Hofstra's Center for Civic Engagement hosts Community Earth Day event

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Hofstra's Center for Civic Engagement hosts an Earth Day event.
Video by Nico Bermudez

A beautiful, sunny morning with flowers blooming and leaves all grown on the trees was the perfect setting for a recent Earth Day event at Hofstra University, organized by the Center for Civic Engagement to educate students and promote the cause of a sustainable environment.

Climate change has become a major topic of debate around the country, but those who want to solve it don’t always have to look big. They can start within a close-knit community like Hofstra. 


One of the clubs participating in the event was Leaders for Environmental Action and Fellowship (LEAF). The club was founded earlier this year and is already making major efforts to push for a better environment.

“The purpose of this club is to have a platform for a community to be built around environmental issues. We focus on action and education, but probably more action because even though we talk about these issues, we think there is a lot we can do,” said Caroline Bowes, president of LEAF.



The Port Jefferson-based Coastal Steward Long Island also attended that morning. CSLI’s purpose is to connect people on Long Island with marine life to help others understand that sea life is an integral part to a sustainable environment.

“We want to connect people to the coastline. We mainly do that through three avenues: marine education, with shellfish restoration where we raise and plant oysters, and also through beach cleanups,” said Ashley Carabetta, executive director of CSLI.

Another organization, Homecoming Farms, was at the event. It takes a different approach to promoting a cleaner Earth. Its goal is to create a sense of community not just with people, but also with people and the Earth.

“Most of what we do is connect people to the Earth as a sense of place and to know where we are. We live on Long Island, in the Earth,” said Sister Jean Clark.

By educating people on how humans are one with the Earth, the hope of Homecoming Farms is to give people a sense of how a better environment means a better life for them. This is an attempt to call them to action.

The Earth Day event on Hofstra’s campus wasn’t all about engaging students; there were also performances. Students provided entertainment with ethnic dancing, along with some singing. Throughout the event, all Hofstra students had the opportunity to engage with CCE and all of the other organizations there to learn about their place on Earth and how they can help going forward.