Earth Day Roundup: Detroit's Green Stuff

So, if you didn't already know, Wednesday is Earth Day. That means take a break from your pollutin' ways and give ol' mother earth a breather. No, just kidding, you're all already doing such things, right?

Below is the list green stuff going on in Detroit for a green week.

The Right to Food Security
April 21, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Attend a lecture at the Law School's Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium by Cecilia Rocha, nutrition professor at Ryerson University. Assessing the social efficiency of food security initiatives and programs, Rocha will discuss efforts of a Brazilian city to assure the right to food security for all residents through a comprehensive set of policies and programs.

Reuse and Recycle -- Free Travel Mugs of Coffee
April 21, 8-11 a.m.
Representatives from the WSU Dean of Students Office, in cooperation with Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority, will be on Gullen Mall providing information on how disposable coffee cups can harm the environment and how brewing coffee at home saves money. Free travel mugs filled with coffee will be available.

DDOT Rapid Transit Rail Project Presentation
April 21, 7 - 8 p.m., Room 289, Student Center Building
The Detroit Department of Transportation will discuss the DTOGS (Detroit Transit Options for Growth) Project. Learn about the plan to build a light rail line along Woodward Avenue from downtown to Eight Mile Rd. DDOT representatives also will answer questions.
 
Alternate Forms of Transportation in Metro Detroit and Save Gas with Bicycle Transportation
April 21, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Gullen Mall
The Detroit Department of Transportation, SEMCOG and SEAL (Student Environmental Action Leaders) of Wayne State will sponsor an informational event. Learn about alternative transportation in metro Detroit. SEAL members will be available to discuss the group's efforts to create a more environmentally friendly campus.
Also, The Hub of Detroit, a bicycle repair and re-use shop near the WSU campus, in cooperation with WSU's Student Environmental Action Leaders organization, will demonstrate various bicycle products and offer tips on cycling and how to purchase an appropriate bike at Gullen Mall on campus. There will be demonstrations of a "tall bike," and even a bicycle-powered blender? Information will be available on how to safely and effectively commute by bicycle. The Hub has a community service program called Back Alley Bikes.


RecycleHere! Shop
April 22, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
It's recycling drop off day and the newly expanded RecycleHere! shop is open. Look greener with artist Carl Oxley's Bee Green hoodies (pictured above), $35 available at the shop, 1331 Holden Ave. Call (313) 876-0449 for more info.

Green Drinks In Detroit
April 22, 6 p.m.
For the first time Green Drinks, an international event that brings environmental enthusiasts of all kinds together for networking, will take place in Detroit at the Majestic Cafe. And it makes sense that it's kicking off on Earth Day.  So celebrate the earth with a green drink on this green day (almost sounds like St. Patty's Day -- without the parade).

Henry Ford Community College
April 22, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
The SEA Student Environmental Association is hosting a big Earth Day event -- not in the city limits, we know, but pretty close. Bands, speakers, event tables, and some off campus environmental organizations -- such as Sierra Club, PBS, and the Detroit Zoo -- will be on hand.

Ecology Expert David Suzuki to Speak on 'Saving our Planet'
April 23, 9:30 a.m.
In a special Earth Week presentation, David Suzuki, award-winning scientist, broadcaster and sustainable ecology expert, will speak on "Saving Our Planet: The Challenge of the 21st Century." The lecture, sponsored by WSU's Forum on Contemporary Issues in Society (FOCIS) program, will be in Community Arts Auditorium.
Admission is free. Containers will be available for attendees to deposit recyclable plastic, paper, batteries, cell phones and light bulbs. RSVP at http://focis.wayne.edu/rsvp/

Sounds of the Earth Concert
April 23, 6 p.m.
The WSU FOCIS program and the Music Department will present Sounds of the Earth, special performances of rhythm, rhyme and the spoken word dedicated to planet Earth. The WSU Wind Symphony, conducted by Douglas Bianchi, will perform. The program will feature the premier performance of WSU professor and composer James Hartway's ". . . of birds, bears and butterflies. . ." RSVP at http://focis.wayne.edu/sustainability/sounds-earth.php

Comcast Cares Day
April 25, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Motor City Blight Busters will work with Comcast
employees and "Bigs and Littles" from Big Brothers Big Sisters of
Metropolitan Detroit to rebuild Detroit neighborhoods through
landscaping, painting and clean up projects. This year, volunteers
will transform a vacant lot into an urban garden, planting vegetables
and flowers. Other volunteers will work to renovate the computer lab
by installing computers and painting the lab. Events are at
17405 Lahser in Detroit.

Metro Detroit Earth Day Events:
Earth Day events out of the city, throughout metro Detroit, can by found in Development News editor Kelli B. Kavanaugh's Green Space column in Metromode here.