Let’s take a look back at the history of Earth Day and past Earth Day and Earth Week celebrations on the SUNY ESF campus.
The Earth Day website http://www.earthday.org/about/the-history-of-earth-day/ gives a complete history of Earth Day and states that “The idea for a national day to focus on the environment came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a “national teach-in on the environment” to the national media.”
At the same time in 1970 - the SUNY ESF Knothole covered the Earth Day teach-ins and reported that “Governor Rockefeller offered state resources to assist the Earth Day teach-ins being scheduled at colleges and schools through the state on April 22, 1970. Governor Rockefeller stated that “The Teach-Ins are an exciting new development which brings to bear the imagination and zeal of the young on environmental problems.” And so on April 22, 1970 SUNY ESF held an Earth Day Teach-In Lecture by Mr. Richard Pough, President of the Natural Areas Council.
You can read the April 1970 issue of the SUNY ESF Knothole and more Knotholes to learn more about past Earth Day and Earth Week celebration on campus online at Digital Commons @ ESF http://digitalcommons.esf.edu/
The F. Franklin Moon Library also currently has a display of photographs from past Earth Week celebrations on the SUNY ESF campus from 1986 to the present.
This TBT was brought to you by Jane Verostek, Associate Librarian, SUNY ESF, F. Franklin Moon Library
As our classes are coming to an end this semester and we look to graduation - let’s take a look back at the very first full 4-year graduating class from The New York State College of Forestry. Below is a photo of the class of 1915.
From the 1914-1915 Empire Forester – the first yearbook for the New York State College of Forestry here is some history about our college:
“For some years after the closing of the first New York State College of Forestry, which had been located at Cornell University, friends of forestry in the state felt that there should be some institution where students might secure a professional training in forestry. Finally in the year 1910 bills were introduced in the Legislature calling for the establishment of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University. This bill passed both houses of Legislature, and in July 1911 Governor Dix signed the bill which established The New York State College of Forestry”.
The yearbook also notes that in the Fall of 1914 total enrollment was 252, which at the time was the largest registration of any school of forestry in the country!
The yearbook also has some humorous creative writing pieces by our students such as the “Ballad of the Black Fly” and “The Foresters Ten Commandments”.
This TBT was brought to you by Jane Verostek, Associate Librarian, SUNY ESF, F. Franklin Moon Library
