Over 100 students strolled through Oya Hill to celebrate Earth and all its natural wonders during the Eco-Reps’ annual Earth Day Celebration.
Throughout the early afternoon on Friday, April 18, students had the chance to explore what both on and off-campus organizations had to offer in the environmental sphere as WKNH supplied tunes for the day and local food truck Salt & Lime returned once again to supply food.
Salt & Lime offered students a selection of items found on its traditional menu, such as Coney Island hot dogs and street fries. The first 150 orders were free of cost, and the food truck hit that number around halfway through the event.
Junior Amanda Rotigliano, president of Eco-Reps, said she hopes attendees were able to come out of the event with more knowledge about sustainability and environmental resources.
“This year, we have a bunch of off-campus [organizations] that promote sustainability and sustainable action here tabling with a bunch of different things, such as plants, caterpillars, some are selling some jewelry,” Rotigliano said.
Rotigliano noted this year’s Earth Day event differs from years past due to the return of Solar Fest, a collaborative event between Eco-Reps and WKNH slated to return on Saturday, May 3.
Senior, Eco-Reps Treasurer and WKNH General Manager Ryan Rotigliano spoke about the two events.
“We decided to split this event into two halves with Solar Fest coming up,” Ryan Rotigliano said. “We wanted to focus on [for Earth Day] all the great off-campus organizations that are in the region, so we invited organizations that have ties to the campus like the Harris Center [for Conservation Education] and people who don’t and then also some organizations just to spread the word about all the great things on this Earth.”
Ryan Rotigliano also commented on the turnout for the event.
“We’re mostly catching people walking through, and then they stop and wander around and look at all the tables, and that’s all we can really hope for,” Ryan Rotigliano said.
First-year Ysaiah Arezzo said she enjoyed the event.
“It’s a really nice day, we had those two weeks [beforehand] that were a little frightening [but] this feels like a great time,” Arezzo said.
Senior Hap Ingram offered their thoughts as a frequent attendee throughout their years at KSC.
“I’ve been coming for the past two years … and I just love it,” Ingram said. “The vibes are great. I’m so glad it’s a nice sunny day. I was scared it was going to be cloudy, but I learned a bunch from The Caterpillar Lab. I learned about the nature museum in Vermont, which I had no idea about, and we got some great food.”
Forrest Shimazu, a staff member who tabled for The Caterpillar Lab, spoke on his experience interacting with students at the event.
“[It’s] always fun,” Shimazu said. “A lot of people go to butterfly houses and see tropical species and don’t realize what cool diversity we have right here in New England and New Hampshire, so it’s really fun to see people light up in the way of, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is right here on Keene State property.’”
Junior Teague Smallidge commented on his experience at the event.
“I feel like everyone’s in a good mood, there’s no negativity here,” Smallidge said. “I like the food and I like looking at the bugs.”
Sophomore Ty Vose said he was drawn to the event while walking by it.
“I wanted to come to it just because it looked like fun,” Vose said. “I really liked painting on the rock, and I’m also really liking the food.”
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