The Parkland College is preparing to mark Earth Week (April 16-22) with a variety of events. The purpose of Earth Week is to promote awareness and appreciation of the planet's natural environment, culminating in Earth Day on April 22.
Events planned at include a half-hour "lights out" at all campuses on Thursday, April 19. All non-essential lighting will be turned off from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. In addition, staff and students will be encouraged to form clean-up crews at that time to collect garbage and litter from their campuses and communities. And there will also be draws for Earth Day t-shirts and water bottles.
In 2009, Parkland College and other members of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges signed onto the Pan-Canadian Protocol for Sustainability. The agreement formalizes the colleges' commitment to establishing sustainability policies, integrating sustainability principles in work practices, and to working collaboratively with government, business, and the community to develop and implement joint strategies to move society toward sustainability.
As a result the local college undertakes several initiatives aimed at helping the environment including cutting back on paper use, scanning documents as opposed to faxing or copying, reducing staff travel, limiting the use of disposable cups and cutlery, and promoting the use of refillable water stations.
Several Parkland College staff members also volunteer on the Green Committee, which meets regularly throughout the year. The committee is tasked with making the college a leading member of a sustainable society.
The Green Committee encourages suggestions from staff, students, and the public to help the college implement new ways of becoming more environmentally friendly.
