Vance-Granville Community College will hold Earth Day festivals on Wednesday, April 22, 2015, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County, South Campus in Granville County, and the Franklin County Campus. The public is invited to attend events at any location, which are free of charge and are designed to educate the college and community about conservation and the natural world in a fun, informative setting.
At Main Campus, activities will take place outside around the Gazebo and courtyard areas. VGCC students, staff and faculty will present art, projects, information and demonstrations related to subjects such as environmental science, gardening, alternative energy, sustainable agriculture, organic food, green construction, recycling and wildlife. Special guests participating in the event are scheduled to include Backyard Nursery of Oxford; American Wildlife Refuge of Raleigh; Metech Recycling, a national electronics recycling company with a site in Creedmoor; and N.C. State Parks and Recreation. Also, the fourth annual Earth Day 5K Fun Run/Walk will be held on Main Campus to promote both healthier living and a healthier planet. The 5K (approximately 3.1 mile) run/walk is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. and allows participants to enjoy VGCC’s picturesque campus.
At VGCC’s South Campus, located between Creedmoor and Butner, guests will include Metech Recycling; Granville County Sheriff’s Department (collecting old medications); North Carolina Green Power; George’s Famous Chicken & Ribs; Jay Boy Hot Dogs; Hazen & Sawyer P.C.; the Falls Lake Park Ranger; Granville Greenways; Greenology Products; N.C. Forest Service; fourth-graders from Mt. Energy Elementary School; Granville County Soil & Water Conservation; and Granville Health System. All Safe Records will offer a paper shredding service on site, which will shred up to 30 pounds of paper records for $5. Carl Cantaluppi, Area Horticulture Agent in Granville and Person counties with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, will be speaking about “Growing High Value Horticultural Crops” in room G133 from 11 a.m. until noon. Activities will also include a Trash/Recycling Fashion Show and a cardboard box race. Meanwhile, as part of a contest, students in several South Campus classes will create posters depicting environmental concerns related to Earth Day.
At Franklin Campus, located on N.C. 56 near Louisburg, guests are set to include the NCSU College of Natural Resources; Safe Space; the Southern Organic Female Farmers Association (SOFFA); Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation; Metech Recycling; N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Stream Watch program; and the Franklin County Humane Society. Franklin Campus students also will be participating in an art/poster contest and a scavenger hunt, tasting organic chili, sampling edible insects, assembling a storage system for fishing lines, competing in various games, and helping to clean up the local environment with a “Trash Walk.”
For more information on Main Campus activities, contact VGCC science instructor Dr. Dan Settles at (252) 738-3449 or settlesd@vgcc.edu. For more information on South Campus activities, call Geraldine Cash at (252) 738-3506 or e-mail cash@vgcc.edu. For more information on Franklin Campus activities, call Diane Hunt at (252) 738-3600 or e-mail huntd@vgcc.edu.