Earth Week

Earth Day 2011 will be observed on April 22nd and during the week leading up to the 22nd. This year Anthro -Teach will sponsor and host events full of holistic activities for the celebration. The big bash will occur on Friday, April 22 in the UAB Mini Park (on University Blvd. between 13th and 14th St. S.), and will include the following:
•       LIVE MUSIC all day by Nag Hammadi
•       FOOD & a bake sale all day
•       Free composting course hosted by West End Community Garden 11:00-12:00
•       Free Yoga by India Henson 12:30-2:30
•       Environmental discussions between students, spiritual leaders, environmental initiatives, and cultural groups from the Birmingham community 12:00-4:00
•       Slam poetry featuring students from Real Life Poets, Inc. Hosted by 95.7 Jamz Lady Woo and HBO Def Poet Shariff Simmons 4:30-6:00

Additionally, we will host a donation based bake sale on Monday April 18th the first floor lobby of Heritage Hall (1401 University Blvd). The proceeds will be donated to local green initiatives.

On Wed., April 20th we will screen films that illustrate the current state of the Earth and there will be discussion sessions following the films. During this week there will be several opportunities for students, faculty, staff, as well as any visitors to come together and discuss issues, thoughts, and opinions about the earth and the role of humans in relation to the environment.

We also plan to have guest lecturers to speak about different elements of environmental conservation. All are welcomed to come and share their thoughts during discussions and lectures. 

On Friday April 22nd (Earth Day). There will be activities that will allow for UAB students gather information about how they become more involved with local green initiatives, as well as slam poetry, yoga demonstrations, and more.

Anthro- Teach would appreciate help from volunteers who may interested in contributing their services on any of these days. If you are interested in lending a hand please contact or if you have any comments or questions about the activities please contact Dr. Sharyn Jones sharynj@uab.edu.

Volunteers will be needed to help with set up in the morning and clean up in the afternoon, to man the tables during the sale and we will need food donations for the bake sales, so any prepared food items would be welcomed contributions.

On Sunday, October 24, The Aldridge Botanical Gardens in Hoover, AL presented in partnership with the Moundville Archaeological Park , "Whispers from the Past: A Native American Experience" During the event, visitors got to experience traditional Native American culture through a number of activities provided. The Anthro-Teach team was present to offer an anthropological perspective on Native American cultural history.


Both students and faculty members provided presentations in three different sessions. Many of the visitors in these sessions were educators from local schools. The information presented was along with suggestions of ways that it could be incorporated into the K-12 classroom curriculum.


The topic of the first session was Native American ethnobotany. In this section the presenters were Dr. Loretta Cormier, Courtney Andrews, and Ashley Wilson. Here the presenters discussed different ways that Native Americans from the Southeastern U.S. identified and used plants in their everyday lives. The main focus of this section was the use of plants for food and medicinal purposes.



The topic of the second session was Native American archaeology. In this section Dr. Sharyn Jones, Mallory Messersmith, and Brandon Grisaffi discussed different aspects of Native American culture that have been discovered through archaeological research. The presenters provided information about different methods that archaeologists use to study material remains of past cultures, physical examples of different types of Native American artifacts, and information about what can be learned from the study of them.

In the third session the presenters Dave Cunningham, Anna McCown, and Chauntelle Sharp were able to recruit audience members to participate in demonstrations of Native American music and dance. Along with this they included information about the cultural and social contexts involved in the performances.