On Thursday, University of Nebraska-Lincoln student groups, local businesses and campus political organizations will congregate on the Nebraska Union Plaza to celebrate Earth Day.
Chelsea Phillippe, a senior environmental studies major and member of Ecology Now, organized UNL's events for the third year in a row.
The theme of this year's festivities is "local community and educating students about what's in the Lincoln community," she said.
About 40 participating groups will be set up at booths during the day starting at 9 a.m. and will feature activities such as a climbing wall, free haircuts by a local salon and a paper-making machine in which visitors can see the process by which pulp is reconstituted into recycled paper.
Linda Witfoth, a manager at Eyes of the World Imports, said she will have jewelry, decor for residence hall rooms, bamboo plants and wooden sculptures at her booth.
"Eyes of the World has always been earth-conscious," Witfoth said. "Half of us have children and we want them to have renewable resources in the future."
John Ellis, a manager and co-owner of Centerville Farmer's Market, a cooperative that features the produce of local family farms, said he decided to join in the Earth Day celebration to promote local products.
He said he wanted to teach people to "make that connection from rural to urban."
"So much of the food we eat is produced far away," Ellis said.
From 8 to 11 p.m, SPECTRUM, Mexican American Students Association and Amnesty International will be selling "Pancakes for Peace." A plate of pancakes will cost $3, and proceeds will go toward the education of young women in Afghanistan.
Ryan Fette, a junior Spanish major, said the groups wanted to do something constructive, rather than protest the war.
The Earth Day Film Festival will be tonight from 6:30 to 11:30 in the union auditorium and will feature five films, including "Winged Migration."
Phillippe said students should take a minute to reflect on what Earth Day is about. Students also should actively participate in Earth Day, she said, by doing something like recycling.
To her, Earth Day is about "respecting our environment and doing what you can to make it better."
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