The UTRGV Office of Sustainability will host Earth Fest Wednesday on the Brownsville campus and Thursday on the Edinburg campus to show support for environmental protection.
Every year is a different theme to commemorate Earth Day. This year it is space, water and energy.
“It’s all about connecting, collaborating, contributing to a better future, better quality of life and a part of that system is the environmental system,” said Marianella Franklin, UTRGV chief sustainability officer.
“So on this day, we celebrate that environmental system and we talk about some of the research that’s being conducted in order to move in that direction,” Franklin said. “We talk about some of the concerns as well, but most of all, we try to connect with each other and connect to our passions to actually contribute to a better quality of life. And so what better place to do this than at an institution that’s really committed to sustainable development, committed to a better society, better economy and better environment.”
The daylong event is separated into three parts. The celebration starts with a symposium from 9 a.m. to noon in the Ballroom on the Edinburg campus and in El Gran Salon on the Brownsville campus. It includes breakfast and a chance to meet and talk with the guest speakers before their presentations: Humberto Sanchez, a former NASA engineer; Isaac Azuz Adeath, a professor from the University of Ensenada in Mexico; Matthew Garcia, senior science and technology policy fellow from the U.S. Energy Department; and Abraham Quiroga, Business & Employee Development Division manager for Magic Valley Electric Cooperative.
Humberto Sanchez’s presentation is titled “Sustainability and Space.” NASA hired him in 1980 and he used to work in the Constellation’s Operations and Test Integration office.
“We have [a] former NASA engineer coming to talk to us a little about space and sustainability and the research of space and how it helps us understand a little bit better about the natural resources that are being depleted on our planet,” Franklin said. “It also helps us understand what’s happening out in space and some of what is happening with reference to research in space with reference to water and food systems for space and other planets.”
Adeath will give a presentation titled “Water Hydrology.” Since water is a natural resource that is being depleted, he will talk about projects and research that are conducted to capture and recycle water.
“He will be presenting the influence of climate variability and climate change on hydrological regime,” said Devon Hernandez, a program coordinator for the Office of Sustainability.
On Wednesday, Garcia will be at the Brownsville campus and on Thursday, Quiroga will be on the Edinburg campus. Both speakers will talk about energy. Garcia will talk about the connection between energy and advanced manufacturing and how we are going into more renewable energy in advanced manufacturing.
“These three different speakers are here to … share how these topics are interconnected when we make reference to saving our planet and protecting our planet,” Franklin said. “You know when we’re celebrating Earth Fest, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
In between presentations, there will be a fashion show, a poster session by Engaged Scholarship and Learning program, and a presentation by the South Texas Industrial Assessment Center.
Students from Incarnate Word Academy in Brownsville will conduct a “Star Wars”-themed fashion show using recycled materials.
Engaged Scholarship and Learning will display posters that have sets of goals for sustainable development from the United Nations. Included are goals that the UN adopted to “balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.”
“It’s going to be a really good chance to start a conversation about what it is and how they’re helping, even though they didn’t know they were helping,” Franklin said.
An Expo Fest follows the symposium from noon to 2 p.m. in the Chapel Lawn on the Edinburg campus and the Union Lawn on the Brownsville campus, where students can meet with representatives from nonprofit organizations such as the National Butterfly Center, South Texas Nature, Weslaco Nature Center and businesses such as Home Depot and Staples.
The Environmental Awareness Club, the Medical Brigades from Brownsville and the UTRGV Coastal Studies Lab are some of the campus organizations that will join the fair. The fest is a chance for students to learn about services and products in the Rio Grande Valley that help the environment. The department of Parking and Transportation Services will showcase the Bike Share Program.
A dinner and a movie from 6 to 8 p.m. in the International Trade and Technology Building on the Edinburg campus and in El Gran Salon on the Brownsville campus will end the Earth Fest. “Episode 6: Winds of Change,” from the National Geographic’s “Years of Living Dangerously,” will feature America Ferrera talking about clean energy and the “battle over the future of renewable energy in the United States.”
The fest is open to the public. For more information, call 665-3030 or email sustainability@utrgv.edu.
