News Release

Coalition prepares for first ever
Earth Action Fest in Chapel Hill

CHAPEL HILL – Preparations are underway for Earth Action Fest!, set for April 24 during Earth Day weekend. The effort aims to celebrate the earth and raise awareness of environmental issues and solutions.

Earth Action Fest! activities will be held at the Lincoln Center at 750 South Merritt Mill Road, where there will be a variety of international foods for purchase, music, crafts, speakers and information to enjoy from 2 p.m.- 6 p.m.

Music will include a traditional Latin American band, Saludos Compay, Northern Orange County, a rock band comprised of Chapel Hill High School teachers and Cajun music by Fais Pas Ca.

Activities for children will include tree planting, coloring and jewelry-making.

All are invited to join the Earth Action March, which will step off at 1 p.m. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s McCorkle Place, across from the Franklin Street post office. From there, participants will proceed to Lincoln Center for the Earth Action Fair.

The group also hopes raise money toward a significant purchase of renewable energy from N.C. Green Power for the Lincoln Center, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools administrative building.

"Clean and renewable energy use can help us make progress on local air quality and global warming," said Dennis Markatos-Soriano, the president of Students United for a Responsible Global Environment (SURGE). "If good examples are set in our schools then maybe that will help our society take larger steps toward environmental sustainability."

"At UNC-Chapel Hill we have adopted a range of new approaches and business practices to reduce our environmental impact," said Cindy Pollock Shea, sustainability coordinator for UNC-Chapel Hill. "Raising awareness and providing attractive alternatives is the key to changing behaviors."

UNC-Chapel Hill is the state’s first agency to introduce fare-free buses and Zipcars that can be rented by the hour. In recognition of these and other environmental initiatives, UNC-Chapel Hill recently received the 2005 State Government Sustainability Award, sponsored by N.C. Project Green, an initiative former Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. created in 1999 to challenge state agencies to set an example of environmental stewardship in how they operate and conduct business.

Earth Action Fest! is supported by SURGE, Eartheal, the Chapel of the Cross Environmental Stewardship Committee and the UNC-Chapel Hill Sustainability Office.

More information on Earth Action Fest! can be found at www.earthactionfest.org.

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UNC Sustainability Office contact: Susannah Lach, (919) 843-7284
News Services contact: Russ Campbell (919) 962-2091