Going Green: CSUSB Palm Desert Hosting Environmental, Sustainability Expo

The following was submitted for publication by CSUSB Palm Desert:

Cal State San Bernardino’s Palm Desert Campus will host its fourth annual Environmental and Sustainability Expo on Thursday, May 9, and Friday, May 10.

Guest speakers Robert Phalen, associate professor of health science and human ecology at CSUSB, and Jack Porrelli, legislative analyst at the Coachella Valley Water District, will speak at the Indian Wells Theater on May 9. A reception takes place at 5 p.m., followed by the speakers at 5:30 p.m.

Phalen will speak about the “Sustainable Goods Movement: Maintaining the Economy, Environment and Equity,” followed by Porelli’s talk about “Keeping the Valley Green: Connecting the Drops.”

To attend, RSVPs are required to Regina Garrison at rgarriso@csusb.edu by April 29.

The all-day event on Friday, May 10, will feature award-winning science fair and environmental club projects from students from all three Coachella Valley school districts, as well as local private schools.

Cal State San Bernardino faculty will demonstrate recent research on environmental science, and representatives from local green industries will be on hand to encourage students to learn more about working in green science fields.

A keynote address by Michaeleen Gallagher, director of education and environmental programs at Sunnylands, will commence the day’s activities.

Students from the Palm Springs Unified School District will screen their top environment-related digital films (DigiComs) at both events.

The Environmental and Sustainability Expo is an annual event sponsored by the campus’s Palm Springs Institute for Environmental Sustainability.

Sponsors for the 2013 Environmental and Sustainability Expo include Southern California Edison, The Webb Foundation, Burrtec Waste and Recycling Services, Southern California Gas Company, the city of Coachella, the city of La Quinta and the city of Palm Springs.

The CSUSB Palm Desert Campus is located at 37-500 Cook St. in Palm Desert.

For more information about the expo, contact Greg Pettis, expo coordinator and director of the Palm Springs Institute for Environmental Sustainability at the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus, at (760) 341-2883, ext. 78168 or gpettis@csusb.edu.