Earth Day 2000 events at Berea College will be offered throughout April. Events include opportunities for celebration as well as action to increase sustainability of the College, the community and the region.

HEAL and the Sustainability and Environmental Studies (SENS) program are the two sponsors of Berea's Earth Day 2000 activities.

The schedule of events includes:

• APRIL 1, 9a.m. - 2 p.m., Madison County Road Clean-Up Day (emailed info 3/20)
• APRIL 8-9, transportation to Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn. for a "Non-Violence Workshop" and "Direct Action for Peace"

Seth Jensen, a Berea student and SENS minor, is currently doing an internship with the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, which has organized a large-scale protest at the Y-12 Plant, the last operational full-scale nuclear weapons production plant in the U.S. The protest includes the workshop on April 8 titled "Building the Non-Violent Community" and the direct action on April 9. HEAL will be providing van transportation to the events on both days

APRIL 20, noon-2 p.m., Agriculture Bldg., "Solar Workshop"

Josh Bills, a recent Berea graduate and expert on solar energy systems, will conduct a two-hour workshop on designing a solar-powered electric system for homes or other applications, including a display of panels and other components. As a case study, Bills will describe a proposed solar system to power the lights for a College message kiosk.

APRIL 25, Habitat Creation and Restoration Project at Cow Bell Hollow in the College Forest (College Labor Day project - not a public event)

Students will improve a degraded hillside overlooking one of the College's reservoirs (it's original water source). Participants will learn how to stop hillside gully erosion by building rock dams and other structures, and how to construct shallow ponds that will not only show the movement of water, but will provide habitat for breeding amphibians and other wildlife. Selection and planting of native species will also be part of the project.

APRIL 29, 10 a.m., Union Church, "Critical Mass Bike Ride and Rally to Protect Global Climate."

This event is to raise awareness and and promote actions to reduce emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. The bike ride will deliver petitions requesting actions that can be taken by the town of Berea and Berea College to reduce emissions, including making the community more bicycle-friendly. The ride will draw attention to the needs of bicyclists. Several activities on Berea's Earth Day 2000 have been planned in conjunction with EKU's "Earth Day in the Cumberland's 2000" celebration

The Berea's SENS program will provide transportation to these events in Richmond, including:

• APRIL 15, 2-4 p.m., Native Species Demonstration Planting
• APRIL 17, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Natural Capitalism Workshop
• APRIL 18, 7 p.m., Wendell Berry presentation "The Idea of a Local Economy"
• APRIL 19, 10:30 a.m. Robert Kennedy Jr. presentation 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Environmental Fair (HEAL and SENS will have booths)

For a complete schedule and to arrange transportation to EKU events, contact the SENS program at 606-985-3593 or by email at .