Vicki Robin, Dee Williams Highlight College's Earth Day Event

Author Vicki Robin and activist Dee Williams are set to headline South Puget Sound Community College’s Earth Day Celebration, taking place Thursday, April 23 at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts. The event, which begins at 11 a.m. and runs through 2 p.m., will feature a range of activities, booths, speakers and demonstrations.

Robin and Williams are the featured speakers. Robin, co-author of “Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence,” has been a guest on hundreds of radio and television shows, from National Public Radio to The Oprah Winfrey Show. Called the prophet of "consumption-downsizers" by the New York Times, she is a frequent speaker on this issue at conferences; to corporate, academic, religious and environmental institutions; and at professional meetings of organizations seeking to understand and contribute to the national trend toward sustainable lifestyles.

Williams, who lives in an 84-square-foot home in Olympia, Her story has been featured in a number of publications including Time and Popular Science and on television and radio programs including CBS Good Morning America. Her home, completed in 2004, includes a solar power array, sustainable materials and a primitive water/sewer set-up. In addition to talking about making living more sustainably a reality, Williams will also have her house on display outside the Minnaert Center.

Other activities and displays include a carbon footprint station, allowing visitors to measure their own carbon footprints. Intercity Transit will be on hand, as will South Puget Sound’s Horticulture Club, which will also have free tomato starters on hand on a first-come, first-served basis. The college’s art program will show displays regarding the college’s own footprint, like paper use. Snacks and refreshments will be available as well.

Parking is available on campus, although attendees are encouraged to use alternative forms of transportation for the event, which is put on by South Puget Sound’s Environmental Sustainability Committee in collaboration with numerous on-campus groups and community organizations.

For more information about the event, contact committee chair Nancy McKinney at (360) 596-5268 or via e-mail at nmckinney@spscc.ctc.edu. More info is also available online at http://esc.spscc.ctc.edu/esc.