Earth Month celebrates core values of sustainability, environmental awareness

Earth Month is almost upon us, and NC State’s Sustainability Office has planned a month full of sustainability-related events and activities, from the annual Earth Fair to monthly Flourish events.

Along with an in-depth calendar of events on their website, the Sustainability Office also has several tips listed to celebrate sustainability, labeled “30 Days, 30 Ways.”

Lani St. Hill, communications and engagement coordinator for the Sustainability Office, said Earth Month is actually a celebration centered around NC State’s core value of sustainability.

“NC State has a core value of sustainability that’s already integrated into our campus operations, community, culture and research, so Earth Month allows the campus to come together and celebrate,” Hill said. “We’re bringing awareness, but it’s not just about lifestyle tips. It’s also awareness around all of the amazing things that our campus partners are doing.”

Earth Month is also a partnership across various NC State colleges. The upcoming Flourish event is a collaboration between the Department of Horticulture Sciences and Prevention Services and includes activities like planting your own mini pot or creating a zen garden.

The annual Earth Fair this year will be on Wednesday, April 12 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Stafford Commons with an estimated number of 350 to 400 guests expected.

“We expect between 50 and 75 vendors to be out there, which includes campus departments, student organizations, groups, as well as outside community members to come and table and talk about their projects or research programs and how they relate and make the world a better place,”

Hill said.

The Earth Fair is an annual event that brings everyone together, showcasing campus departments, student organizations and community members who want to display what they do to advance sustainability. One of the programs that will share their sustainable ideas at the event will be Sustainability Stewards.

Maggie Wesslen, equity and outreach coordinator for the Sustainability Stewards, said the Sustainability Stewards will have two tables at Earth Fair this year.

“One table [will] showcase our projects and just educate the campus population about what we do and how they can be involved,” Wesslen said. “And then another table is an idea that one of our stewards did. … He turned wildflowers into sustainable paint, so we’re gonna have a watercolor activity where the paint is made from local wildflowers.”

Another staple event of Earth Month is the Celebration of NC State Sustainability. This event will showcase all the different advancements and projects that have occurred on campus to further sustainability, one of which is the plant sciences building recently becoming LEED certified at the Gold level.

“The second [event] that we do, and it’s part in collaboration with the University Sustainability Council, … is the celebration of NC State Sustainability,” Hill said. “That’s really a recognition program, where we re- view all of the highlights that have gone on this past year. We make announcements for those who have won sustainability awards, as well as those who are receiving sustainability fund grants.”

NC State continues to fund sustainability projects year after year supporting research projects from expanding clean water in campus dorms to Campus As A Classroom.

“If you look up, ‘What are the values of NC State,’ one of them is sustainability, and I think Earth Month as a whole is one way to connect all of the campus as well as community members and alumni to that value and to showcase how integral [sustainability] is to each of our individual lives,” Hill