Earth Week at WCU: Sidewalk Chalk, Museum Exhibit, and More

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earth day wcu
Image via West Chester University.

The entire West Chester community is invited to Chalk the Walk today with the borough mayor on Earth Day, April 22 (rain date is April 23), in one of the many events West Chester University is hosting for Earth Week.

The chalking event is part of an Earth Day Art Stroll and Digital Art Festival that is being organized by members of the West Chester Green Team and students in a class taught by Megan Schraedley, assistant professor of communications and media.

West Chester Mayor Jordan Norley, who declared April 2021 as Earth Month in the borough, will turn out to help Schraedley and her students as they create environmentally themed messages and sidewalk art in chalk along High Street. He and his children will be at Philips Memorial Building (High Street at University Avenue) at 11 AM to join campus members. Chalking takes place between 11 AM and 4 PM at various borough locations.

Organized primarily by the university’s Office of Sustainability, these Earth Week events are free and open to the public. Visit the Office of Sustainability’s website to conveniently register for one or more of these programs.

Earth Day Museum Exhibit

The long-anticipated opening of the Earth Day at 50: Lessons for a Sustainable Future exhibit in the WCU Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology is finally here! For Earth Week 2021, small, pre-arranged, COVID-safe tours will be offered on April 22 during the day. To reserve a spot, call 610-436-2247 or e-mail museum@wcupa.edu. A virtual tour will also open on April 22.

Originally scheduled to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in April 2020, the exhibit was postponed due to the pandemic.

The exhibition’s centerpiece is a towering, two-story Tree of Life crafted from reclaimed and reused materials, including 1,970 plastic bag “leaves.” That number represents the year of the first Earth Day celebration. Theatre students created the tree from reclaimed and reused materials and several participated in the installation of the tree’s trunk last November. Other features include:

  • dioramas utilizing taxidermy specimens from the Delaware Museum of Natural History
  • an intriguing “anti-Cabinet of Curiosities” where visitors can glimpse products made from protected wildlife confiscated by U.S. Customs
  • an interactive carbon footprint calculator designed by students
  • artifacts from the original Earth Day
  • artwork from acclaimed Native American artist-activists Jaida Grey Eagle, Christi Belcourt, and Isaac Murdoch

Exploring past and present environmental activism, the reality of the current global climate crisis, and sustainable practices for a livable future, the exhibit demonstrates that Earth Day is an empowering reminder that positive actions in daily life can combat the ongoing environmental crisis that humans have created. There is additional information about the exhibit on the museum website.

Designed by 15 museum studies students under museum director Michael A. Di Giovine, associate professor of anthropology, the exhibition is supported by the College of the Sciences and Mathematics, the Office of Sustainability, the Institute on Race and Ethnic Studies, the West Chester Green Team/Sierra Club, and many community members.

Brandywine Project Sustainability Workshop

There are still seats available in the third online Brandywine Project Sustainability Workshop on Friday, April 23 from 8 AM-12 PM. While this workshop will focus on the role of staff members in supporting the university’s sustainability commitments, it is appropriate for WCU faculty and students as well.

Beginning at 11 AM, the focus will turn to the launch of the Green Office Program. Participants can tune in for that segment or the entire workshop.

For more information, contact Amy Maxcy in the Office of Sustainability: amaxcy@wcupa.edu or 610-436-2736.

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