printable versionSustainability festival set for April 14
Alumnus Denis Hayes, coordinator of first Earth Day, to talk
A festival celebrating Stanford's sustainability efforts will be held Tuesday, April 14, near the bookstore, on Meyer Lawn. Alumnus Denis Hayes, coordinator of the first Earth Day, will be the keynote speaker at the noontime event, which also will feature music and information about student and campus sustainability groups, academic and research programs, and the history of Earth Day (April 22).
The festival will lead up to student-driven events during the week of Earth Day and will begin with a short welcome by the Woods Institute for the Environment, which is co-sponsoring the event with Sustainable Stanford and Students for a Sustainable Stanford. Fahmida Ahmed, manager of sustainability programs, will review Stanford's efforts and achievements, and student leaders will give closing remarks.
According to Ahmed, the event's focus on sustainability is timely because conservation of natural resources is a concept that is both hopeful and sensible during the nation's current economic crisis. She said Hayes' presence is intended to emphasize the intergenerational efforts toward sustainability, and he will discuss the founding of Earth Day, the progress the movement has since made and what advice he has for today's student leaders.
Hayes, who served as national coordinator of the first Earth Day in 1970, is currently the president and chief executive officer of the Bullitt Foundation, which advocates for environmental protection and sustainability practices in the Pacific Northwest. Hayes also directed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory under President Jimmy Carter's administration.
The festival, which runs until 1 p.m., is free and open to the public. Meyer Lawn is bordered by the Stanford Bookstore, Barnum Center and Meyer Library. Organizers ask that those wishing to attend RSVP to sustainable-rsvp@lists.stanford.edu.