Sustainability Institute

Celebrate Earth Month at Penn State

April provides the Penn State community many opportunities to get involved with advancing social and environmental justice

Credit: Michelle Bixby / Penn StateAll Rights Reserved.

Penn State students, staff and faculty, alumni and community members are invited to celebrate Earth Month through a wide array of special events and activities throughout April, including the annual Colloquium on the Environment, which this year will feature keynote speaker, L. Hunter Lovins, a pioneer in the sustainable development movement with more than 35 years of experience developing economic solutions to climate change, agriculture, water and land use challenges.

Celebrating April as Earth Month is an expansion of Earth Day, which was first established over 50 years ago on April 22, 1970. Penn State students helped inaugurate the original Earth Day, organizing a teach-in on the environment, campus art exhibits, film screenings and a political debate between candidates for governor. Recognition of the importance of the environment and sustainability has grown since then, so that now Penn State takes a full month to encourage our whole community to take action and get involved in projects, events and discussions that focus on the urgent need for environmental justice, sustainability and climate solutions.

“April is an annual reminder that we have ample opportunities to explore how environmental issues intersect with social justice,” said Paul Shrivastava, chief sustainability officer and director of the Sustainability Institute. “The fact that we all share this planet means we are united in our efforts to create a sustainable future. By participating in Earth Month, we can all learn how to get involved with the many initiatives across Penn State’s community to safeguard the environment and our communities.”

Additional opportunities to celebrate Earth Month will be added to the Sustainability Institute Calendar as event information becomes available. Click here to submit your unit’s Earth Month event to the SI calendar. For more information or questions about the calendar, contact Sierra Keller at sac5137@psu.edu.

Opportunities to get involved with Earth Month at Penn State include:

Friday, April 1, noon (virtual)

Sustainability Showcase: “Becoming Indigenous to Earth: Enlisting Gaia as our Ally in the Climate Crisis” with Zhiwa Woodbury; hosted by the Sustainability Institute

Friday, April 1, 12:05 p.m. (hybrid)

Penn State Brandywine, SUB 114-117, or Via Zoom

Lunch and Conversation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell, 2022 Environmental Racism & Justice Fair; hosted by Penn State Brandywine’s Center for Ethics and Civic Engagement

Friday, April 1, 4 p.m. (in-person)

University Park Arts District, Borland Building, Curtain Road, University Park, Pennsylvania

IllumiNATION Sustainability Art Expo; hosted by the Center for the Performing Arts, Sustainability Institute, Arts and Architecture Student Council, College of Arts and Architecture and Student Engagement Programs

Tuesday, April 5, 5 p.m. (in-person)

3 Dots Downtown, 137 E. Beaver Avenue, State College, Pennsylvania

Small Island Big Song: Upcycled Instruments Workshop; hosted by the Center for the Performing Arts, 3 Dots Downtown and the Penn State School of Music’s Composition and Research of the Arts, Recording, and Sound (ROARS) programs

Wednesday, April 6, 3 p.m. (hybrid)

HUB Freeman Auditorium, 201 Old Main, University Park, Pennsylvania, or Via Zoom

“Climate Change: Our Response As Artists” Small Island Big Song Climate Panel with Dr. Richard Alley; hosted by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Center for the Performing Arts, Student Engagement Programs and the Sustainability Institute

Wednesday, April 6, 7 p.m. (hybrid)

118 Katz Building, Lewis Katz, University Park, Pennsylvania, or Via Zoom

Colloquium on the Environment Keynote: “Climate Change: Profitably Solving the Problem” with L. Hunter Lovins; hosted by the Sustainability Institute and the Institutes for Energy and the Environment

Thursday, April 7, 7:30 p.m. (in-person)

Eisenhower Auditorium, 102 Eisenhower Rd., University Park, Pennsylvania

“Small Island Big Song” Performance; hosted by the Center for the Performing Arts (paid admission)

Friday, April 8, noon (virtual)

Sustainability Showcase: “What Honeybees Can Teach Us About Social Change” with Ang Roell; hosted by the Sustainability Institute

Friday, April 8, 1 p.m. (virtual)

GreenGov Sustainability Webinar Series – “Household Carbon Reduction, Part 1: Energy Saving Utility Programs” with Joseph Sherrick, Cyndi Page and Dan Mumford; hosted by the Sustainability Institute and the Pennsylvania GreenGov Council

Tuesday, April 12, 7 p.m. (virtual)

Intersections Landscapes of Labor Film Series – Sorry We Missed You Screening; hosted by the Sustainability Institute, WPSU and the Center for Global Workers’ Rights

Friday, April 15, noon (virtual)

Sustainability Showcase: “An Eco-Poetry Reading from the Pacific Islands” with Craig Santos Perez; hosted by the Sustainability Institute

Saturday, April 16, sessions starting at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. (in-person)

WPSU Studios in Innovation Park, 100 Innovation Boulevard, State College, Pennsylvania

WPSU Multicultural Children’s Festival; hosted by WPSU

Tuesday, April 19, noon (in-person)

Eisenhower Auditorium, 102 Eisenhower Road, University Park, Pennsylvania

Mwenso and the Shakes Performance; hosted by the Center for the Performing Arts

Tuesday, April 19, noon (in-person)

Penn State Great Valley, 30 East Swedesford Road, Malvern, Pennsylvania

Spring Wild Edibles + Medicinal Weeds Walk with Martha Cownap; hosted by the Penn State Great Valley Sustainability Committee

Wednesday, April 20, 1:30 p.m. (in-person)

Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, 3400 Discovery Road, Petersburg, Pennsylvania

Stone Valley Forest Expo; hosted by Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, The Forestlands Management Office and Penn State’s Strategic Initiative: Growing Penn State Forests

Wednesday, April 20, 7 p.m. (virtual)

Intersections Driving It Home and Soundings Film Series – “Small Island Big Song” Screening; hosted by the Sustainability Institute, WPSU, the Center for the Performing Arts and Penn State Water Council

Thursday, April 21, 8 a.m. (virtual)

Sustainability in Our Curriculum Webinar Series: Stories, Narrative, and Art; hosted by the Sustainability Institute

Friday, April 22, 7 a.m. (virtual)

#ClimateTalks Global Student Forum: “Transforming Our Work”; hosted by the International Universities Climate Alliance

Friday, April 22, noon (in-person)

Across the University Park Campus

Earth Day Fair; hosted by Penn State EcoAction and EcoReps

Friday, April 22, 1 p.m. (in-person)

Outside the Penn State Bookstore, located in the HUB-Robeson Center

Sustainably made L2 League Apparel Demonstration; hosted by L2 Brands, Unifi, Repreve, the Penn State Bookstore, and the Sustainability Institute

Saturday, April 23, 8 a.m. (in-person)

Centre County, Pennsylvania (work sites to be determined after registration)

26th annual Watershed Cleanup Day; hosted by Clearwater Conservancy

Saturday, April 23, 8 a.m. (in-person) 

Outside the Penn State Bookstore, located in the HUB-Robeson Center

Sustainably made L2 League Apparel Demonstration; hosted by L2 Brands, Unifi, Repreve, the Penn State Bookstore, and the Sustainability Institute

Wednesday, April 27, 5 p.m. (in-person)

3 Dots Downtown, 137 E. Beaver Avenue, State College, Pennsylvania

Sustainable Communities Collaborative Spring Expo; hosted by the Sustainability Institute and State College Borough

Friday, April 29, 11 a.m. (in-person)

Headhouse II at the University Park campus (across from the Creamery on Curtain Road)

8th annual Plant Sale; hosted by the Penn State Student Farm Club

Last Updated April 21, 2022