Earth Day celebration highlights steps to 'greener' campus

Love the earth every day, not just one day out of the year. This was the message that members of the Lehigh community hoped to share during this year’s Earth Day celebration.

The event highlighted steps the Lehigh community is taking to become a “greener” campus, and demonstrated changes individuals can make every day to create a healthier planet.

Sunny skies and live music on the University Center lawn Tuesday enticed the Lehigh and local communities to taste organic smoothies, learn about biodiesel and geothermal energy, understand the importance of composting and recycling, and even spend time with three visiting alpacas.

The annual event brought extra cause for celebration this year, as Earth Day enters its 40th year. One of the highlights of the event included a hand-sewn flag flown over Bethlehem during the first Earth Day in 1970. The flag was sewn by Patricia Chase, director of facilities planning, when she was a junior in high school.

As a lasting contribution to the day’s environmental efforts, Lehigh President Alice P. Gast participated in a ceremony planting a white birch tree—native to the local area—outside Linderman Library.