For immediate release: April 21, 2010

BLOOMSBURG — A variety of speakers, panels and tours will take place Thursday and Friday, April 22 and 23, at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Activities will be held in the amphitheater outside the Scranton Commons as well as the Kehr Union in conjunction with the Frederick Douglass Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Conference. The rain date for outdoor tours will be Tuesday, April 27.

Panels on environmental and social responsibility will be sponsored by the Frederick Douglass Conference. A panel, “Opportunities for Social Responsibility,” will begin Thursday at 3:45 p.m. in Kehr Union Hideaway. Panelists will include Dan Knorr, mayor of Bloomsburg; Wendy Lee, professor of philosophy;

Chef Jesse will demonstrate how to prepare local produce and distribute recipes at the Scranton Common’s vegetarian table Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m.

Also planned are on- and off-campus student tours. Destinations include local organic farms, the university’s steam plant, the Bloomsburg Recycling Center, Geisinger Medical Center’s Henry Hood Center for Rural Health Research and the upper campus location where Aramark’s fryer oil is converted into biofuel and soap.

Friday activities include panels on “green collar” jobs, nuclear power and local biofuel production efforts. Student group tables will be located around the amphitheater and feature food, activities and information.

For more information, contact Tim Pelton, civic engagement coordinator, SOLVE office, (570) 389-5437 or by e-mail.

Bloomsburg University is one of 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The university serves approximately 9,000 students, offering comprehensive programs of study in the colleges of Education, Business, Liberal Arts and Science and Technology.