Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College is hosting the fourth annual Sustainability Awareness Week on campus beginning Monday, October 24, through Friday, October 28. Activities and guest speakers each day of the week will provide opportunities for students and community members to learn more about sustainability issues, as well as how to lead an environmentally-conscious lifestyle.
The week will be filled with events that illustrate this year’s theme “Leveraging your Institution.” Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College has partnered with Lake Superior College, the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and the Natural Resources Research Institute to highlight sustainability initiatives on all of the campuses.
“Sustainability is currently a popular topic in the news and within organizations across the country,” said Courtney Kowalczak, director of the Environmental Institute at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. “Our Sustainability Awareness Week continues the conversation but takes an extra step forward in highlighting what colleges can do with the power of students. Students are working on projects which make a difference on campus and in the community. We hope to inform and inspire more people to do the same, regardless of how small or how large the effort might be.”
At 6:00 p.m. on Monday, October 24, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College is presenting speaker Gerald Hayes, the Honey Bee Health Lead for Monsanto Corporation’s newly formed BioDirect business unit. Long considered a national expert on honey bees, Dr. Hayes has worked more than 35 years in the Apiculture industry, emphasizing a goal of creating sustainable honey bee management practices while partnering with other segments of agriculture.
The rest of the week features speakers and activities highlighting work being done on sustainability issues at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and in the region.
On Tuesday, there will be a free screening of People of a Feather at noon in the auditorium. According to the film’s producers, the film sheds light on “the world of the Inuit on the Belcher Islands in Canada’s Hudson Bay, connecting past, present and future in a unique relationship with the Eider Duck. Eider down, the warmest feather in the world, allows both Inuit and bird to survive harsh Arctic winters.” In the evening, the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Office of Sustainability will host a s’mores social that will start at 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 26, features a panel discussion at 11:00 a.m. at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. Representatives from three college campuses (UMD, Lake Superior College, and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College) will talk about their campus sustainability projects ranging from solar panel installations to greening up landscapes. This panel will be followed by a potluck lunch in the commons at noon. The Natural Resource Research Institute will host a tour of cutting-edge sustainability practices at their facility in the afternoon.
Thursday, October 27, will offer a 3:00 p.m. tour of the Fond du Lac Band’s solar farm located behind Black Bear Casino. The evening special event will be at 6:00 p.m. in the amphitheater at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, featuring a free performance and film by Children of the Wild, followed by discussion of their unique work as a touring ensemble theater focused on environmental issues.
Every day during Sustainability Awareness Week will feature fun and educational activities including scavenger hunts, geocache events, informational displays, and a trash art contest.
All events are free and open to the public. For more information and a detailed schedule, contact Courtney Kowalczak at 218-879-0862.