April celebrates environmental awareness, from Earth Day to Arbor Day. IU East is celebrating Earth Week April 15-18th with a theme for each day: Meatless Monday, Trees & Trails Tuesday, Water Wednesday, and Red Wolf Threatened Thursday. The IU East Campus Library has many databases that provide in depth research information in all these areas, and the Richmond Community has lots of resources that provide environmental education and fun outdoor activities.
Library Databases for Research
Meatless Monday promotes vegetarianism and vegan diets or at least encourage people to eat more plant based foods and cut out meat one day a week. There is a lot of different viewpoints and research involved with people’s relationship with food, their diets, and the environmental impact of food production and manufacturing on the planet.
Food Studies Online is a database that focuses on the social, historical, economic, cultural, religious, and political implications of food that reach far beyond what is consumed at the dinner table. Examples of topics covered in the collection include childhood nutrition, packaging, Food industry, the environmental impact of GMOs, vegetarianism, and more.
If you really want to know more about vegetarianism and how it can affect your health, Health Source: Consumer Edition and Health and Wellness Resource Center are both excellent databases that can help you research the pros and cons of various diets, food science and nutrition, and general health information for people of all ages.
Trees and Trails Tuesday, Water Wednesday, and Red Wolf Threatened Thursday all focus on preserving and protecting our natural resources. For in depth research on any of these topics, go to our Agricultural & Environmental Science Collection. This database provides full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications. Some of the relevant subjects covered in this database are Endangered Species, Forestry, Hydrology, Natural Resources, and Pollution (air, noise, soil, and water).
Two other relevant databases that can provide overall coverage and give varying perspectives into each topic are Opposing Viewpoints in Context and CQ Researcher. CQ Researcher provides in-depth, unbiased coverage and analysis of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy. Opposing Viewpoints provides a general overview as well as contextual information and various opinions on topics like vegetarianism, endangered species, deforestation, urban gardens, water conservation and pollution, and other related topics.
Related Organizations
Trees and Trails Tuesday
IU East is officially a Tree Campus USA and we are observing Arbor Day on our Trees and Trails Tuesday by planting and giving away trees. The Tree Campus USA program helps colleges and universities around the country establish and sustain healthy community forests. You can learn more about Tree Campus USA and Arbor Day at https://www.arborday.org/programs/treecampususa/.
Richmond is fortunate to have several organizations that focus on preserving our natural resources, sustainability, and providing opportunities to learn, work, and enjoy our natural environment. From environmental education to walking trails and other wellness programs, visit any or all of the following:
Cope Environmental Center http://www.copeenvironmental.org
Hayes Arboretum https://www.hayesarboretum.org
S.P.U.R. (Society of Preservation and Use of Resources) https://spurwaynecounty.weebly.com
Purdue University Extension Wayne County https://extension.purdue.edu/Wayne/category/13
Water Wednesday
White River: Perspectives is the featured documentary at a film viewing program at the Campus Library on Wednesday, April 17th at 4 pm. The film is available through the Indiana Humanities Campfire films. Richmond Sanitary District Engineer Elijah Welch will be facilitating discussion after the film and talking about the watershed here in Richmond. Indiana Humanities has two other films available online that focus on the White River and how Hoosiers connect to each other across watersheds.
https://indianahumanities.org/programs/next-indiana-campfires-films
Wine to Water is an international organization that grew from one man’s mission of installing water systems for victims of the government-supported genocide in Sudan into a movement for clean water access for all. Doc Hendley visited IU East in 2013 as a part of the One Book, Many Voices program and the library has a copy of his book available for check out.
Wine to Water: a bartender’s quest to bring clean water to the world (https://iucat.iu.edu/iue/11062420)
You can find out more about this organization at https://www.winetowater.org/ or visit Hayes Hall Lobby on Wednesday the 17th from 10 am to 3 pm. IU East students will have a table showcasing their involvement with Wine to Water.
Elijah Welch and other staff from Richmond Sanitary will be visiting the Campus Library at 4 pm on Water Wednesday for our documentary showing. The Sanitary Department offers information on wastewater treatment and trash and recycling pickup for our community.
https://www.richmondindiana.gov/departments/sanitary-district
Red Wolf Threatened Thursday
Did you know there is a Red Wolf Sanctuary in Indiana? In Rising Sun, Indiana, you can visit the wolves and other permanent residents of the Sanctuary, all native to North America, such as coyotes, red foxes, bobcats, black bears, a skunk, and an elk. The Sanctuary, a non-profit organization, also rehabs hundreds of animals every year. Tours by appointment only, so call them first before taking a road trip. https://www.redwolf.org/
For general information and facts about the red wolf, visit the Defenders of Wildlife Red Wolf Facts page at https://defenders.org/red-wolf/basic-facts.
All of the databases listed here are available through the Campus Library’s A- Z Resource List at (https://iue.libguides.com/A-ZList). Have questions or need reference help? Just Ask Us! iueref@iue.edu. If you are looking to get more involved with sustainability efforts here on campus, the IU East Sustainability Council is always looking for new members, especially students. You can reach out to Beth South at eabrockm@iue.edu for more information. Happy Earth Week!