Garden Party, films, dialog and summit address environmental issues
The community is invited to join students, faculty and staff to learn about regional and global environmental issues at San Diego Mesa College’s first annual Sustainability Week celebration, taking place from Tuesday through Friday, October 20-23. Focusing on topics such as food security, water resources, and climate change, Sustainability Week provides participants with opportunities for in-depth discussions and hands-on activities that highlight the contributions the arts, sciences, and humanities have made in helping us understand our planet.
Things kicks off on Tuesday, October 20, with a Garden Party from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Mesa College Organic Garden, located at the P-100 building on Marlesta Drive. In addition to a tour of the garden by the TerraMesa student club, attendees will be treated to live music by Mesa’s World Music Ensemble from 2:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m., spoken word poetry readings, and “Garden of Eden,” an exclusive fashion show by the Mesa College Fashion Club.
Cross-disciplinary dialogues, taking place on Wednesday, October 21, brings together different Mesa classes into an interdisciplinary discussion on topics of sustainability. Held in Room H117 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., faculty members from the different classes will facilitate discussion among student discussion groups.
A film festival on topics of nutrition, environmental sustainability, and sustainable architecture will follow on Thursday in Rooms H117 and SB207. Viewings begin at 9:35 a.m. with the screening of documentaries and feature films including Tapped, Even the Rain, Merchants of Doubt, and Man Made: Ultimate Skyscraper.
Sustainability Week comes to an end on Friday, October 23, with the college’s first Sustainability Summit, which will explore innovative solutions about pressing regional and global issues such as climate change, food security, and water resources. Presenters include Cori Calvert of the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Services, Anahid Brakke of the San Diego Hunger Coalition, and staff members from Pure Water San Diego. There will also be research presentations by student researchers from Mesa College, San Diego State, and UC San Diego, networking opportunities with sustainability-related professionals, and a tour of Mesa College’s LEED Silver-certified Math+Science Complex.
All events are free and open to the public. Those interested in attending the Sustainability Summit are encouraged to RSVP at tinyurl.com/SEEDSsummit. For more information, visit www.sdmesa.edu/SEEDS.
Interested persons and families are also invited to CSI: On the Mesa” – the 1st Annual San Diego Mesa College Math and Science Open House on Saturday, October 24. Held at Mesa College’s state-of-the-art M+S Complex, this inaugural event focuses on a CSI crime theme. For more information, visit sdmesa.edu/calendar.
