Wayne State University's Office of Campus Sustainability (OCS) will host several events in honor of Earth Week, April 18-22.
On Thursday, April 21, the OCS will celebrate its new office, located at 5425 Woodward, and showcase all things green and sustainable around campus during an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The OCS's focus areas include recycling, greening of transportation, energy concerns and solution; and academic engagement.
"The purpose of the OCS is to provide a unifying space for WSU insiders, as well as those from the surrounding urban community, to gather and develop sustainable solutions to campus and regional focus issues," said Carol Miller, professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "We're excited to welcome the public and campus community to our new facility during the Earth Week observance."
Wayne State's Earth Week festivities culminate on Earth Day, Friday, April 22, with a presentation by John Hartig, refuge manager of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Hartig, a limnologist with more than 30 years of experience in natural resources management and environmental science, will discuss his book Burning Rivers: Revival of Four Urban-Industrial Rivers that Caught on Fire. The book examines the condition of rivers at the time of the fires and the work that it took to restore them. The lecture is scheduled at the OCS from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
For more information about WSU's Office of Campus Sustainability or Earth Week events, contact Daryl Pierson at (313) 577-5068.
WSU experts available at this event to discuss environmental topics:
Carol Miller - Miller, who serves on the International Joint Commission Great Lakes Science Advisory Board, is an active water resources researcher focusing on both surface and subsurface water quality and quantity. She is especially active in urban environmental issues. She helped launch the Urban Watershed Environmental Research Group, which works to save, protect and improve what's left of the urban pockets of fresh water throughout the Great Lakes region.
Kami Pothukuchi - Pothukuchi is an associate professor of urban planning and director of the Wayne State SEED program, which builds sustainable food systems on the WSU campus and in Detroit communities. Pothukuchi is available to discuss how SEED Wayne works in partnership with community-based organizations promoting access to healthy foods, urban agriculture, farm-to-institution, and food planning and policy development.
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Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.