SCC Celebrates Earth Day Sunday, April 22

Somerset Community College (SCC) will host its annual Earth Day Celebration on Sunday, April 22 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event, a collaboration between SCC and Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, will feature a fun and educational day packed full of activities, wildlife exhibits and green demonstrations. Activities will be held on the SCC Somerset Campus North, located at 808 Monticello Street, Somerset. The event is free and open to the public.

Some of the old favorites from past years are returning and new activities and demonstrations have been added. A sample of events includes:

o Run for the Red Buds Fun Run at 1 p.m. with T-shirts available for the first 75 registered individuals
o Kentucky Reptile Zoo
o Butterfly house, with a limited number of Painted Lady caterpillars to adopt
o Southwestern High School Raptor Rehabilitation program
o Geo-caching and how to find hidden objects on the SCC Nature Trail
o Biology of bears, bees and Buck Creek
o Information on innovative technology such as hybrid engines and management solutions
o Demonstrations on good environmental practices
o Demonstrations by local and state businesses on green building products
o Somerset High Schools light bulb exchange
o SCC Fruit of the Lens Photography Club will present awards for the annual photo contest
o Face painting by cosmetology students
o Scavenger hunt and much more

Animal displays will include a large aquarium filled with native aquatic species to demonstrate life below the water line. Another display will feature amphibians that are commonly found along streams and hiding under leaf litter. In terms of domestic animals, a presentation on raising chickens will demonstrate the complete process from egg to hen.

Hybrid car technology will be on display, from the actual vehicles to a deconstructed hybrid engine with explanations provided by Sam Collier, Gateway Community and Technical College associate professor of Auto Technology. An electric car will also be available for viewing.

SCC instructors Roberta Barbalace and Randy Flanary have collaborated with students to bring demonstrations of straw bale home construction techniques. Other students will demonstrate wind power and community farming approaches.

The SCC PRIDE Club will have 35 gallon rain barrels for sale. The barrels were constructed as part of a service learning project by SCC students enrolled in instructor Gary Shermans biology class and decorated by students in instructor Darlene Libbys art class. Students will also be on hand to demonstrate how to make your own rain barrels at home.

There will be three different musical groups performing at Earth Day. Sogo Drums, which is an African drumming band, will be entertaining the crowd in between sets performed by two local bands, One Way and Blackheart.

Food will be prepared by Met Sergin, SCC Culinary Arts Instructor with the help of his students and members of the SCC Samothrace Club. The food prepared will model an earth friendly diet. Come early to enjoy the samplings of Sergin and the culinary arts students.

There will also be conservation demonstrations by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Pulaski County Conservation District, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife and University of Kentucky Ag Extension Agent Jerry Hash. Members of local farmers markets will be selling their products and naturalist Nancy Seaberg will bring a touch table and information on the Appalachia Grow project.

A discussion of the importance of heirloom plants will accompany the distribution of free heirloom tomato seedlings. The plants will be transplanted into newspaper pots that you can make yourself to practice the three important Rs reduce, reuse, recycle.

Several Brownie and Girl Scout troops will provide information and activities throughout the day. They will be joined by students from several elementary and middle school students, such as Somerset Christian Schools and Meece Middle School.

The Somerset Community College photography club, Fruit of the Lens, will also be awarding cash prizes for the annual amateur photography contest. The contest is accepting entries until April 15 and entries can be emailed to fruitofthelensphotographyclub@gmail.com. Additional information on the photo contest can be found at www.lakecumberlandliving.com.

Somerset Community College would like to acknowledge all the community partners who are helping with the Earth Day Celebration. Many thanks go to Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, Pulaski County Public Library and Girl Scouts of Wilderness Road Council.

Come and spend the afternoon on the Somerset Community College Campus and discover ways be become better stewards of our planet. For more information on Earth Day, contact Professor Loris Sherman at 606-451-6855.