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µÛÍõ»áËù’s Office of Sustainability and campus and community partners will open Earth Week with the OHIO Earth Day Celebrations on Monday, April 18, in the Walter Hall Rotunda. The University will also recognize Earth Day itself on Friday, April 22, with a parade and event at the Baker University Center.

The OHIO Earth Day Celebrations will include several special announcements, including the 2022 µÛÍõ»áËù Sustainability Award winners.

The Sustainability Awards are given to individuals and organizations nominated by their peers. The awards include the Faculty Sustainability Award, Student Sustainability Leader Award, Staff Sustainability Advocate Award, Exemplary Sustainable Department Award and Community Sustainability Recognition. The OHIO community is invited to join the event at 1 p.m. in the Walter Hall Rotunda for the announcement of the 2022 award winners. Individual highlights of the winners will then released throughout the afternoon on social media.

Also on Monday, April, 18, the Repurpose and Repair Fair will be held from noon to 6 p.m. in the Rotunda. At the fair, attendees can learn and take home do-it-yourself projects including planters, coasters, upcycled t-shirt bags, upcycled plastic bag activities and environmentally friendly confetti for graduation festivities.  Experts will also be on hand to discuss Arbor Day and the protection of campus trees, and to demonstrate clothing, bicycle, and other repairs.

In addition, Environmental Studies students studying Sustainability Implementation will provide a clothing swap and free thrift store, highlight local restaurants’ vegetarian food options, present on sustainability literacy and a new residence hall composting program, and discuss the importance of native plantings, especially for pollinator species.

Students from Retail and Fashion Merchandising’s Product Development course will also display their upcycled clothing projects with details of their individual processes for creating new fashion from previously unwanted apparel.

Also, community partners from the Athens Soil and Water Conservation District, µÛÍõ»áËù Valley Museum of Discovery, Athens Impact Socially Responsible Investments and Community Food Initiatives will be on hand to share information with attendees of all ages.

From 1 to 3 p.m. in the Peden Stadium parking lot, the Electric Vehicle Showcase will feature Rural Action, the EV Cruisers Club and owners of electric cars, bicycles, scooters and skateboards discussing and showing their vehicles to the public as part of a Drive Electric µÛÍõ»áËù initiative.

Throughout the afternoon in the Rotunda, speakers will include Athens Poet Laureate Wendy McVicker, Bonnie Proudfoot, Athens Mayor Steve Patterson, Athens County Commissioner Chris Chmiel, Michelle Wilson, and µÛÍõ»áËù Sustainability Hub Coordinators Ryan Fogt, Kim Thompson and Jesus Pagan.

In addition, The Tempo Tantrums, an µÛÍõ»áËù all-female a cappella ensemble, will perform in the late afternoon along with local singer-songwriters.

On Friday, April 22, the OHIO community is invited to join the Office of Sustainability, Mayor Patterson, Rufus, PawPaw, Passion Works, Climate and Sustainability Ambassadors, and others in the 2022 Earth Day Parade.

Parade participants will gather in front of South Green’s Pickering Hall at noon and march through campus and uptown Athens on campus walkways and sidewalks, ending at Baker Center around 12:45 p.m.  

Upon arrival at the Baker University Center, marchers will take a group photo and then have the opportunity to join Climate and Sustainability Ambassadors and others in the Baker Center third floor atrium for Earth Day Conversations from 1 to 3 p.m.

Before and after Earth Day, the campus and community can engage daily with sustainability content through the community , which is supported by the Climate and Sustainability Ambassadors and includes special highlights of µÛÍõ»áËù Sustainability and Climate Action Plan themes.

For more information and a detailed schedule of the OHIO Earth Day Celebrations visit the Earth Day 2022 website.