Princeton to observe Earth Day with series of events today and Saturday

Earth Day hands in the dirt

Princeton University is observing Earth Day with a series of events that are free and open to the public. They include the annual Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 25.

Photo by Brian Wilson

Today is Earth Day, and the Princeton University community is observing the annual global event supporting the environment with a series of events.

The campus Farmers' Market will be held today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the plaza outside Firestone Library and the University Chapel.

Everyone is welcome to participate in a work session from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the student-run Forbes Garden at 79 Alexander Road. Volunteers will plant, water, weed and till as well as harvest kale.

At 4:30 p.m., the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory will host an Earth Day colloquium titled "Efforts in New Jersey to Prepare for a Changing Climate." The featured speaker at the event, at the lab at 100 Stellerator Road in Princeton, will be Jeanne Herb, associate director of the Environmental Analysis and Communications Group at Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.

The main campus Earth Day event will be held between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday on the lawn in front of Frist Campus Center. The Earth Day Celebration sponsored by the Office of Sustainability will include information about Earth Day and sustainability, environment-related performances by student groups, as well as food and drinks. During the event, the winner of this month's "Do It In the Dark" energy-saving competition among residential colleges will be announced.

The Earth Day Celebration is being held in coordination with TruckFest, a food and music event from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday on Prospect Avenue from Washington Road to Roper Lane. Proceeds from the event will be donated to organizations helping the needy and the hungry.

The Earth Day events will be followed Sunday by the annual Communiversity celebration, in which the town of Princeton and the University community come together on campus and Nassau and Witherspoon streets for food, games, performances and other fun. The event will run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Even Communiversity has a dash of sustainability. The annual "Trash ARTstravaganza" contest will be held in which artists of all ages present their works made of recycled materials. Judging will be at 2 p.m. in a tent near Nassau Hall. Information on entering the event is available on the Office of Community and Regional Affairs website.

Admission to all events is free and open to the public.