Earth Day celebration promotes the importance of sustainability
High school students attending the Earth Day celebration. Attendees could explore booths hosted by the architecture program at Cosumnes River College, the Sacramento Electric Vehicle Association and SMUD.
Photographs by Rianne Herrera
In honor of Earth Day, Cosumnes River College held an Earth Day celebration on campus featuring a multitude of booths promoting sustainability and clean energy on Wednesday.
The event included booths and attractions hosted by the architecture and construction department at CRC, SMUD and the Sacramento Electric Vehicle Association. The events and exhibits included a solar powered car race, a tiny home constructed by CRC students and a showcasing of electric vehicles.
A tiny home built by the architecture and construction department at CRC was on display for visitors to tour. The house featured a living area, a kitchen and even a composting toilet.
“Being with the architecture program, we’re very much focused on sustainability and green design. So I think the tiny home that we brought out is a really good example of that and just showing what we’re about and what we strive for as a class and as a program,” said 19-year-old architecture major Sara Peach. “Me personally, I really want to include green design in my final projects when I do become a licensed architect.”
Twenty-one-year-old Walter Tadokoro, an architecture major, ran a sustainable fashion vendor beside the tiny house exhibit. His work included thrifted and refurbished clothing in which each item had been stylistically modified with a modern and alternative spin.
“We all wear clothes and we wear a lot of clothes,” Tadokoro said. “My mission is just to take the leftovers and rework them into something that’s desirable, in fact, maybe even a little bit more interesting than just standard clothing that’s being sold.”
SMUD held their 15th annual Solar Car Race after a two-year hiatus, an event which the company aimed to “help local educators bring STEM concepts (science, technology, engineering and math) to the classroom” in a press release.
“Events like this kind of bring people together to learn to get connected with the programs that SMUD has to move forward on those initiatives,” said Gamaliel Ortiz, who is the public information specialist for SMUD.
All of the cars in the race were built by local high school students and used solar powered motors provided by SMUD. Trophies were awarded to students based on speed, ingenuity, creativity and more.
The SacEV attended the event as well with an assortment of electric vehicles for visitors to view, including a Tesla and a Volvo. Each car had its hood propped open and filled with flyers listing and detailing the advantages of electric vehicles.
While the celebration offered all visitors a fun and educational experience, CRC students in attendance did not forget the significance of Earth Day.
“I think we’re currently just trying to learn how we as individuals will affect Earth in the future because our parents are now passing down the planet to us. So we have to figure out how to keep it going,” said 22-year-old English major Kaitlyn Holt.
Holt shared that she personally liked to recycle a lot more, and said she wants Earth to thrive “as much as humanly possible.”