Photo credits: “Earth” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by kristian fagerström via Flickr
West Chester’s Green Team and WCU communication students have partnered together to put on this year’s Earth Day Event happening on April 22.
This Earth Day Event involves chalking around the West Chester community to help bring awareness to the sustainability efforts possible by many and celebrate the Earth we live on.
The West Chester Green Team is a local organization that pairs their knowledge about the Earth and their sustainability efforts with their passion for keeping the Earth a healthy home for everyone. In their words specifically, the West Chester Green Team is a “community-oriented environmental coalition working for a sustainable West Chester area and offering residents valuable resources.”
The West Chester Green Team has partnered with communication professor Megan Shraedley and her students back in 2021. Although online, they worked hard to develop a sustainable art showcase as well as a chalking event along High Street. This event was deemed a success not only because of the awareness it brought to local sustainability efforts, but also because it encouraged businesses to allow chalking to happen outside their storefronts. Getting these local businesses involved helps bring the community together and can have a positive effect on the relationship between them and the Green Team.
In 2022, Dr. Shraedley and her students are set to help again with the chalking event happening this month. Similarly, students have reached out to local, and even some regional, businesses to get involved. With indication of help from these businesses, everyone involved is calling on all community members to participate.
Getting involved in this chalking event is not made to be a difficult process. Further, if students want to come chalk, all they have to do is show up. If they come to High Street and see people chalking from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., they are encouraged to grab some chalk and start to draw. Anything can be drawn as long as it represents the sustainability efforts put forth by the West Chester Green Team. Whether it is near campus or in town, it is encouraged for all members of the West Chester community to chalk and find the many amazing businesses partaking in this initiative. For some inspiration, use the pictures provided that resemble the hard work done from past years as well as the West Chester Green Team’s logo.
The communication students involved will be out on High Street or in town starting as early as 9 a.m. and by the end of the day, the town should represent a moment in time when we all stop and think about how important the Earth is to every single one of us. If you only have five minutes in your day on April 22, it would be great to see you out chalking to show how much you care.
This chalking event is happening April 22 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on High Street and the streets and businesses in town. The chalk will be provided, and all is needed is some caring hearts and creative minds.
To learn more about this event and the West Chester Green Team, head to https://wcgreenteam.com/
And to get into contact with the team specifically or donate, head to https://wcgreenteam.com/contact-2/
Timothy Smith is a senior Communication Studies major with a minor in Journalism. TS944841@wcupa.edu