UWT celebrates Earth Day

In light of Earth Day, UW Tacoma hosted a celebration in honor of the en­vironment and people working to defend it. This event was held April 17 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in William Philip Hall.

Sixteen local organizations set up booths to share information on projects they were doing to support environmen­tal protection efforts. Guests were in­vited to take a tour of the booths and learn about the activism within Tacoma for sustainability.

Amy Boucher, coordinator of the Earth Day celebration and head of the Project Earth group at UWT, wanted to bring awareness to projects dedicated to the conservation of Earth.

“Our Goal for the event was to in­form, empower and ignite action … and that we did!” Boucher said.

During the event, the Husky Green Award winner was also announced. This award recognizes the exemplary achieve­ment of an individual or team from the UW community who have demonstrat­ed leadership, initiative and dedication to campus sustainability.

The 2018 award was extended to Stanley Joshua, the director of facilities services, and Jim Gawel, an associate professor of environmental chemistry.

Organizations in attendance includ­ed Project Earth — a student led organi­zation at UWT that meets Tuesdays at 3 p.m. in SCI 104. As found on the UWT website, Project Earth’s mission is “to promote an awareness of environmental and community issues on campus and within our community by bringing to­gether students who are dedicated to the conservation, protection and improve­ment of the environment.”

Other participating organizations included ForeverGreen Trails, who are working to establish a protected trail system in Pierce County, 350 Tacoma, a movement aiming to shutdown fossil fuel use in Tacoma, and Earth Corps.

Dan Enbysk, South Sound project manager with Earth Corps, explained what the organization is all about.

“We have a core program where stu­dents all over the country and all over the world come and spend a year learn­ing about how to become good leaders and stewards of the environment,” En­bysk said. “We also have a standard vol­unteer program that takes places around the Puget Sound, the program here in­volves restoring spaces around Tacoma.”

As guests entered the hall, they were asked to write out ways they practice sustainability in their everyday lives. An­swers included using public transporta­tion, using reusable plastics and recycling.

Charissa Wong, a senior at UWT, had not originally planned to go to the Earth Day celebration, but stumbled upon the event and took interest.

“We only have one Earth, it’s impor­tant to act on its behalf,” Wong said.

For more info or to become involved in UWT’s
sustainablility efforts, contact Amy Boucher at
ab10@uw.edu