April 22^nd marked the 45^th annual Earth Day. Earth Month has long been a student organized and student celebrated event. While overall sustainability is the major motivation of Earth Month, this year’s focus centered on local foods.

UNE kicked off the celebration with its annual energy competition, in which residence halls compete to reduce the most energy consumed per student. The winner of this year’s competition was Sokokis Residence Hall, and overall energy reduction from all residence halls totaled 5,130 kWh, an equivalent of half a year’s electricity consumption for a typical home!

The festivities continued with a day-long visit from former Unity College President, Mitchell Thomashow. He attended a morning brunch, multiple classes, and gave a keynote presentation focusing in campus sustainability. Mitchell Thomashow’s visit left a lasting impact on the UNE community, highlighting our current successes and challenges, and expressing that “UNE has great natural capital and potential.”

Other events included multiple movie showings that included local community members, a local food day in Decary Dining Hall, a green game night, and campus cleanup. Earth Month helps unite the UNE community, revive our efforts for sustainability, and provides a creative opportunity for student activism and involvement on campus.