Peace Tree Plantings on Saturday, September 21st to Conclude Week of Reflection, Remembrance, and Service
UMass Dartmouth students will plant a ceremonial peace tree this Saturday, September 21, at 9:30 a.m. at the UMass Dartmouth Track Field during the opening ceremony of the UMass Dartmouth Shriners Cross Country Invitational. The tree will be planted in honor of those killed and wounded in the Boston Marathon bombing and the brave law enforcement officials and medical personnel who were on scene during the April 15th attack. University officials, faculty, students, public safety officials, and cross country track teams from across New England will be in attendance.
The tree planting ceremony is part of a week-long undertaking by university officials, faculty, and students to observe the International Day of Peace, observed annually on September 21st. Following the morning ceremony, a second tree, donated by UMass Dartmouth professor Michelle Keith, will be planted in downtown New Bedford at 1 p.m. by New Bedford Beautiful (nbbeautiful), a public-private partnership launched to keep the city of New Bedford clean and make it more livable. Students and community members are set to attend.
Other events leading up to and occurring on International Peace Day include:
Wednesday, September 18th through Friday, September 20th 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. -- UMass Dartmouth's Frederick Douglass Unity House will be showing three documentaries followed by discussions which involve issues of peace and conflict. The Unity House will also hold a pinwheels for peace workshop the entire week where students plan to take part in an International art and literacy project, crafting and planting pinwheels with messages of peace.
Friday, September 20th 11:00 a.m. -- A Peace Pole Planting Ceremony will take place between the Campus Center and the Marketplace organized by the UMass Dartmouth's Leduc Center for Civic Engagement.
Saturday, September 21st 8:30 a.m. to 12 Noon -- In the same area of downtown New Bedford where the second tree planting will take place, 40 students have already pre-registered to take part in Saturday's Operation Clean Sweep (OCS). OCS was formed in early 2006 as a result of citizen concern for the amount of trash and litter throughout New Bedford. Operation Clean Sweep organizes a series of cleanups throughout the city from April through September.
Saturday, September 21st 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. -- Student Millenium Network Discussion on Millenium Goals presented by the Leduc Center will take place in the Grand Reading Room of the Claire T. Carney Library.