BSU 04-23-20

50 YEARS OF EARTH DAY 1970 - 2020

Here are seven sustainable tips for saving the environment from home. 03 Take a look at a snapshot of climate change over the past five decades. 04 Ball State’s Field Station and Environmental Education Center protects Muncie’s environment year round. 08

Our planet. Our responsibility.

Celebrating 50 years of Earth Day and the individuals who work to protect the one planet we have

Everyone should have a garden of their own, no matter how big or small. 09

04.23.2020

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DNNews

04.23.20

02

Did you miss it? Catch up on the news from April 13 - 18 on ...

BallStateDailyNews.com Biden, liberal candidate win Wisconsin

FLICKR, PHOTO COURTESY

April 13: Liberal challenger Jill Karofsky ousted a conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court justice endorsed by President Donald Trump, overcoming a successful push

by Republicans to hold the election even as other states postponed theirs due to the coronavirus pandemic. Former Vice President Joe Biden also won the state’s Democratic presidential primary.

President gives COVID-19 updates

SCOTT FLEENER, DN FILE

April 17: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns updated the university community in an email about its plans for the summer and fall 2020 semesters. These updates include the university’s plans for new student recruitment, the upcoming fiscal year and pausing new hiring and annual salary increases.

VOL. 99 ISSUE: 31 CONTACT THE DN Newsroom: 765-285-8245 Editor: 765-285-8249, editor@bsudailynews.com

The Ball State Daily News (USPS144-360), the Ball State student newspaper, publishes Thursdays during the academic year, except during semester and summer breaks. The Daily News is supported in part by an allocation from the General Fund of the university and is available free to students at various campus locations.

EDITORIAL BOARD Brooke Kemp, Editor-in-chief Tier Morrow, Managing Editor Rohith Rao, News Editor Nicole Thomas, Features Editor Jack Williams, Sports Editor Jacob Musselman, Photo Editor Demi Lawrence, Opinion Editor Jake Helmen, Video Editor Alyssa Cooper, Social Media Editor Zach Piatt, Copy Director CREATIVE SERVICES Emily Wright, Creative Director Elliott DeRose, Design Editor Will English, Web Developer

On the cover: FREEPIK, PHOTO COURTESY; EMILY WRIGHT, DN ILLUSTRATION

SGA inaugurates new executive slate

April 15: Ball State’s Student Government Association swore in the executive slate members of the Bold slate at its weekly virtual senate meeting via WebEx. The Elevate slate members, led by now former President Aiden Medellin, said goodbye to senators watching the ceremony, thanked their fellow slate members and gave advice to the new slate.

Governors face pressure to reopen

April 18: Governors eager to rescue their economies and feeling heat from President Donald Trump are moving to ease restrictions meant to control the spread of the coronavirus even as experts warn moving too fast could prove disastrous. Organizers protested in several cities after Trump urged them to “liberate” three states led

by Democratic governors.

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4-DAY WEATHER

FORECAST Christopher Guevara, Weather forecaster, Benny Weather Group

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

RAIN

MOSTLY CLOUDY

RAIN

PARTLY SUNNY

Hi: 59º Lo: 45º

Hi: 60º Lo: 45º

Hi: 55º Lo: 40º

Hi: 56º Lo: 36º

NEXT WEEK: The sun returns with temperatures rising into the upper 50s and lower 60s and hovering around the lower- to mid40s for the low. Slight chance of a few showers, but expect a few days with sunny conditions before clouds return once again.

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DNNews Green Quarantine

04.23.20

03

Professors’ reccomendations on ways to stay eco-friendly while staying at home

Grace McCormick | Reporter As a byproduct of the stayat-home order in Indiana, universities, including Ball State, are using less energy due to classes being moved online, said David Chandler Thomas, assistant professor of economics.

In addition to less driving, the decline in production of nonessential goods, people not going about their normal activities and making their usual purchases has also helped the environment, said Joshua Gruver, assistant department chair of the department of environmental, geology and natural resources.

While offices and public spaces are using less energy, he said, people are now using more energy in their homes.

However, there are steps Gruver and Thomas said students can take to be environmentally friendly even in isolation.

Eat plant-based foods The costs of producing and processing meat are much larger than the costs of producing vegetables and fruits, Gruver said.

“The way we treat the earth in the production of those foods at the level that we produce them requires a lot of inputs, and often, those inputs are not good,” he said.

According to a 2018 article published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s PubMed Central journal, it is unlikely plant-based diets provide advantages but do not suffer from disadvantages, compared to omnivorous diets for strength, anaerobic or aerobic exercise performance.

However, the article stated plant-based diets typically reduce the risk of developing numerous chronic diseases over the lifespan and require fewer natural resources

for production compared to meatcontaining diets.

Gruver said students should consider plant-based meals for most of their diet in order to practice sustainability and a healthy lifestyle.

Save leftovers to avoid store trips People can avoid contact with highly-touched surfaces in grocery stores by making the food in their pantries last longer.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website, dividing food into smaller portions and saving them in small containers can help cool food rapidly and avoid bacterial growth.

It said leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for three to four days or frozen for three to four months.

Covering leftovers, wrapping them in airtight packaging or sealing them in storage containers can help keep bacteria out, retain

The little things add up. Just recycle when you can, and think about other ways you can help the environment at home.”

- JOSHUA GRUVER, Assistant department chair of the department of environmental, geology and natural resources

Average number of vehicles passing daily through I-69 in Delaware County 41,371

39,120

41,376 34,004

21,327 Indiana’s stay at home order was effective starting March 25.

December 2019

January 2020

February 2020

Source: Indiana Department of Transportation EMILY WRIGHT, DN

March 2020

April 2020 (as of April 16)

A street stands empty April 18, 2020, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The stay-at-home order has affected communities in a number of ways with businesses closing and many individuals losing their jobs. JACOB MUSSELMAN, DN moisture and prevent them from picking up odors from other food in the refrigerator.

Be mindful of energy use While offices and academic buildings are using less energy through not having to provide technological services to people, Thomas recommended replacing light bulbs with LEDs to decrease personal energy use.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 12-watt LED light bulbs save about 75 to 80 percent of energy costs and last 25 times longer when compared with a 60-watt traditional incandescent light bulb.

“They pay for themselves in 90 days — they use 10 percent of the power of regular light bulbs,” Thomas said. “I encourage students to learn a sustainable lifestyle. Use less power.”

Recycle when you can When off-campus students run out of free recycling bags, it can be a cost barrier to keep up the habit. If students are not able to recycle, Gruver suggested thinking of creative ways to reuse items instead, such as refilling water bottles with a water filter instead of drinking bottled water.

“The little things add up. Just recycle when you can, and think about other ways you can help the environment at home,” he said.

Reuse bottles and containers Buying reusable containers is helpful for food storage and the environment. By decreasing the use of plastic wrap and other onetime storage solutions, students can declutter their cupboards and properly store leftovers.

According to the Earth Day Network, people purchase about a million plastic bottles every minute, and about 23 percent of plastic bottles are recycled within the United States.

By using a water filter and a glass or metal water bottle instead of plastic, students can decrease the number of global plastic bottle purchases.

Consider starting a vegetable garden Gruver said the rainfall in central Indiana is well suited for vegetable gardens. He said some farmers he has met as director of the Muncie Food Hub Partnership have grown broccoli, spinach and onions.

The Farmer’s Almanac suggests beginners start a garden with good soil and a 16-by-10foot plot or smaller. Tomatoes, peppers, carrots and radishes are some of the many vegetables that can be grown in small gardens and produce a high yield.

“You can put a few plants in the ground and suddenly be overwhelmed by how much stuff you get from it,” Gruver said.

Educate yourself on sustainability Thomas, an environmental economics professor, said Ball State students should consider taking electives in environmental science courses.

While some courses require prerequisites, he suggested the university has open electives for introductory natural resource and environmental management classes.

Students can also take this time to read books or magazines about environmental friendliness to benefit their own learning, Thomas said.

Rohith Rao contributed to this article.

Contact Grace McCormick with comments at grmccormick@bsu. edu or on Twitter @graceMc564.

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: VIDEO: PROTESTERS GATHER OUTSIDE GOVERNOR’S MANSION

DNNews

04.23.20

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A WARMING WORLD Here’s how the world has been impacted by climate change.

Global temperatures rising

The following graph illustrates the change in global surface temperature relative to 1951-80 average temperatures. Nineteen of the 20 warmest years have all occurred since 2001, with the exception of 1998. The year 2016 ranks as the warmest on record.

– +

Arctic sea ice melting The following graph shows the average Arctic sea ice extent measured in September, when it reaches its minimum. Arctic sea ice is now declining at a rate of 12.85 percent per decade, relative to the 19812010 average. In 2012, the ice shrank 1.38 million square miles — the lowest extent in NASA’s satellite record.

Region extent (million sq. mi)

2.72

2.71 2.36 2.03 1.67

1979

1989

1999

2009

2019

Polar ice sheets losing mass

Satellite data shows polar-land ice sheets have been losing mass since 2002 at a rate of 146 gigatons per year in Antarctica and 281 gigatons per year in Greenland.

Antarctica mass variation (gigatons) Greenland mass variation (gigatons)

-382.7

-609.5

-492.9

-1142 -1995

-1341.2

-2794.8 -2715

While the Earth’s climate has been changing throughout history, most of the current warming trend has a greater than 95 percent probability to be the result of human activity since the mid20th century, according to NASA’s Global Climate Change website.

This global warming trend is proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented over decades to millennia, the website states. Scientists attribute it to the human expansion of the greenhouse effect caused by certain gases in the atmosphere — water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons — that block heat from escaping.

It states climate change has already had observable effects on the environment — glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner.

According to the fourth National Climate Assessment Report published by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the Midwest will not be exempt from the effects of climate change.

Extreme heat, heavy downpours and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality and more, the report states. Climate change will also exacerbate a range of risks to the Great Lakes.

Here’s a look at some statistics that show the effects of climate change over the past few decades:

0.36°F

0.9°F

0.59°F

1970

1980

1990

2000

February 2012

February 2016

February 2020

2.15”

1.43”

0.84”

2020

Carbon dioxide levels

Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas released through both human activities — deforestation and burning fossil fuels — and natural processes — respiration and volcanic eruptions. Carbon dioxide levels in the air are at their highest in 650,000 years.

413.03 CO2 levels (ppm) ppm 389.65 ppm 369.09 ppm 354.24 ppm 338.43 325.69 ppm ppm

March 1970

March 1980

March 1990

March 2000

March 2010

March 2020 4”

3.77”

3”

2.74”

The rise in sea level is caused primarily by two factors related to global warming — the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers and the expansion of seawater as it warms. Over the past 100 years, the global average sea level has risen nearly 7 inches and is currently rising at a rate of 0.13 inches per year.

2”

1”

Sea height variation since 1993 (inches)

0.3”

Nov. 10, 1994

2010

Sea level rising -4708.7

February 2008

1.17°F

-0.02°F

-3734.5

February 2004

1.9°F

Temperature change (°F)

Nov. 8, 1999

Nov. 6, 2004

Nov. 14, 2009

Nov. 13, 2014

Nov. 11, 2019

Staff Reports | Sources: NASA, U.S. Global Change Research Program | EMILY WRIGHT, DN

DNSports

04.23.20

05

From the sports desk Heart and passion is what makes Ball State Sports unique.

Jack Williams interviews Ball State Gymnastics head coach Joanna Saleem after a meet. “Gymnastics head coach Saleem was one of the many friendly and familiar faces I had the chance to talk to during my four years at Ball State.” Williams said, “I spent my freshman and sophomore years as the beat writer for the gymnastics team.”

MICHELLE KAUFMAN, DN FILE

Jack Williams is a senior journalism major and a columnist for The Daily News.

His views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.

Four years ago when I was trying to figure out where to Jack go to school, Williams like any other Sports Editor sports fanatic, I took into account what the sporting culture was like at each of my top three schools.

My third option was Kansas.

The basketball tradition was unlike any other, with every team going deep into March.

My second option was LSU. I’ve been a Tigers fan all throughout high school, and I thought spending Saturdays in Death Valley would be electric.

Then, there was my top choice: Ball State.

It was a mid-major school in the middle of Indiana that didn’t really have the athletic resume the others did.

However, something felt right about the campus and what it had to offer.

After eight semesters in Muncie and two years as the sports editor for The Ball State Daily News, I’ve learned sports at Ball State are about more than just winning. The Cardinals offered something the big schools didn’t when I went to

each game: heart and familiarity.

Beaming from the varsity fields at Briner Sports Complex to a run-down gymnastics facility in Anderson, Indiana, every sports team at Ball State

have been a few coaches that have made postgame interviews something fun and casual.

Starting out as the gymnastics beat writer, cutting my teeth as a freshman at The Daily News, Williams’ press pass sits on his desk Sept. 8, 2018, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

“While Scheumann Stadium and Worthen Arena were comfy,” Williams said, “I always took advantage of reporting from a bigger stadium.”

JACK WILLIAMS, DN

played its games for the love of it. For four years, working up from reporter to editor, I’ve had the amazing opportunity to tell those stories, form relationships with athletes and coaches and find out what it truly means to be a Cardinal.

I’m not going to lie, to this day, after almost every game, I still get nervous talking to players and coaches. Even if I’ve covered the beat the entire season or have had casual conversations with them, my palms still get a little sweaty when I’m walking up to the press room or walking down to the field. However, there

head coach Joanna Saleem was always someone who was extremely helpful in the entire postgame interviewing process. She was always open to getting the gymnasts and always came up to me right after the meet ended. Even after the Mid-American Conference Championships, after the team had just lost the meet, she still came up to the press table for an interview.

I’m still extremely happy one of my last clippings with The Daily News was back where I started, covering the gymnastics team.

4See SPORTS, 06

I’ve learned it’s not about championships, or iconic venues or big-time games. It’s about the coaches, players and fans that capture the heart and passion of what it’s like to wear the cardinal and white.”

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: FORMER BALL STATE FOOTBALL PLAYER TIMOTHY BROWN DIES AT 82

DNSports

04.23.20

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SPORTS Continued from Page 5

After eight semesters in Muncie and two years as the sports editor for The Ball State Daily News, I’ve learned sports at Ball State are about more than just winning. The Cardinals offered something the big schools didn’t when I went to each game: heart and familiarity.”

Jack Williams, sports editor, and Zach Piatt, assistant sports editor, sit and stand respectively on the sideline of the 2018 MAC Basketball Tournament in Cleveland. REBECCA SLEZAK, DN FILE

Softball head coach Megan Ciolli-Bartlett has also always been friendly and helpful when it comes to interviews. On a phone call from the bus or in the press box at the softball field, I could always depend on her for stellar comments and just an extremely positive presence, win or loss.

My heart really aches for the team amidst the season’s cancellation. Being on the softball beat for two years, you could really tell the team loved to play every game, and it had set high standards it was always trying to meet.

As someone who grew up watching their sister play travel softball every summer, it was nice to spend a few more years at the field. Watch softball. It’s an extremely underrated sport.

While I did spend a lot of time at Worthen Arena and Scheumann Stadium, some stories that capture the true heart of Ball State Sports were off the court — some weren’t even varsity sports.

One story sent me to Anderson Gymnastics and Cheer for a meet hosted by the members of Ball State’s club gymnastics team.

While the members did seem a little stressed in running the meet and making sure everything went well, you could just see the joy in their faces after completing a routine or receiving awards. Their love for the sport was the story.

However, out of all the stories I’ve told, from Josh Thompson’s rise as a leader to Ball State Football’s overtime win over Western Michigan, nothing really captured the passion and heart of what Ball State Sports

really are like Don Shondell.

Working on that six-monthlong project left me tired, fatigued and annoyed it took so long to publish, but Shondell put it into perspective why every edit and rewrite was worth it. He created a legacy out of absolutely nothing.

He was shut down so many times, but he persisted. Now 91 years old, if there wasn’t a pandemic, you would see him at almost every game.

That’s heart if I’ve ever seen it.

Interacting with people like Don while at “the Harvard of Muncie” has taught me it’s not about championships, or iconic venues or bigtime games. It’s about the coaches, players and fans that capture the heart and passion of what it’s like to wear the cardinal and white.

After a men’s basketball regularseason finale victory, you can see head coach James Whitford smiling ear to ear while he passes you by with a high five.

After a stuck landing on the uneven bars, you can see gymnastics assistant coach Scott Wilson cheering with more intensity than anyone in the building If you look down at the bench during any men’s basketball game, you can see Brachen Hazen fooling around with his teammates.

During a timeout at a men’s volleyball game, the bench jumps up, groups up shoulder to shoulder and sings the jeopardy theme.

Something I’ll always remember is how all the fans at Worthen Arena would stand up together as the clock passes the

one-minute mark in a close game or when the student section screams for “tater tots” during every opponent free throw.

Ball State Sports aren’t traditional, but they’re something special. Thank you for showing me what it means to watch, cover and be a part of a midmajor sporting culture. We may not have the football hardware of LSU or the environment of Allen Fieldhouse, but Ball State has a heart and passion that can’t be found anywhere else.

Thank you for allowing me to tell your stories, become a part of your team and be your sports editor.

Contact Jack Williams with comments at jgwilliams@bsu.edu or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.

Along with reporting on Ball State Sports, Williams had the opportunity to cover MLB Spring Training his junior year as part of an immersive learning course.

JACK WILLIAMS, PHOTO PROVIDED

DNLife

BEHIND One of the projects Taylor Poer previously worked on was the American Girl Live Tour. Poer said it was a fantastic experience, and every person on that tour has become a close friend of hers. TAYLOR POER, PHOTO PROVIDED

W

hen Taylor Poer came home from the hospital the day she was born, she said, she was told she was already wearing Ball State socks.

While Poer knew she was going to be a third-generation Ball State Cardinal from a young age, she said, she didn’t know what career she wanted to pursue until her senior year of high school. After working four years as a student director for her high school and having a conversation with her choir director at the time, she decided to look into majoring in theater.

“I was extremely pleased when I looked into BSU’s theater program and found out they have one of the best in the country,” Poer said. “I interviewed with the department at the end of the fall semester, and I decided as soon as I was finished Ball State’s Department of Theatre and Dance was where I wanted to be.”

Karen Kessler, professor of theatre, was one of the individuals who initially interviewed Poer.

When Kessler first met Poer, she said, she could tell Poer was serious about what she wanted to do, and she was committed to her education. Kessler said not only did Poer have an ability to multitask, but she also had a sense

of humor that helped get her through tougher times.

“Taylor had a problem with being a perfectionist — she would get really angry with herself if things weren’t exactly ‘right,’” Kessler said. “As she moved through college, she got better at cutting herself some slack and knowing that theater is about striving for perfection that rarely happens – just like life.”

As an undergraduate, Poer

Life as a stage manager in NYC is unlike anything else in the world.”

- TAYLOR POER, 2017 Ball State alumna said, she felt overwhelmed at times because she was one of eight to 12 management students working to help the Department of Theatre and Dance put on about 23 shows a year.

“It was a lot — balancing all of your classes, as well as whatever shows you were assigned to, because the stage managers are the only people in the entire production who have to be at every single

rehearsal, every single production meeting, every single tech and dress rehearsal and every single performance,” Poer said. “No other role has that responsibility.

Sometimes, it felt like a lot, but you also got to work with the most people in the department and got to be an integral part of making all of the great shows happen. That made it worth it for me.”

After graduating from Ball State in 2017, Poer decided to move to New York City to take advantage of the various job opportunities available in her line of work. Poer said moving to New York City wasn’t as tough of a transition as she thought it would be because she loves the city’s diverse people, places, food and music.

“My hometown in Indiana has one stoplight in the entire town, so even just going to BSU was a bit of a change, but it was a welcome change,” Poer said.

“I’ve known my whole life that I never wanted to stay in Indiana forever … BSU runs a very professional theatre department, so the transition to working with actual professionals upon moving to NYC was mostly seamless. I was already familiar with how everything ran and the expectations for my role.”

Taylor Poer, 2017 Ball State alumna, works as a project coordinator for New York University’s Drama Studios.

Poer has worked with celebrities like Rihanna, Alicia Keys and Laverne Cox. TAYLOR POER, PHOTO PROVIDED

Although Poer started out taking positions in stage management, she quickly moved up the chain to production management. Now, in the heart of the city, Poer works as project coordinator for New York University Tisch School of Art’s New Studio on Broadway, one of New York University’s drama studios.

In the two years Poer has lived in NYC, she said, she has worked Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theatres twice, been on

04.23.20

07

THE SCENES Ball State alumna has an “unpredictable lifestyle” as a production manager for NYU’s Drama Studios.

Sumayyah Muhammad Reporter

tour with American Girl Live and worked as a part of the first Fortnite World Cup Finals and the first of Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty fashion show.

“Throughout the process [of working on Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty fashion show], I worked more directly with her choreographer than Rihanna herself,” Poer said. “Even just being in the room, listening to Rihanna as she made decisions about what she wanted, how everything should look, was really inspiring. She’s at the top of her field, and she knows it.”

Most stage managers call themselves “freelancers,” Poer said, because of the unpredictable lifestyle that comes with the job.

“Life as a stage manager in NYC is unlike anything else in the world,” Poer said. “One day, you’re in rehearsal for eight hours working on a brand new show, and the next, you’re organizing a pop-up event for a new store. [One day], you’re running up and down town for five different meetings for different projects, and the next, you might be unemployed.”

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, Poer currently isn’t working on any projects because allowing people to congregate for a

show’s audience is the entire basis of her job, and it’s difficult to do theater remotely.

“I know a lot of industry friends who are struggling because, while we love what we do, it’s not the easiest industry to survive in to begin with, even when you have consistent work coming in,” Poer said. “At this point, we’re all just doing what we can to stay home and spend as little money as possible until we can get back to work. The industry as a whole is going to need a lot of help to get back to normal, though. It’s not going to be an easy bounce back, but we will rebound eventually.

We always do.”

From her experience in theater and stage management, Poer said, she has learned to seize every opportunity, but not at the expense of her worth, knowledge and health.

“What we do is important and brings happiness, education, empathy and compassion to the world, but also, at the end of the day, it’s just a show,” Poer said. “Do not burn yourself out because you think it’s cool. Take every opportunity, but take care of yourself too.”

Contact Sumayyah Muhammad with comments at smuhammad3@bsu.edu.

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: 5 DO-IT-YOURSELF WAYS TO RENOVATE YOUR ROOM

DNLife

04.23.20

08

RESTORING and REHABILITATING Ball State’s Field Station and Enviromental Education Center works year round to better Muncie’s environment.

Taylor Smith and Mary Stempsky Reporters When she was in high school, Erica Forstater said, she participated in the Student Conservation Association (SCA), a non-profit group whose members protect and restore land throughout the U.S. Forstater said during her time with SCA, she cleaned a national wetland near her hometown in Philadelphia where hundreds of members planted trees.

“The craziest thing we pulled out of the wetlands was a refrigerator,” Forstater said.

She carried the passion she fostered then to her work now as the environmental education program coordinator at the Richard Orchid Greenhouse, where she partners with Ball State’s Field Station and Environmental Education Center (FSEEC) to educate the Muncie community on environmental issues, such as managing invasive species, reducing pollution and increasing recycling and land management.

“I think the Field Station’s efforts in raising environmental awareness are important because we, along with other

environmental organizations, are essentially the link between scientists and the public,” Forstater said. “We use the science to improve how we work with the environment, and we communicate that essential science to the public in ways they can understand and incorporate into their own lives.”

Educating the community about the environment doesn’t just take place on Earth Day, Forstater said, but year round. She added Earth Day is important because it continues to spread awareness to the general public about the importance of conservation for our health and future.

“This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day,” Forstater said. “As we reflect on the last 50 years, we can see all of the improvements we have made in protecting the planet, such as the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts, the Endangered Species Act and so much more.

“However, this anniversary can also demonstrate to us how much further we need to go. Environmental regulations have been rolled back in the last several years, and our country has abandoned the Paris Climate Accords. We must continue making improvements

Erica Forstater, environmental education program coordinator, teaches a young child during the Rinard Orchid Greenouse’s Halloween program. The Rinard Orchid Greenhouse hosts events the second Saturday of each month to educate the Muncie community about the environment. ERICA FORSTATER, PHOTO PROVIDED to our environment and how we interact with it. We cannot continue this backward slide.”

John Taylor, land manager for the FSEEC, said there are many opinions about climate change

to sort through, so he believes, just as people listen to health professionals with the current COVID-19 pandemic, people should turn to knowledgable scientists for more information

on climate change.

“If [people] are not listening to the scientists, then [they] don’t really understand what’s going on,” Taylor said.

To continue environmental

activism in Muncie, Forstater works with the Red-tail Land Conservancy to run its Wildlife Warriors, a year-long nature club for children ages 10-15. Forstater and the Wildlife Warriors go out several times a year to do environmental volunteer service, such as removing trash from the White River, removing invasive honeysuckle on Red-tail property to improve bats’ habitats and planting trees on Red-tail property.

While restoring and rehabilitating the environment will look different this spring because social distancing due to COVID-19 concerns prevents people from gathering to clean up parks and other natural environments, Taylor said, individuals can still protect the environment by observing seasonal changes and recognizing the value of the environment.

“There’s a lot to celebrate,” Taylor said. “There’s a lot to protect, and we all, [as humans], depend on it.”

Nicole Thomas and Kamryn Tomlinson contributed to this story.

Contact Taylor Smith with questions at tnsmith6@bsu.edu or on Twitter @taynsmithh.

Contact Mary Stempsky with questions at mstempky@bsu.edu.

HISTORY OF EARTH DAY 1962: Rachel Carson publishes her book, “Silent Spring,” which raised public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment and the links between pollution and public health.

1970: The first Earth Day commences and allows 20 million Americans to call for increased conversations about the environment.

1990: Earth Day in 1990 assembles 200 million people globally, spanning 141 countries.

2000: Conversations about protecting the environment grow with the help of digital technologies spreading through 180 countries.

2010: Earth Day Network launches “A Billion Acts of Green” and “The Canopy Project,” which engaged nearly 75,000 global partners.

2020: Earth Day 2020 celebrates 50 years of global activism that aims to protect the planet, mobilizing a billion people worldwide.

Source: earthday.org

Erica Forstater releases a Monarch butterfly that was reared in the Rinard Orchid Greenhouse. The greenhouse is home to orchids, edible tropical plants and poison arrow frogs. ERICA FORSTATER,

PHOTO PROVIDED

DNOpinion

04.23.20

Planting Wellness

09

Artful Ruckus

Don’t know where to start your garden?

anxiety. From lifting bags of mulch to work your back, hamstrings and arms; to squatting to spread mulch and work your legs and glutes; all the way to prying weeds out of the ground to work your forearms, biceps and shoulders — gardening can get your blood

Growing plants helps you connect better with others and the world.”

pumping and help you burn some calories.

If fruits and veggies aren’t your niche, there are many different types of gardens you can try, including a pollinator garden. Pollinator gardens supply food, pollen and nectar to pollinator

insects, such as bees, so they can pollinate crops. These are an easier option for gardening rather than launching into a veggie farm; you won’t have to harvest this garden, and many plants will come back year after year.

When it comes to gardening, not everything is easy. My mom is a certified master gardener through Purdue University, which requires a 13-week course with a test at the end and 35 volunteer hours in local gardens. I, on the other hand, have succulents barely hanging onto life. The problem with gardening, to me, is I see all these examples of giant, beautiful gardens full of flowers and veggies and think, “No problem, I can do

that.” Turns out, I can’t, and it is will have so much satisfaction in being able to eat your own a lot harder than it looks. food or put together the bouquet But, that’s where you learn of fresh flowers you planted to be accepting, to back away yourself. from the perfectionist mentality We’re all in this together — and just enjoy the garden itself. you, me, some plants and If you’ve always wanted to the bees. start a garden, now’s the time.

Contact Kami Geron with It will be extremely beneficial comments at kkgeron@bsu.edu to your health, mentally and or on Twitter @GeronKami. physically, and while the world fights this pandemic, you can stay home, tend to your plants and maybe even grow Praire Blazing Star some fresh food. From Support bees and butterflies: personal experience, I monarchs, swallowtails, skippers, can tell you that you sulfers

Smooth Blue Aster Grows in a variety of soils; visited by butterflies, moths, bees, beneficial wasps and flies

Coneflower: Purple Withstands drought well; attracts a wide range of pollinators, key to Skippers

Smooth Penstemon: White Grows in a variety of soils; visited by butterflies, moths, bees and honey bees

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is one of those coping mechanisms that can really help you deal with a range of mental health struggles.

Professional gardener Joe Lamp’l said gardening has numerous psychological benefits. Gardening can teach younger children how to accept imperfections, adults can learn to let loose and relax their need to be perfect and the elderly’s risk of dementia can even be decreased through gardening daily.

Growing plants helps you connect better with others and the world. Natural landscapes have been found to increase recovery from surgery, lessen anxiety and depression and improve stress management.

Gardening also relieves your sense of loneliness, which we all are probably feeling during this time of quarantine.

On top of all the mental health benefits gardening offers, there are also physical benefits.

You will be giving your body the regular exercise it needs, which boosts mood and lowers

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2 feet

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Wild Geranium: Pink Prefers partial but tolerates full sun; attracts bumblebees and moths

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Kami Geron is a freshman mass communication and studio art major and writes “Artful Ruckus” for The Daily News.

Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.

Gardening is Kami in my roots — Geron pun intended.

Columnist, My mom started Artful Ruckus gardening because her parents raised her with it.

Now, I’ve grown up racing my brother to our garden to see who could pick the most peppers or who could collect the most flowers for my mom. My mom’s garden helped us learn the payoff of hard work and how to make healthy choices with our food.

Gardening and taking care of plants is extremely beneficial, not just to your health, but to the environment too. As a child, it taught me so much, and even as an adult, watching my mother garden continues to influence me daily.

I believe everyone should have a garden of some sort, and this Earth Day is a great time to start one.

In today’s society, we have a ton of different ways to support our mental health, whether it’s therapy, medication or other coping mechanisms. Gardening

Everyone should start their own garden, no matter how big or small.

Here are some possibilities:

MAGGIE GETZIN, DN ILLUSTRATION

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04.23.20

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