Montgomery County Community College to host virtual Earth Day celebration
Earth Day is April 22 and Montgomery County Community College is doing its part to celebrate and protect the planet by hosting a series of virtual presentations promoting sustainability and Earth-friendly practices.
A live online event will be held Thursday, April 22, from noon to 1 p.m. on Zoom.
The event will include three presentations: “Mobility Planning During COVID-19 and Beyond” featuring Stacey Weiss, Greater Valley Forge Transportation Demand Management Association – TDM Manager; a presentation about the Tree Nursery/Health Science Center Rain Garden, featuring Phil Capinski, Supervisor of Grounds; and “Sustainable Community Engagement” with Heather Schmidt, Spillman Farmer.
The online event is free and open to the community.
“It’s all good information for folks since we’ve been disconnected for the past year,” said Information Services Specialist, Linda Pileggi, who is coorganizing Earth Day activities with Angela Cavaliere, manager of digital usability.
“I think for us it’s really incredible how many partners there are in our area that are Earth-friendly and sustainable,” said Cavaliere. “And there’s a laundry list of ways the College honors sustainability that will be cool to share with people.”
“It’s about saving the planet for future generations,” added Pileggi.
Full details are available on the College’s Earth Day landing page at mc3. edu/earthday.
MCCC will celebrate Earth Days in other ways too. MCCC community members will be encouraged to do their part by engaging in Earthfriendly activities, snapping a photo and posting it on Instagram using the hashtag #montcogreen by the end of the week for a chance to win a prize.
MCCC has a longstanding commitment to sustainability. In 2007, MCCC signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment pledge to be carbon neutral by 2050. Since signing the pledge, MCCC has been actively working to reduce its carbon footprint, incorporate sustainability into academic course programming and engage the community in sustainable practices through events like Earth Day, Sustainability Week and lectures.
The Sustainability Council — a team of employees, students, alumni and community residents — leads MCCC’s sustainability efforts. Chaired by MCCC President Victoria L. Bastecki-Perez, with the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Digital Officer Celeste Schwartz acting as her support, the council developed the institution’s Climate Commitment Action Plan.