Bergen Community College students gathered at the institution’s annual EarthFest last year.

PARAMUS, N.J – Since the U.S. first recognized Earth Day in 1970, it has become the signature event encouraging global citizens to safeguard the planet. In celebration of Earth Day, Bergen Community College will hold a series of events under the theme of “Plant Forward” featuring Arbor Day plantings, tree grafting and the College’s 3rd annual EarthFest at the main Paramus campus (400 Paramus Road, Paramus). All events are free and open to the public. Among the events:

  • Recognizing the life and work of biologist and writer Rachel Carson, the College will dedicate a walkway in her honor on Thursday, April 11 at noon at the Ender Hall patio.
  • EarthFest will take place on Tuesday, April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. in the campus quad. Students, faculty, staff and community organizations will come together for food, music, games, volleyball, vendors and a vintage clothing exchange.
  • Through a $250,000 state grant to renew its main campus tree population, the College has planned Arbor Day plantings for Friday, April 26. The “Trees for Schools” program administered through the Sustainability Institute at the College of the New Jersey and funded by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, will see Bergen plant 125 new trees to create a natural perimeter buffer “climax forest.”

To view the entire schedule of activities, visit bergen.edu/heritage.

Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.

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