Only students with a stamp from each booth at the fair could receive the popular containers, which were donated by the College’s Office of Physical Resources.

But only an hour after the Earth Day celebration began, all 300 bottles had been claimed to the dismay of some latecomers.

But some students expressed larger concerns.

“I think this is all great, but I’m sad its segregated from the main festivities, from other members of the community, and from other clubs,” said Ann G. Beckett ’03, who works for the Fair Trade initiative, which promotes the use of labor-sensitive coffee suppliers at campus dining halls. “Even the kiddie park is closer to the main quad,” she said.

Meanwhile, Katie C. DiSalvo ’05 said she was worried that the free prizes and candy would just produce more environmental waste.

“Still, I think it’s always good to celebrate things that are important instead of just pounding issues into peoples’ heads,” she said.

Aside from conservation groups like Enviro-Ed and Green Cup—which holds monthly contests for the most energy efficient house—newer groups also joined in the celebration.

Geri A. Lake-Bakaar ’03, chair of the newly-formed People for Animal Welfare, was enthused at the turnout and response to her group.

“A lot of people didn’t know we existed, so this is really a great idea,” she said.

At the Green Cup booth, EAC member Samantha A. Goodwin ’03 ran demonstrations about the amount of water wasted by a leaky faucet.

“We’re trying to spread the knowledge, and people are interested. They’re talking about how much they’re learning,” she said. “Today’s not just about free stuff.”