Bellevue College celebrates Earth Day all week

What do gender equality, quality education and reducing poverty have to do with Earth Day?

All are three of the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the theme of the Bellevue College Office of Sustainability’s 20th annual Earth Day celebration, held April 22-26.

This year’s week-long occasion included workshops, speakers and documentary screenings. Activities included art galleries, free electronic recycling drop offs and informational talks such as “Exploring Sustainability through Virtual Reality” and “Climate Change vs Nihilism.”

The event’s theme was “Game On: Bellevue College Addresses the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.” According to the event website, “these 17 goals set forth by the United Nations are a call to action for all countries in order to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. The goals cover a wide breadth of issues our world faces including poverty, education, climate change, social justice, while also recognizing each goals interconnectedness. By using these goals as guidance to promote positive change, it’s not game over for our (planet), it’s GAME ON!”

A number of organizations and businesses hosted information booths at the event. Steven Gadingan represented Bike Works, a Tacoma Based non-profit, and displayed a mobile bike repair system. Gadingan’s organization was there to support bike riding, he said, and was there to offer free bike repairs to attendees.

“There’s a huge barrier for getting into cycling,” stated Gadingan, “We’re trying to break down cycling as this very hard-core thing.”

The United States had its first Earth Day in 1970, according to history.com. It has become a global celebration that often spans a full week and focuses on green living, the website states.

Photograph by Penny Yeh, the Watchdog