By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
For several months, the Cazenovia community has been planning to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22) with an Earth Week celebration, held April 18-25 at various locations.
In light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many of the scheduled events have been postponed until 2021 or moved to a live-streamed/online-only format.
The One Planet Youth Fair, originally scheduled for Saturday, April 18 at Cazenovia College, will be held online in “the cloud.”
Students from pre-K through 12th-grade are invited to submit a link to a video of them presenting a scientific investigation, demonstration or speech related to climate change, environmental issues or renewable energy.
“Whenever, however, wherever possible, I think it’s important that we continue to offer opportunities for everyone to stay engaged with meaningful activities and events, even if we have to make some big adjustments to how those activities/events actually happen,” said Cazenovia College Professor Thad Yorks, who was instrumental in moving the fair online. “It’s especially important that youth be given the opportunity to weigh in on important environmental topics like climate change. An online event can’t mimic the energy and overall ‘vibe’ of what we’re used to, but fortunately, our ICT folks and current technology is going to allow us to run this event remotely in ways that would not have been possible just a few years ago.”
Projects will be displayed online via a YouTube playlist after 12 p.m. on April 18.
The youth fair will feature five age categories: preschool-kindergarten, grades 1-3, grades 4-6, grades 7-9, and grades 10-12.
Judging will be done remotely in the days following the fair. Winners will be announced on April 24, 2020.
Each category will be judged independently based on relevance, workability, neatness and presentation.
First and second place prizes ($25 and $10) will be awarded to each age group.
All participants will receive ribbons and certificates of participation.
For project ideas and examples, visit climatekids.nasa.gov/science-fair.
Registration and permission forms are available at cazenovia.edu/one-planet-youth-fair-registration.
The registration deadline is April 17, 2020. A video URL is required as part of the registration process.
For more information, contact Committee Chair Elizabeth Crofut at [email protected]..
The One Planet Youth Fair is part of third annual Seize the Power: Climate & Energy Action Fair, presented by the United-Climate Action Network (U-CAN).
The Young People Leading as Climate Changers student panel will begin at 10:30 a.m. and feature Hannora Race and Emma Steinberg of Cazenovia High School, Meghan Hansen and Mac Ritz-Kenny of Cazenovia College, Christina Weiler of Colgate University, and Maddie Lazenby and Eric Stenzel of Hamilton College.
David Bergh, Cazenovia College’s campus sustainability officer, will moderate the discussion.
For more information on the student panel, visit cazenovia.edu.
All other fair events are postponed until April 2021.
For updates on Cazenovia Earth Week, visit unitedclimateaction.org or cazenovia.edu.
