Local events will roll out the green carpet for Earth Day

With a goal of teaching people to make more environmentally sustainable choices, several local colleges and the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve will be commemorating Earth Day with a series of events next week.

Earth Day, first celebrated in 1970, is observed every April 22 with events around the world to show support for environmental protection and sustainable resources and practices.

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Golden West College in Huntington Beach will host a festival Monday through Thursday on campus at 15744 Goldenwest St., said Javier Venegas, executive president of Associated Students of Golden West College and one of the event’s organizers.

Monday will feature a booth where people can take a pledge to eliminate meat from their diets one day a week. Though the effort is part of a national movement called Meatless Monday, Venegas said people are invited to eliminate meat any day of the week to help reduce their effect on the environment.

A variety of vendors will have booths Tuesday and Wednesday to provide educational opportunities, and prizes will be given out each day, including Disneyland tickets.

The week will culminate Thursday with Earth Fest, in which guests can munch on free vegan food and participate in activities such as crafting stress balls and planting seeds.

In the past, Golden West had only celebrated Earth Day but decided to have a week of events this year after the Associated Students’ sustainability committee pitched the idea in August.

Daniel Luong, vice president of the committee and lead organizer of the festival, said he hopes the events will “set an example for the next generation.�

Here’s a list of the school’s activities:

Monday

• Meatless Monday: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Student Center stage

Tuesday

• Vendors: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Student Center patio
• Live video conversation with author Beth Terry, who will speak about living a plastic-free life: noon at the Student Center

Wednesday

• Vendors: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Student Center stage
• Student Madrid Ruiz will lead a talk on sustainability: 1 p.m. at the Student Center

Thursday

• Earth Fest: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the central quad
• The Bolsa Chica Conservancy will have a bus parked on campus with an aquarium filled with sea life that people can touch.

UC Irvine

UC Irvine will hold a variety of activities throughout the week, including a tree planting and a sustainable foods fair. The schedule:

Monday

• Art competition in which participants try to make artworks out of waste: 11 am. to 3 p.m. at the Student Center terrace
• Tree planting: noon to 3 p.m. at the Arroyo Vista housing area

Tuesday

• Sustainability fair intended to help people become more involved in the sustainability movement: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Student Center ring and terrace

Wednesday

• Discussion and workshops focusing on the “restorative aspects of natureâ€�: 3 to 6 p.m. at Aldrich Park

Thursday

• Sustainable foods fair, with samples including local edible plants: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Gateway Plaza

Orange Coast College

Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa will host a Green Coast Day on Wednesday on campus at 2701 Fairview Road.

A group of vendors will provide exhibits in the school’s quad from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Representatives of the college’s recycling center and Horticulture Club and Costa Mesa’s Bikeway and Walkability Committee will participate.

Keynote speaker Felicia Vargo-Johnson will give a half-hour talk about plastic pollution and environmental activism at 11 a.m. in the campus’ Robert B. Moore Theatre.

Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve

An annual Earth Day festival will be held April 22 at the Bolsa Chica Conservancy Interpretive Center in Huntington Beach, giving visitors the chance to learn about the unique ecological history of the wetlands.

The free event is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the north parking lot at 3842 Warner Ave.

Guests will be taken on tours of the wetlands and can get close to snakes and other animals.

Food will be available, as well as a bounce house for kids.

For more information, call (714) 846-1114.

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