April is a special month on the UNL campus because with it comes a big event called Earthstock! Earthstock is a month-long celebration of events, speakers, and documentaries that educate students about the environment and how it affects their lives. To learn more about this awesome event, we reached out to the director of Earthstock, Shelby Janke, to get some insight on what goes into putting on an event like this and what they have in store for this year.
Shelby Janke is a senior Global Studies major and has held the position of director of Earthstock for the past two years. “Basically I oversee the decision making for what kind of events we host, I’m in charge of the marketing and social media and overseeing the designs that are put out,” said Janke. Janke first became involved with the Earthstock project through her association with ASUN’s Environmental Leadership Program and Environmental Sustainability Committee. She was drawn to the idea and has been helping put on events for a couple years.
A lot goes into planning these events and Janke must put a lot of things into consideration. Earthstock usually hosts about six to eight events during the month of April, so the team is intentional about what kind of events they will be putting on. “We think about what’s going on nationally or on the state level - if there are any climate policies or environmental news happening,” Janke said. “We also look into what people are becoming more interested in.” An important consideration for the Earthstock team is to be inclusive of all political ideologies or belief systems to ensure everyone feels included and eager to learn more about the environment
This year’s lineup of events is fun, educational, and will get you excited about the environment. One of the events Earthstock will be putting on is a showing of the documentary, The Age of Consequences, a documentary about how climate impacts national security. “As more and more countries experience natural disasters, climate refugees are becoming a rising concern,” Janke said. The documentary will be showing on Thursday, April 12th from 7PM-9PM. If you’re more interested in getting your hands a little dirty, join Earthstock for their Day of Service on April 15th from 10AM-12PM on Nebraska’s East Campus. For more information about upcoming events and how you can get involved, check out https://asun.unl.edu/earthstock.
