On Wednesday April 18, UNC Charlotte celebrated Earth Day by hosting its ninth annual Earth Day Festival. Approximately 16 booths representing local and state organizations and businesses were set up around the Belk Tower. Even some local wildlife showed up.

Gail Thomas of the UNC Charlotte Recycling Office organized this year’s festival in order to increase student awareness and participation in Earth Day. The ultimate goal was to increase student concern about protecting the environment.

Thomas said, “UNC Charlotte is doing okay. We’re recycling 30 percent of our waste. The programs are in place, we just need more participation.”

Lee Arnold of the UNC Charlotte Recycling Office was very enthusiastic about the festival. He helped students have fun by giving away prizes to students who could make a shot in his “Styro-Hoop” game. The game attracted students who shot a big bag of Styrofoam material into a recycling bin in order to win free Frisbees and mugs.

Arnold said, “Happily, we’re not the only ones in Charlotte celebrating Earth Day today. Last year, we were the only Earth Day celebration.”

Some of the organizations represented at this year’s festival were the Department of Environmental Protection, the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, the Mecklenburg Soil and Water Conservation District, the UNC Charlotte Campus Green Party, the Charlotte Amateur Astronomer’s Club and the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation’s Division of Natural Resources.

Holly Blankenship, an environmental educator with Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation, brought a few friends along to the Earth Day Festival. One was an orange and red corn snake, which Blankenship had to keep warm due to the cold temperature outside. The reptile stayed nice and warm wrapped around Blankenship inside her coat for most of the festival. She also brought along a snapping turtle, an eastern box turtle, and a salamander.

Other groups from UNC Charlotte helped out at this year’s Earth Day Festival, too. The Installation Art Class, taught by Ann Klutz, created four exhibits to help inform students about the environment and to help promote recycling. Two concert jazz bands performed outside of the Rowe Arts building in order to draw more students to the festival and to promote their upcoming concert.

Lisa Jillani with People Advocating Vaccine Education (PAVE) also set up a booth at the festival to inform students about getting proper vaccinations.

Although PAVE is not directly involved with environmental protection, according to Jillani, “If there are no people, there’s no Earth Day.”