<b>An Extended Celebration of Earth Day</b>
As the world celebrated Earth Day on April 22nd, Millbrook students and faculty spent much of the day as they usually do: recycling paper, plastic, glass, metals, batteries and more around campus, caring for 80 species of animals, including 7 endangered species, refilling canteens with our own spring water to reduce the use of plastic bottles, composting in the dining hall, and meeting to discuss what we can do to become even better stewards of the environment. While our everyday focus on environmental stewardship remained steady, we also planned some special events over several days to join in the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
On Thursday afternoon, the entire student body headed out in small groups with faculty members to pick up garbage along the roads surrounding our campus. Altogether, we covered 26 miles of highway and back roads, gathering in excess of 2,000 lbs. of trash. Full bags were collected roadside by our roving Mr. MacKenzie, and crews back on campus separated recyclables from the garbage.
After cleaning up, everyone headed to a very special chapel talk by Dr. George B. Rabb, Brookfield Zoo director and president of the Chicago Zoological Society from 1976 to 2003. A recognized leader in animal husbandry and conservation research, Dr. Rabb chaired the Species Survival Commission of the World Conservation Union from 1990 to 1996 and is a founder of Chicago Wilderness, a regional nature reserve that includes more than 250,000 acres of protected natural lands. Immediately following Dr. Rabb's presentation, students and faculty enjoyed a special dinner in Prum Hall which included an organic field greens salad, free range chicken mole made with fair trade cocoa, fresh tortilla chips with bean and cheese dip, and fresh local asparagus with citrus butter.
Our Earth Day celebration continued throughout the weekend, as biology, animal behavior, and physics students displayed their research projects on Friday in the annual Science Conference in the Math & Science Center. The group then enjoyed a special dinner together with guest lecturer, Dr. Joshua Ginsberg, head of the Asian conservation program at the Wildlife Conservation Society. Following dinner, V former Cory Marx presented his winning science project to the entire group before Dr. Ginsberg addressed the entire school in a forum in the Chelsea Morrison Theater.
Our celebration of Earth Day couldn't be complete without planting a tree. On Sunday, Dr. Alan Tousignant and IV former Ken O'Friel planted a Serviceberry tree, Amelanchier canadensis, in the Trevor Zoo picnic area. See pictures of this events and all the activities that celebrated Earth Day in our online Photo Gallery. You can also view a video of Dr. Ginsberg's presentation on our Webcasting page.
