Celebrate Earth Week with a variety of activities planned on campus and around the community from April 21 through April 27.
Earth Week will be held from April 21 through April 27 and is an opportunity for members of the Elon community to examine their own habits as they relate to sustainability.
Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to attend as many events as possible for a chance to win Phoenix Cash, hammocks and more! Event and Earth Week competition details are available on the Earth Week Website.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Monday, April 21
5 – 6 p.m. | From Squirrels to Song Birds: Date on Elon’s Bird Species | Global Commons, First Floor
Join Elon Data Nexus and Senior Lecturer in Statistics Ryne VanKrevelen on a walk around Elon’s beautiful campus to learn about Elon’s bird species, tools to help collect your own bird data, and what to do with it in day-to-day life. Sponsored by Elon Data Nexus
Tuesday, April 22
4 – 5 p.m. | Sustainability Master Plan 2025 Launch Celebration | McKinnon Hall, Moseley Center
Celebrate the launch of Elon University’s Sustainability Master Plan 2025 with food, interactive activities and exciting prizes! Learn about Elon’s goals for a more sustainable future, connect with others and discover opportunities to support sustainability at Elon. This event is open to all students, faculty and staff.
6 – 7 p.m. | Fly Into Spring | Elon Community Garden
Join the Environmental Student Organization Network at the community garden to make bird feeders out of sustainable materials like pine cones and toilet paper rolls.
Wednesday, April 23
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. | Food for Thought | The Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education (CREDE), Moseley Center
Join us for a delicious Asian feast and an insightful discussion on the significance of rice in Asian culture and economy. Meet at CREDE for amazing food and great company!
7 – 8 p.m. | Earth Week Keynote: Bill McKibben, ‘The Race For a Working Climate” | Alumni Gym, Koury Athletic Center
We’re at a hinge moment in human history. On the one hand, we face an environmental cataclysm like none before. On the other, the rapid fall in the price of clean energy gives us the chance for truly rapid progress. In this urgent, heartfelt and hopeful talk, New York Times bestselling author Bill McKibben reveals the part each of us must plan in where we need to go and provides realistic approaches to saving our planet, as individuals, and as thoughtful members of a mobilized community.
McKibben was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 2014, sometimes called the “alternative Nobel” and received the Gandhi Peace Award in 2013. His book “The End of Nature” is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change and has been translated into 24 languages. TIME Magazine called McKibben “perhaps the planet’s best green journalist,” and he has lectured and organized on every continent, including Antarctica. He helped found 350.org, the first global grassroots climate campaign, and has recently helped found Third Act, to build a progressive organizing movement for people over age 60. McKibben, the author of fifteen books, is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Sponsored by the Office of Sustainability, the Environmental Studies Department, Facilities Management, Food Studies, the Global Neighborhood, the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, Life@Elon and Peace and Conflict Studies.
9 – 10 p.m. | S’Mores with Outdoors | Beck Pool Patio
Join Elon Outdoors and the Eco-Reps for a special Earth Week S’mores with Outdoors! Make your own sustainable bug spray so that you can enjoy more time outdoors.
Thursday, April 24
5 – 7 p.m. | Party for the Planet | Moseley West Lawn
Celebrate sustainability with fun activities and live entertainment! This event will also feature a thrift shop where students can trade their gently used clothes for new (gently used) clothes.
Friday, April 25
3:30 – 5:30 p.m. | Paint N’ Plant | Young Commons
Join us to design your own plant pots out of reusable jars and cans with the opportunity to take different plants home to grow for yourself! We’ll learn about minimizing waste, sustainable agriculture and reusable products, as well as work with Loy Farm to grow our own native plants!
4 – 5:30 p.m. | Bloom with Pride | Elon Community Garden
Join the Gender and LGBTQIA Center to Celebrate Lesbian Visibility Day through bouquet making and flower vase decorating.
To prepare for this event, the GLC is currently accepting donations of clean glass jars, bottles and cans! Please bring any donations to the GLC.
4 – 6 p.m. | Bike to Burlington | Meet at Koury Center | Registration Required
Meet in front of the Koury Athletic Center and join Elon Outdoors and the Office of Sustainability for a bike ride to Burlington, where we’ll enjoy some ice cream while learning about local businesses and how they contribute to sustainability. Bikes will be provided, or bring your own.
Saturday, April 26
Sustainable Day of Service | Various Times and Locations
Sustainable Day of Service Opportunities include:
9 AM – 11 a.m. | Lake Mackintosh Kayak Clean Up | Registration Required
Take care of local Lake Mackintosh while enjoying the beauty of nature. Kayaks, gloves and trash bags provided. Please wear clothing you don’t mind getting dirty and bring a reusable water bottle and sunscreen.
9 AM – 11 p.m. | Peacehaven Farm | Registration Required
Join the CORE members and participate in a Garden Workday! You will be outside so make sure you wear close-toed shoes and bring a water bottle
12:30 – 3:30 p.m. | Women’s Resource Center Herb Festival Clean Up | Registration Required
Help the center with the clean up after the festival! This won’t require heavy labor but is some physical work.
1 – 3 p.m. | Lake Mackintosh Kayak Clean Up | Registration Required
Take care of local Lake Mackintosh while enjoying the beauty of nature. Kayaks, gloves and trash bags provided. Please wear clothing you don’t mind getting dirty and bring a reusable water bottle and sunscreen.
Sunday, April 27
11 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Farm Tour | Meet in front of the Center for the Arts | Registration Required
Visit three local farms to learn about food production in Alamance County and try some local foods along the way! Transportation provided.