4th Annual Earth Day Festival, Sandia High School

Sandia High School hosted its 4th annual Earth Day Festival

Sandia High School  Science Teacher,  Jason Roback, and his environmental science students hosted the 4th Annual Earth Day Festival. The goal of the festival is to increase awareness of some critical environmental issues to the student body in an engaging manner.

The festival's mission is to dispel the notion that caring for the environment is a "fringe" concept, to introduce students to many local professionals in environmental fields, and for students to learn about internships, summer programs, and different areas to pursue in college. 

Delta Dental also launched its RETHINK YOUR DRINK program at the festival. The program provided four water bottle refill fountains to the Sandia High Schoool campus.  The program is open to all schools. For more information and to start the application process, send an email to cares@deltadentalnm.com.

Earth Day 2019 Attendees

1. Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge – information on student internships
2. NM Flintknappers – humanity’s oldest skill, performed by local experts
3. Sandia Mountain Bear Collaborative
4. APS Energy Trailer (Robert Lazar)
5. NM Native Plant Society
6. Institute for Applied Ecology (Santa Fe) - information on their Forest Bound program, a free summer field course on botany for teenagers!
7. US Fish & Wildlife
8. Mesalands Community College (Wind Technology Program) – out of Tucumcari
9. New Mexico Wilderness Alliance –volunteer information
10. Sandia Mountain Natural History Center
11. Talking Talons (live reptiles)
12. UNM’s BEMP program
13. NM Herpetological Society (live reptiles)
14. US Forest Service – career information, swag
15. UNM Museum of SW Biology (lots of biological specimens – skulls, pelts, etc.)
16. New Mexico Beekeeper’s Association
17. NM Game & Fish
18. UNM Law School’s NM Wild Friends
19. UNM Landscape Design Program
20. 350 New Mexico (a national group that raises awareness about climate change)
21. BLM

Student Tables (mostly APES students)

1. Entomophagy - try some gourmet crickets on us!
2. Solar cooking (we’ll be baking chocolate chip cookies with the Sun)
3. Recycling information / Demystification
4. Paper log construction (making compressed logs for fireplaces out of shredded paper)
5. Yucca cordage table (demonstrate how to make rope/necklaces/bracelets out of yucca blade fibers)
6. Vermiculture – Mr. Landovazo’s magical composting earthworms!
7. Sandia Garden Club