Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska

Wanda's Diary Entries

Thursday, April 27, 2006

The 36th annual Earth Day rolled around this past Saturday, April 22. I had the great good fortune to be a guest speaker and participant during the entire weekend celebration at Catawba College in nearby Salisbury, NC—a 1 1/2 hour drive south from Mount Airy. Catawba was celebrating not only the 36th annual Earth Day, but also the 10th anniversary of its existence.

We at Simple Living are proud to partner with Catawba College as our fiscal partner—and valued adviser—for our television series. Center Director, Dr. John Wear, serves on our National Advisory Board. John and I copresented a seminar on Saturday morning on creating and maintaining sustainable communities. Larry Shirley, representing the state department of renewable energy, was among the attendees, along with many others.

Catawba’s Center for the Environment is truly a statewide and national treasure. It is a center for learning, where undergraduates pursue degrees in environmental studies in its famous and nurturing “green building,” designed by local architect Karen Alexander. The Center is also the first college in North Carolina to set aside a substantial portion of land—189 acres—adjacent to its college campus as a learning center and plant and wildlife refuge. So students can take classes inside the building, looking out at the wonderful nature preserve, and they can also tromp through the woods seeking out contact with nature itself.

The Center also does a masterful job in partnering with the community of Salisbury (and the entire region, for that matter) in educating the town and business leaders about the vital importance of environmental education. Dr. Wear—and his sidekick Willa Mays—shared with me about the new sustainability leadership institute that they are forming there, kicked off by a generous grant from Alcoa.

It was a pleasure to spend an entire weekend at Catawba celebrating Earth Day and the positive contributions the entire Catawba team has made. Frank and Henry participated in part of the day. I enjoyed visiting with students, and was impressed by the alums who were visiting, as well as those who set up booths at the Trolley Barn downtown. My hat is off to the Center and the great work done there.