will be held all day at the UConn Co-op. All talks are free. To reserve a seat, call 860-486-5027.

Featured speakers and topics include: Dorion Sagan, “Notes from the Holocene;” Beth Byron (Connecticut Clean Energy Fund), on growing vegetables; “Growing Vegetables You Don’t Have to Plant Every Year;” “Easy Effective Composting;” and “Everything you Want to Know About Farmer’s Markets.” An eco-fashion show with live music will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. Fashions will be provided by sustainable clothing designers.

A recycled art competition, where visitors can check out submissions and choose the winner, will be held at Benton Museum.

For more information about the Avery Point Earth Day Celebration, contact the Office for Student Activities at 860-405-9014.

More information about the Storrs Earth Day Spring Fling is available on the EcoHusky website.