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By Top Lee

On Tuesday, April 22, several students took a break from spring break and joined Dr. Neubauer and Mrs. Sweitzer at an environmental talk and a documentary to celebrate Earth Day.  The event began at 3:00 with an award-winning film entitled “Plastic Paradise,” a documentary on the Pacific Garbage Patch and the harmful effects it’s having on islands, the coastline, and the ocean.  Angela Sun, the producer of “Plastic Paradise,” travels to Midway Atoll to discover for herself the Pacific Garbage Patch, and goes on to examine how plastic is hurting our health and our oceans.  

After the screening, several people went up to the stage and gave talks on plastic and the environment.  Kelly Thorvalson, Sea Turtle Rescue Program Director, drove up from the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston to talk about the turtle rehabilitation.  She told everyone that the program is expanding, and so far has been very successful, releasing more than 130 turtles back into the wild, many of them injured from plastic debris.  

After the official part of the event was over, most of the people stayed in the lobby for trash-free/plastic-free snacks and to discuss the talks.  Overall the event was a success with about 70 people coming out to support the Earth Day talks.