Imagine sipping on a delicious smoothie on a cool spring day. The steps that go into making this smoothie just so happen to be environmentally friendly as well.

Instead of flipping a switch on the blender, the blender is powered by a bicycle in order to save energy, creating a bicycle smoothie maker. This engineered mechanism is real and can be seen in action when Shippensburg University’s Students for Environmental Action and Sustainability (SEAS) host this year’s Earth Day event.

The SEAS will be hanging out in the quad on campus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 20 to host this year’s event. They will not be alone: Fellow students and student groups will accompany them.

Earth Day is an event that has been hosted by the SEAS in the past, but this year they want to try something different. According to SEAS president Tara Kennedy and vice president Caitlin Lucas, the focus is aimed towards students. They want to highlight the efforts that the students make to help the environment. There will be booths dedicated to these students and student groups, where they can interact and educate themselves, in regard to the environment.

You can find yourself making bird feeders with fellow SU student Sylvia McMullen. You can educate yourself on potatoes and sustainability with SU student Aaron Einstein. If you are interested in paper crafts, The Slate will have a booth dedicated to making crafts out of recycled newspaper. If you need some work done on your bike, the cycling club will be there to provide free repairs. These are just a few activities that some of the students and groups put together that will make Earth Day interactive and fun for everyone.

Kennedy is most excited to see the finished DIY projects and also looks forward to seeing all of the ways you can use old materials to create something new. Lucas is most excited for associate professor Sean Cornell’s ecological footprint booth. This booth in particular is meant to show the impact of your lifestyle and show you how many Earths it would take to sustain the world if everyone were to live your lifestyle.

“I’m excited for people to see how much of an impact their lifestyle actually has on the world,” Lucas said. “I don’t think people understand how much impact their one McDonald’s meal has on the earth. Or their one car ride to and from campus.”

Free food will be available and will be prepared on a solar cooker, meant to save energy. Along with free food, students can also look forward to winning prizes, such as solar chargers, plants and donations from the university bookstore. Reusable mugs will also be available as prizes, and students can use these mugs to get discounts at the Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts located on campus.

This is the biggest event of the year for the SEAS, and, as for Kennedy; she wants this event to be one where students can reconnect with their younger selves. Specifically, she wants students to “look up from our phones and have fun.”

Anyone is more than welcome to help out during this event. You can contact the SEAS by emailing them at enviro@ship.edu or you can just show up to the event and lend a helping hand.

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