It's 'The 11th Hour' for Natural Resources Week Oct. 8-13

“Our Resources, Our Future: Choose to Make a Difference” is the theme for USU’s College of Natural Resources Week Oct. 8-13. The campus community is invited to enjoy a variety of activities that highlight the college’s central goal: using science to manage and conserve natural resources to ensure that future generations enjoy a healthy environment and economic prosperity.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s eco-documentary, The 11th Hour, is a focal point of the week. The recently released film plays at the Logan Art Cinema, 785 North Main, Oct. 5-11. USU students are admitted at a reduced price on Tuesday, Oct. 9.

 

USU professor Joseph Tainter is a featured scientist in The 11th Hour. Tainter, head of CNR’s Department of Environment and Society, speaks on campus Wednesday, Oct. 10; details follow.

 

The week’s activities include:

 

 

ASUSU and the College of Natural Resources unite to host Cotton Incorporated’s national Dirty Laundry Tour: From Blue to Green. Got old (really old) blue jeans? From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., bring your tattered weekend uniform to the university Quad and join students throughout the country who are recycling their togs into natural cotton fiber insulation used in homes built for needy families by Habitat for Humanity.

 

The outdoor event features fashion, games and prizes.

 

 

All are invited to the USU Water Initiative seminar presented by David Robinson, professor of geophysics at Stanford University. Robinson will discuss “Exploring Soils and Ecohydrological Structure in Vulnerable Ecosystems Using Geophysical Imaging.”

 

The seminar is at 3:30 p.m. in the Engineering building, room 101, on the USU campus. The talk is free and open to the public.

 

View The 11th Hour film at Logan Art Cinema, 785 North Main, during Tuesday’s reduced price student night. Show times are 7 and 9 p.m. Admission is $3 with a current USU student ID.

 

 

Enjoy “Patio Goes Wild” from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Visit exhibits on the Taggart Student Center patio presented by the Stokes Nature Center, Bridgerland Audubon Society, Willow Park Zoo, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Common Ground, USU Outdoor Recreation Center, USDA Wildlife Services, Aggie Blue Bikes, USU Water Quality Extension, Forestry Club, Range Club, Wildlife Society, Aggie Recyclers, CNR Ambassadors and more.

 

Professor Joseph Tainter [http://www.11thhouraction.com/ideasandexperts/josephtainter], an 11th Hour scientist, speaks from 4-5 p.m. in the Biology-Natural Resources building, room 102. His talk, “Energy Gain, Organization and Sustainability,” is free and open to all.

 

Also on Wednesday, ecologist and guest lecturer Gene Likens presents “Ecosystem Science, Environmental Change and Society: A Personal View,” from 6-7 p.m. in USU’s Eccles Conference Center Auditorium. Likens is Distinguished Senior Scientist at New York’s Institute of Ecosystem Studies.

 

Likens’ talk is part of the USU Ecology Center’s 2007-08 seminar series. His lecture and future talks in the series are free and open to all.

 

 

Start your day with a hearty Logger’s Breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs and juice on the TSC patio. A fundraiser for USU’s Forestry Club, cost is $3 per plate and meals are served from 8-10 a.m.

 

 

At 11 a.m., Aggies are encouraged to participate in the Golden Ticket Campus Clean-up. Starting on the Natural Resources Building patio (southeast entrance), participants will have one hour to gather litter around campus. Aggies who collect “golden tickets” – treasure among their trash – are eligible to win prizes donated by The Sportsman, USU Bookstore and other sponsors.

 

Rock out with your fellow Aggies at the second annual Reduce, Reuse and Rock Concert at 7 p.m. in the TSC Auditorium. Featured bands include Viewers Like You, Rock Bandits and Ry Morse and Mo Eddie. Admission is $1 per person with a bag of recyclables; $2 without.

 

The concert includes open mic time and a prize raffle. Aggies are urged to write songs about recycling, conservation and sustainability – and perform live.

 

Hosted by Aggie Recyclers, ECOS (Environmental Coalition of Students) and CNR, the event benefits recycling and conservation efforts on campus and in the community.

 

 

Roll up your sleeves and join others in a service project from 9 a.m.-noon led by Natural Resources Conservation Services Stream Restoration. The project takes place in Paradise, in southern Cache Valley. Volunteers will restore vegetation in a flood-damaged streamside area.

 

Participants should wear work gloves, shoes and clothing appropriate for the weather. NRCS will provide the plants and tools.

 

Advance sign-up for the project is required. Volunteers can register in the CNR Academic Services office in the Natural Resources Building, room 120.

 

The CNR Student Council will coordinate carpooling for project participants. Volunteers should meet at 8:15 a.m. in the Natural Resources Building parking lot. Lunch for volunteers is provided at the work site, free of charge, by the CNR Student Council.

 

Starting at 3 p.m. Saturday, all Natural Resources students and their families are invited to enjoy the seventh annual College of Natural Resources Pig Roast at USU professor Fred Knowlton’s farm. Food and beverages are provided, as well as pumpkin carving for children, hay rides and a bonfire. Live music is provided by DAH, featuring Natural Resources student Ben Abbot.

 

Tickets to the Pig Roast are $15 per person in advance and $20 at the door. Tickets and maps to the farm are available in the Natural Resources building, room 208.

 

USU’s College of Natural Resources includes the academic departments of Environment and Society, Watershed Sciences and Wildland Resources.

 

 

 

Contact: Trish Blair [trish.blair@usu.edu], 435-797-1693
Writer: Mary-Ann Muffoletto [maryann.muffoletto@usu.edu], 435-797-1429