Carleton Invites Community to Celebrate 40th Anniversary of Earth Day

Carleton College will commemorate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with a series of campus and community events, and invites the Northfield community to celebrate this important event.

Wednesday, April 21:

• Carleton College Steam Plant Tour 4 p.m. Meet outside the Carleton Facilities (just North of Sayles Hill campus center) for a tour of how the Carleton steam plant works!

• “Toward a More Sustainable Community: Creating an Eco-Village in Northfield” Dinner and discussion at Carleton’s CANOE House 115 Maple (corner of 2nd Street East), 6:30 p.m. Speaker: Bruce Anderson. RSVP: 222-5195.

• State of the Watershed Address, sponsored by the Cannon River Watershed Partnership 7-8 p.m. Just Food Community Room, 516 Water St South. Find out about the quality of the water in our streams and lakes, find out what local residents, farmers and businesses (and CRWP) are doing to improve it, and learn how you can help! Admission is FREE. Registration is requested by phone or with a Just Food cashier: (507) 650-0106.

Thursday, April 22

• The Carleton College/Northfield Community Turbine Trot A fun run from Carleton to the Carleton wind turbine and back again (about 5 miles) in celebration of Earth Day. Meet behind the Carleton Rec Center at 4:30 p.m. for a lot of fun, plus the chance to win a Just Food gift card.

Friday, April 23:

• Public Tour of the Carleton Wind Turbine Tentative meeting time is 4:30 p.m. (to confirm time, please email holschun@carleton.edu)

• Dinner at Carleton’s Farm House 6:30 p.m. Guest speaker Nancy Braker, Director of the Cowling Arboretum will talk about prairie restoration and the work underway in the Carleton Arb. RSVP 507-222-5224.

• The (4th Annual) Northfield Community Earth Day Contra Dance 7:00 -10:30 p.m. Northfield Armory (517 Division Street) a community dance featuring the music of Contratopia and led by Robin Nelson. Contra dance lesson provided at 7 p.m. (recommended for all participants). Admission is $9 adults; $6 students and youth under the age of 18 ($25 cap per family). All are welcome!!!  Festive Spring dance (swing-ready) attire encouraged! Participation in this dance is recommended for youth 10 years and up (a supervised dance area will be available for children under age 10). For more information, Contact: Suzie Nakasian at northfieldcontradance@gmail.org.

Saturday, April 24:

• Buckthorn Removal Day at the Cannon River Wilderness Area 9 a.m. to noon. Meet in front of Carleton’s Sayles Hill campus center at 9 a.m. to bike to the wilderness area together! Event will be rain or shine! Dress appropriately (long pants and long sleeves) and bring a pair of gloves.

• Transition Northfield Earth Day Celebration 1-4:30 p.m. Central Park (rain location, Northfield Armory) Activities for all ages include crafts for kids, big ball soccer, relay races, entertainment, and the chance to explore what’s happening to promote a sustainable Northfield! Recycling bins available for the collection of used Christmas lights and inkjet cartridges. Sign up for a Community Garden plot, learn how to save energy and help the earth. Music by the Northfield Arts Guild Mexican Folkloric Dance, Musicians from NHS and the Carleton Porch Light Collective. ASL interpreter available. Sponsored by: Transition Northfield, Just Foods Coop, ARTech, The Northfield EQC and Carleton’s ACT. Follow this link for more details: http://transitionnorthfield.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/EarthdayPoster3.pdf, or contact www.transitionnorthfield.org.

• Earth Day/Arbor Day Annual Native Tree Give-away 1- 4:00 p.m. at the Transition Northfield Earth Day Celebration, Central Park. Plant a native tree sapling in honor of Earth Day (April 22) and Arbor Day (April 30)! The Northfield Tree Advisory Group of the Northfield Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) (in collaboration with the MN DNR and the Rice County Department of Forestry) will give away 1,000 native tree saplings to local residents who agree to plant and care for the trees on properties in Northfield. The tree saplings are bare root stock, native tree species cultivated from Minnesota seeds by the MN Department of Natural Resources for Spring planting, and measure approximately 8-12”. Choose from Red, White or Burr Oak, Sugar Maple, and Norway or White Pine saplings (limit four per household).

• Award Winning Documentary Films on the Environment “The Cove” and “Flow: For Love of Water “ will be shown in Olin Hall, Room 103, Carleton Campus. “Flow: For Love of Water” (6:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.) features interviews with water and community activists and explores the business of privatization of water; and “The Cove” (showing at 9:30 p.m.) is an Academy Award-winning documentary about dolphin hunting in Japan. Sponsored by the Student Union Movie Organization (SUMO) (https://apps.carleton.edu/student/orgs/sumo/).